Chapter 7
1255 Words
The moment Aiden’s car disappeared down the street, Serena let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Her hands were still shaking—part fear, part adrenaline, part something she didn’t dare name.
She paced her living room like a caged heartbeat.
Aiden’s words repeated in her mind:
“Anyone who comes after you will have to go through me first.”
“You walked alone for too long.”
“You’re under my protection.”
Serena pressed a hand to her chest.
Why did those words feel more intimate than anything Ethan had ever said to her?
Before her thoughts could settle, her phone exploded with notifications.
Messages. Emails. Calls. Unknown numbers. Reporters. Bloggers.
Her name was everywhere.
She tossed the phone onto the couch, wanting to scream.
The knock at her door came like a punch.
Sharp. Loud. Unfriendly.
Serena froze.
That wasn’t Aiden’s knock.
Her heart raced. She tiptoed toward the peephole—and her stomach dropped.
Ethan Blake.
Standing there like a storm in a thousand-dollar suit.
Serena’s fingers curled into fists. She wanted to ignore him, pretend she wasn’t home. But Ethan Blake didn’t take silence as an answer. He pounded again, harder.
“Serena! Open the door!”
She inhaled deeply, unlocked it, and cracked it open.
“What do you want, Ethan?”
He pushed his way inside without permission.
Typical.
Serena stepped back, jaw clenched.
Ethan looked around her small apartment with disgust, as if breathing the air offended him.
“You need to explain what happened last night,” he demanded.
Serena lifted a brow. “Explain? To you?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Serena, the entire business world is talking. My board is panicking. Investors want answers. Reporters won’t stop calling. This is all over the internet!”
“And that’s my problem how?” Serena asked calmly.
Ethan’s eyes widened incredulously.
“You walked out with Aiden Shawn!”
“So?”
“So?” Ethan barked. “Serena, he’s my competitor! Our biggest rival! People think—” He stopped, his face reddening with anger. “People think you were cheating with him while we were still married!”
Serena laughed—a small, humorless sound.
“Oh, NOW the truth matters? Now you care what people think? Where was all this energy when Lila posted that fake story about me? When she told the world I was having an affair? When you threw me out without a single question!?”
Ethan looked momentarily shaken.
“That was different—”
“No,” Serena snapped. “It wasn’t. You didn’t trust me.”
He stepped closer. “I was confused.”
“You were stupid.”
He blinked.
Serena suddenly felt lighter. Stronger. Clearer.
She met his gaze without flinching.
“You chose her. You believed her. And now you’re dealing with the consequences.”
Ethan’s mouth twitched, as if he wanted to deny it but couldn’t.
He tried again. “Serena… you embarrassed me.”
Serena’s eyes sharpened like ice.
“Aiden ended your partnership, Ethan. Not me.”
He froze.
“You… you know?”
“Yes,” she said. “And no, he didn’t tell me anything personal. He simply took back his respect. Something you never valued.”
Ethan stepped forward, emotions flickering.
“Serena… we built years together.”
“Then you should’ve protected me,” she whispered.
Silence.
Ethan swallowed hard.
“I made a mistake.”
Serena shook her head slowly.
“No. You made a choice.”
He opened his mouth again—then the door swung wide open before he could speak.
Ethan jumped.
Serena gasped.
Aiden Shawn walked inside.
No knocking. No hesitation.
Just presence.
Commanding. Cold. Quietly furious.
His eyes landed on Ethan’s hand, which was inches from Serena’s arm.
Aiden’s jaw tightened.
“What,” Aiden said, voice low and lethal, “are you doing here, Blake?”
Ethan immediately tried to straighten himself. “This is between me and Serena.”
Aiden took one slow step forward.
“Nothing… involving Serena… concerns you anymore.”
Ethan scoffed, but fear flashed in his eyes.
“Aiden, don’t play this game. I’m her ex-husband.”
Aiden tilted his head slightly.
“And I’m the man standing between you and your last scrap of dignity.”
Ethan’s face darkened. “You think because you’re Aiden Shawn, you can walk into my—”
“Your?” Aiden cut in. “Serena doesn’t belong to you. She never did. She was loaned affection and paid with loyalty. You gave her betrayal in return.”
Serena’s breath hitched.
Aiden glanced at her once—softly—before turning back to Ethan.
“You don’t get to knock on her door. You don’t get to demand explanations. Not anymore.”
Ethan clenched his teeth. “Why do you care so much?”
The room thickened.
Serena’s heart pounded.
Aiden’s expression didn’t change.
“I care,” he said, “because you let a good woman walk away… and you didn’t realize what you lost until another man saw her value.”
Ethan inhaled sharply.
Aiden stepped closer—so close Ethan had to tilt his head to look up.
“If you want to shout,” Aiden murmured, “go home and shout at the woman who caused this.”
Ethan trembled with rage.
“This isn’t over.”
Aiden gave him a cold, dismissive smile.
“Yes, Ethan. It is.”
Ethan turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
The silence that followed was electric.
Serena exhaled shakily. “Aiden… why did you—”
He turned to her.
But the anger was gone.
And something else—something darker, gentler—had replaced it.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly.
She nodded, though her heartbeat was still chaotic.
“Aiden… you didn’t have to defend me like that.”
He stepped closer. “I did.”
She swallowed. “Why?”
Aiden’s eyes lowered to her lips—just for a second—before meeting her gaze again.
“Because the world is finally seeing you the way I do.”
Serena’s breath caught.
“And how is that?” she whispered.
Aiden’s voice deepened.
“Strong. Worth protecting. Worth fighting for.”
Her chest tightened.
“Aiden…”
He looked away suddenly, as if breaking a spell.
“You should eat,” he said quietly. “And stay inside today.”
Serena stepped toward him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Aiden hesitated.
Then:
“Lila has been calling every media outlet in the city since dawn. She’s desperate. Dangerous. People like her don’t go down quietly.”
Serena shivered. “She’s going to come after me?”
Aiden’s eyes darkened.
“She already is. But she won’t reach you.”
Serena swallowed. “Because of you?”
“Because,” he said softly, “I don’t lose the things I choose to protect.”
Her heartbeat tripped.
“Aiden…”
Before she could speak, he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Rest, Serena.”
He turned and opened the door.
But he stopped halfway, his voice low and deep.
“And if Ethan comes back again… call me. I won’t knock next time.”
Then he left.
Serena stood frozen, pressed between shock, fear, and something impossibly warm blooming inside her chest.
Aiden Shawn didn’t just protect her.
He claimed her.
And the entire city was about to know it.
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