A Line Crossed
491 Words
Amelia’s fingers tightened around the door handle, her breath catching at Ethan’s words.
We need to talk.
Her heart pounded against her ribs. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her back, the air between them thick with something she couldn’t quite name.
Slowly, she turned around. Ethan was still seated at his desk, but there was something different about him now—something less guarded. His usual confidence had softened, replaced by an expression she had never seen before.
“What is it?” she asked, keeping her voice steady despite the unease swirling inside her.
Ethan leaned forward, his elbows resting on his desk. He didn’t speak right away, his eyes searching hers like he was trying to find the right words.
“This…” He exhaled, rubbing his jaw. “This thing between us—it’s becoming a distraction.”
A distraction.
The word sent a jolt through Amelia, her stomach twisting. She had spent days—weeks—trying to convince herself that she was imagining things. That the tension between them was all in her head. But now, hearing him say it aloud, there was no denying it.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, even though they both knew it was a lie.
Ethan’s lips pressed together in a firm line. “You do.”
She swallowed, her throat dry. “Mr. Blackwood—”
“Amelia,” he cut in, his voice softer now. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like nothing is happening here.”
Her chest tightened. He was breaking all the rules—the ones they had both silently agreed to follow. They weren’t supposed to acknowledge this. Weren’t supposed to give in to whatever it was simmering beneath the surface.
But he had just shattered that unspoken agreement.
She shook her head, forcing herself to put distance between them. “This is inappropriate.”
Ethan’s jaw tensed, his fingers drumming against his desk. “I know.”
The honesty in his voice made her stomach flip. He wasn’t denying it. He wasn’t pretending.
He was admitting it.
Her pulse raced as she tried to find the right words, something that would put this conversation back in the box where it belonged. But nothing came.
Because deep down, she didn’t want to shut this down.
She wanted to hear what he had to say.
“Say it,” she whispered before she could stop herself.
Ethan’s eyes darkened. “Say what?”
“That there’s something here.” Her voice was barely audible, but she knew he heard it.
A long silence stretched between them.
Then, in a low voice, he said, “There is.”
Amelia’s breath hitched.
There it was. The truth.
The confession neither of them could take back.
A dangerous line had just been crossed, and there was no undoing it.
But the real question was—what would they do now?
- Writer
