Episode 10.Lines Crossed
845 Words
The office buzzed with morning activity, but Dalia felt like she was moving underwater. She kept her eyes on her computer, typing reports mechanically.
Distance.
Space.
Emotional safety.
Those were the rules she set for herself.
But it didn’t stop her pulse from speeding up every time she sensed Ethan nearby.
He hadn’t spoken to her directly, not since last night, but she could feel him watching her, silent and tense, as though fighting the urge to break the distance she asked for.
At 10:17 a.m., the elevator chimed.
Every head turned.
Lena.
She walked out as if she owned the building. A fitted emerald dress, designer heels, hair immaculate. Confidence rolled off her in waves, and her eyes locked straight onto Dalia.
“Where’s Ethan’s office?” Lena asked loudly, without greeting anyone.
Dalia stood. “He’s in a meeting,
Lena walked right past her and pushed open Ethan’s office door.
The entire office froze.
Dalia’s pulse raced. She should ignore it, get back to work—but the way Lena barged in felt wrong.
Voices spilled into the hall.
“You didn’t answer my calls,” Lena snapped. “You left the dinner, humiliated my family, and embarrassed me in front of investors. What is wrong with you?”
“Lower your voice,” Ethan warned.
“I won’t,” Lena hissed. “Not until you explain why you’re throwing everything away for, her voice sharpened “, a girl beneath you.”
Dalia’s breath caught.
Ethan stood, voice ice-cold. “You will not speak about Dalia like that.”
“Oh, so it is about her.”
The rage in Lena’s voice was unmistakable.
“You’re risking a merger, a future, your inheritance, to play boyfriend to your”, she sneered, “assistant?”
“She’s not my assistant,” Ethan snapped. “She’s ”
He caught himself.
Because even he didn’t know what word to use.
Mine.
important.
the one I can’t stop thinking about.
Lena saw his hesitation. Her voice filled with smug triumph.
“That’s what I thought. Nothing.”
Dalia’s heart squeezed painfully.
Before she could walk away, Ethan stepped out of his office.
His expression was storm-dark.
“Dalia.”
Her throat tightened. “Yes, Mr. Stone?”
Mr. Stone.
Not Ethan.
She was protecting herself, building a wall brick by brick.
He blinked, as if the distance physically hurt him. “Can you come in?”
Lena crossed her arms. “Why? So she can watch you embarrass yourself further?”
Dalia took a steady breath. “I don’t want to be part of this conversation.”
“You already are,” Lena snapped.
Ethan turned to Lena, voice low and controlled. “Leave.”
“No,” Lena spat. “Not until she hears the truth from you, that you and I are expected to be together for the merger. That your father, ”
“My father doesn’t control my life anymore,” Ethan cut in.
Lena laughed bitterly. “You think you get to walk away? You think love, if that’s what you’re calling this, is enough to break a billion-dollar agreement?”
Dalia’s stomach twisted.
A billion-dollar agreement.
Ethan’s voice softened, not for Lena, but for her.
“Dalia, look at me.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze.
“I don’t care about mergers. I don’t care about deals. I care about you.”
The room went silent.
Lena stared, stunned. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
Lena’s expression shifted, anger morphing into something dangerous.
“You don’t understand the consequences of choosing her.”
Then she turned to Dalia.
“You’re costing him everything. His father’s support. His legacy. His position.”
Dalia felt physically sick.
Ethan stepped between them, protective. “Don’t drag her into this.”
Lena leaned close, voice like venom. “If you stay near him, you will destroy his life.”
Something inside Dalia cracked.
And then Lena walked out, slamming the door.
Inside the Office — Dalia & Ethan
Silence.
The kind that vibrated with everything unsaid.
Dalia gripped the back of a chair. “Is it true?”
“Which part?”
“That being with me could cost you your company. Your family. Your future.”
He didn’t answer fast enough.
That was her answer.
Her chest tightened painfully. “Ethan… I can’t let you do that.”
“You don’t get to decide what I’m willing to risk,” he argued.
“But I do get to decide what I can live with.”
He stepped closer. “Don’t push me away.”
“I have to.” Her voice cracked. “I won’t let myself be the reason you lose everything.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “You’re not listening.”
“No,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I’m protecting you.”
He took her hands in his, desperate. “Dalia ”
She pulled away.
And walked out of his office.
For the first time, Ethan Stone, man who controlled empires, had no control at all.
- Writer
