Chapter 6: The Rooftop Promise
864 Words
The mysterious text messages stayed with Ethan for days.
No matter how hard he tried to ignore them, they lingered in the back of his mind.
Every conversation with Ava became more complicated.
Every smile felt undeserved.
Every laugh made the guilt worse.
Yet somehow, he kept finding reasons to see her.
Or maybe he had simply stopped looking for reasons not to.
On Friday afternoon, he sent her a message.
Ethan: I need a favor.
The response came almost immediately.
Ava: That sounds suspicious.
A smile tugged at his lips.
Ethan: Meet me at 7.
Ava: Still suspicious.
Ethan: Trust me.
Three dots appeared.
Then:
Ava: Fine. But if I get kidnapped, Mia gets all my sketchbooks.
Ethan laughed for the first time that day.
At exactly seven o'clock, Ava arrived at the address Ethan had sent.
She stopped and looked up.
A tall building stretched into the evening sky.
Her curiosity instantly doubled.
When Ethan appeared in the lobby, she folded her arms.
"Okay. Explain."
"No."
"What do you mean, no?"
"It's a surprise."
"I don't trust surprises."
"You trusted me enough to come."
The words slipped out naturally.
For a second, neither spoke.
Something shifted between them.
Then Ethan cleared his throat.
"This way."
Ava followed him into the elevator.
As the doors closed, her stomach fluttered.
Not because of the elevator.
Because of him.
Which was becoming increasingly annoying.
The elevator climbed higher and higher.
Thirty floors.
Forty.
Fifty.
By the time the doors finally opened, Ava was ready to explode with curiosity.
Then she stepped out.
And forgot how to speak.
The rooftop overlooked the entire city.
Thousands of lights sparkled below.
The skyline stretched endlessly in every direction.
The setting sun painted the horizon shades of gold and pink.
For several seconds, Ava simply stared.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
Ethan watched her instead of the view.
"I know."
Ava finally looked at him.
Something about the way he said it made her heart stumble.
For the next hour, they walked around the rooftop, talking about everything from childhood dreams to embarrassing school stories.
For the first time, Ethan spoke more openly about himself.
Not everything.
Never everything.
But enough.
Ava learned about the pressure he felt running his company.
The expectations.
The responsibilities.
The loneliness.
And for a moment, he seemed less like the confident businessman everyone admired and more like a normal person trying to hold everything together.
Ava liked that version of him.
Maybe a little too much.
As darkness settled over the city, they found a quiet corner overlooking the skyline.
The conversation slowed.
The silence between them felt comfortable.
Natural.
Dangerously natural.
Ava rested her arms on the railing.
"What made you choose this place?"
Ethan hesitated.
Then he smiled.
"When I was younger, I used to come up here whenever life felt complicated."
She glanced at him.
"And?"
"And somehow things always seemed smaller from up here."
Ava considered that.
The city below looked peaceful from this height.
Almost simple.
Even though she knew it wasn't.
"Maybe that's why I like fashion."
Ethan turned toward her.
"How?"
"Because when I'm designing, everything else disappears."
A small smile touched his lips.
"I've noticed."
"You've noticed?"
"You talk faster."
Ava laughed.
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
"I hate that you've figured that out."
"I've figured out a lot of things."
The way he said it made her cheeks warm.
For a second, neither looked away.
The city lights blurred around them.
The distance between them suddenly felt very small.
Very, very small.
Then Ethan's phone vibrated.
His entire body tensed.
Ava noticed immediately.
Again.
The same reaction.
The same expression.
Fear.
He pulled the phone from his pocket.
One glance at the screen drained the color from his face.
"Ethan?"
He locked the screen instantly.
"Sorry. Work."
The answer came too quickly.
Ava frowned.
She didn't believe him.
Not anymore.
But before she could ask another question, Ethan spoke.
"Ava."
Something in his voice made her heart skip.
"What?"
For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to say something important.
Something he'd been carrying for a long time.
Instead, he swallowed hard.
And changed his mind.
"Promise me something."
Ava blinked.
"What?"
His eyes met hers.
Steady.
Serious.
"If you ever learn something about me that you don't understand..."
He paused.
The words seeming to cost him.
"...promise you'll let me explain before you decide who I am."
A strange chill ran through Ava.
The request felt oddly specific.
"Why would I need to do that?"
Ethan forced a smile.
"No reason."
That was a lie.
Both of them knew it.
But Ava nodded anyway.
"Okay."
The relief that crossed his face was immediate.
And somehow, that worried her more.
Later that night, after dropping Ava home, Ethan sat alone in his car.
The text message still glowed on his screen.
Last chance. Tell her yourself.
His grip tightened around the phone.
Because the truth was becoming impossible to avoid.
And for the first time, Ethan realized something terrifying.
He wasn't afraid of Ava learning the secret.
He was afraid of losing her.
And that fear was becoming stronger than the guilt.
- Writer
