Broken trust
963 Words
The silence after Vivian Reed walked into the office felt physically painful.
Naomi Blake stood frozen near the windows while Ethan Sinclair looked unusually calm for a man who had just been caught kissing his assistant.
Vivian, meanwhile, looked merely disappointed in humanity.
“Well,” she repeated slowly, placing the folder onto Ethan’s desk, “this is significantly worse than I expected.”
Naomi wanted the floor to open immediately.
Ethan sighed quietly. “Vivian”
“No,” Vivian interrupted sharply. “Absolutely not. I have spent weeks protecting both of you from rumors, suspicious board members, and curious employees only to discover you’re secretly proving them correct?”
Naomi looked down awkwardly.
Fair criticism, honestly.
Ethan crossed his arms calmly. “We’re handling it.”
“You’re kissing in the office.”
“That was one time.”
Vivian stared at him blankly. “Do you hear yourself?”
Naomi almost laughed from pure nervousness.
Unfortunately, that only made Vivian look at her too.
“And you,” Vivian said, “are supposed to be the smart one.”
Naomi winced slightly. “In my defense, he’s very distracting.”
The moment the words escaped, silence filled the room again.
Ethan looked dangerously close to smiling.
Vivian looked emotionally exhausted.
“Fantastic,” she muttered. “Now both of you are making jokes while your careers burn.”
The seriousness in her voice erased Naomi’s embarrassment immediately.
Because Vivian was right.
This wasn’t harmless anymore.
Anonymous threats.
Security photos.
Board suspicion.
Everything was escalating too fast.
Vivian looked toward Ethan carefully. “You need to end this before someone destroys both of you.”
The words hit Naomi harder than expected.
End this.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Ethan’s expression hardened instantly. “No.”
Naomi looked up in surprise.
Vivian sighed quietly. “Ethan”
“I’m not pushing her away because the board is uncomfortable.”
Naomi’s heartbeat quickened painfully.
But Vivian’s next words shattered the moment instantly.
“You may not have a choice.”
Unfortunately, things became worse by Monday morning.
Much worse.
The second Naomi stepped onto the executive floor, she knew something had happened.
Employees were whispering openly now.
Phones lit up constantly with notifications.
People stared at her without even pretending not to.
Fear twisted immediately in her stomach.
Then she saw the article.
Someone had leaked a story online.
SINCLAIR GROUP CEO INVOLVED WITH EMPLOYEE?
Below the headline were blurry photographs.
The balcony.
The office.
Ethan standing too close to her.
Nothing definitive.
But enough.
Enough to start a scandal.
Naomi felt sick instantly.
“Oh my God.”
A nearby employee quickly looked away awkwardly after realizing she’d seen the article.
Humiliation burned through Naomi’s chest.
The entire office knew.
Or suspected.
And suddenly every stare felt accusing.
Her phone buzzed violently with incoming messages.
Unknown numbers.
Social media notifications.
Even reporters requesting comments.
Naomi’s hands started shaking slightly.
This had become public.
“Naomi.”
She turned sharply.
Ethan walked toward her quickly, his expression darker than she’d ever seen before.
Not cold.
Furious.
“Come with me.”
The executive floor became completely silent as he led her straight into his office and shut the doors firmly behind them.
Naomi turned toward him immediately. “They leaked it online.”
“I know.”
“You said this wouldn’t happen.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened visibly. “I know.”
For the first time since meeting him, Naomi saw something close to helplessness in his expression.
And somehow that scared her more than his anger ever had.
“This is my fault,” she whispered.
“No.”
“Yes, it is.”
Ethan stepped closer immediately. “Stop blaming yourself for someone else’s actions.”
“But they’re attacking you because of me.”
“They’re attacking you too.”
Silence crashed between them heavily.
Naomi looked away first, emotions twisting painfully inside her chest.
“This is exactly what you were afraid of,” she murmured quietly.
Ethan stayed silent.
And somehow that silence hurt more than words.
Because now Naomi understood the truth completely.
Loving Ethan came with consequences neither of them could control.
Finally she looked back at him carefully.
“Maybe Vivian was right.”
Ethan’s expression darkened immediately. “Don’t.”
Naomi forced herself to continue anyway.
“People already think I slept my way into this job.”
“That’s not true.”
“It doesn’t matter!” she snapped suddenly.
The emotion in her own voice shocked both of them.
Naomi stepped backward, tears burning painfully behind her eyes now.
“They don’t see me as intelligent or hardworking anymore, Ethan. I’m just the assistant secretly involved with her billionaire boss.”
The words tasted humiliating aloud.
Ethan moved toward her instantly. “Naomi”
“No.”
This time she stopped him.
Because if he touched her right now, she might completely fall apart.
And she couldn’t survive that emotionally.
“You said you wanted to protect me,” she whispered shakily. “But this relationship is destroying everything.”
Pain flickered visibly across Ethan’s face.
Real pain.
But Naomi forced herself to keep going before she lost courage.
“I think…” Her voice cracked slightly. “I think we need distance.”
Silence.
Ethan stared at her like she’d physically hit him.
“No.”
The quiet desperation in his voice nearly broke her completely.
Naomi looked away quickly before she changed her mind.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
For the first time since knowing Ethan Sinclair, she saw him completely speechless.
And somehow, that hurt worst of all.
Without another word, Naomi grabbed her bag and walked out of the office.
Leaving Ethan standing there alone.
- Writer
