Chapter 7 : The Arrangement
1565 Words
The days after Ethan's confession were uncomfortable for Elle. She hadn't told her friends what had happened in the garden, and she wasn't ready to talk about it. Whenever she thought about Ethan's confession, the kiss, and Adrian's reaction afterward, her thoughts became tangled. The easiest thing to do was keep herself busy with classes and final requirements.
Ethan, however, wasn't willing to let things remain that way.
The first time he approached her after the incident, he waited outside their classroom. “Elle, can we talk?”
She stopped but kept her eyes on her books. “About what?”
“About what happened.”
Elle tightened her grip on her notebook. “I'm not ready to talk about it.”
“I understand. I just want to apologize.”
“You already apologized.”
“I know, but I need you to know that I regret it. I shouldn't have kissed you when you told me you needed time.”
Elle finally looked at him. She didn't hate Ethan, which made everything more complicated. She was angry and uncomfortable, but she still remembered the friend she had gotten to know before everything changed.
“I appreciate the apology, but I still need some space.”
Ethan nodded. “I'll give you space.”
He said he would, but he continued finding small opportunities to approach her over the next few days. Sometimes he apologized again. Other times, he simply asked if she was okay or tried to explain what he had been thinking when he kissed her.
Elle always gave him the same answer.
“I'm not ready.”
Eventually, she stopped answering altogether. If she saw Ethan waiting outside the classroom, she would take another hallway. If he approached their table during lunch, Elle would suddenly find something to discuss with Sofi. When he tried to join them at the library, she would quietly gather her things and move somewhere else.
Her friends noticed the change.
One afternoon, Mia glanced between Elle and Ethan when he approached their table. Elle immediately became absorbed in her laptop.
“Are you okay?” Mia asked.
“I'm fine.”
Sofi looked toward Ethan before looking back at her. “You've been quiet lately.”
“I'm just stressed about finals.”
Claire studied her for a moment but didn't press. The girls knew Elle well enough to recognize when something was bothering her, but they also knew she wasn't someone who opened up before she was ready. None of them asked about Ethan directly.
Elle was grateful for that. She didn't know what she would tell them anyway.
Adrian, however, noticed everything.
He noticed how Ethan tried to approach Elle, how Elle avoided him, and how uncomfortable she became whenever Ethan came near. Somehow, Adrian also seemed to be nearby whenever it happened.
He never deliberately followed her. He simply appeared whenever she seemed uncomfortable. If Ethan approached her after class, Adrian would suddenly be walking down the same hallway. If Ethan tried to sit beside her during lunch, Adrian would find an excuse to take the empty seat nearby.
He told himself it was because Ethan had already crossed a line.
That was all.
But sometimes Adrian caught himself watching Elle even when she wasn't aware of him. He noticed when she looked tired, when she skipped lunch, and when she became quiet after seeing Ethan. He felt an almost instinctive need to make sure she was okay.
It was protective.
And Adrian still didn't understand why.
He had never been this way with anyone else. With Elle, however, his reactions seemed to happen before he could think.
That bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
A few days before the ball, Elle received a call from her father while she was leaving campus.
“Dad?”
“Elle, are you free tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. Your mother and I want you to come to dinner. We also want you to meet someone.”
Elle slowed her steps. “Meet someone?”
“Yes. It's been a long time since your mother and I have had dinner with them, and we thought it would be nice if you came along.”
“Who is it?”
Her father chuckled. “You'll find out when we get there.”
Elle sighed. “Dad.”
“Just come. Your mother will explain everything.”
Knowing there was no point arguing, Elle agreed.
That evening, she arrived at the restaurant with her parents, still wondering who they were meeting. When they entered the private dining area, she stopped.
Ethan was sitting at the table with his parents.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
“Elle?” Ethan said, putting on an expression of surprise.
She stared at him. “Ethan?”
Her father laughed. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah,” Elle answered carefully. “He's from school.”
“Well, that's quite a coincidence,” her mother said.
Elle wasn't sure it was.
Their parents greeted each other warmly and immediately began reminiscing. Elle soon learned that their families had known each other years ago because their fathers had once been business partners. Their business relationship had ended long ago, but they had remained on good terms.
“I can't believe our children ended up knowing each other,” Ethan's father said.
Ethan smiled. “We've become friends at school.”
Elle glanced at him.
Friends.
The word felt strange now.
Ethan behaved perfectly throughout dinner, never mentioning what had happened between them. He was polite, respectful, and completely composed.
Then, almost casually, he brought up the ball.
“There is one thing I wanted to mention,” Ethan said. “The university ball is coming up, and I asked Elle to go with me.”
Elle nearly dropped her fork.
Her father looked at her. “You did?”
“It's not exactly—”
Ethan smiled. “We talked about it.”
They had talked about it.
But she had never agreed.
Her mother smiled. “That's wonderful. You should go together.”
“I was actually planning to go with my friends,” Elle said.
Her father waved his hand. “You can still spend time with them. You're already familiar with Ethan, and now that our families have reconnected, it would be nice for you two to attend together.”
Elle looked around the table. Everyone seemed to have already decided.
She felt completely ganged up on. Explaining why she didn't want to go with Ethan would mean telling her parents about the confession and the kiss, and she wasn't ready for that.
“Fine,” she finally said.
Ethan smiled. “Great.”
Elle forced a smile back.
She didn't notice the satisfaction behind his expression.
The night of the ball arrived, and the university had been transformed with lights, decorations, and music filling the ballroom. Students gathered in formal clothes, laughing and taking photographs as they entered.
Elle arrived beside Ethan. She wore an elegant dress chosen with her friends, while Ethan looked perfectly composed in his suit. To everyone watching, they looked like a natural pair.
Elle, however, felt anything but comfortable. She kept reminding herself that she hadn't chosen this arrangement. Her parents had practically decided it for her, and she hadn't been ready to explain why she didn't want to come with Ethan.
As they entered the ballroom together, Ethan placed a hand lightly at her back, guiding her through the crowd.
Across the room, Adrian was talking with Jason when he glanced toward the entrance.
He stopped.
His eyes immediately fixed on Elle.
Then Ethan.
Together.
Adrian's expression darkened.
Jason followed his gaze. “Adrian…”
Adrian didn't answer. He couldn't take his eyes off them.
Ethan leaned closer to Elle and said something that made her smile politely. From where Adrian stood, it looked intimate. Too intimate.
His jaw tightened.
They looked like a couple.
The thought hit him harder than he expected.
Had Elle actually accepted Ethan?
Adrian felt anger rising through his chest. He almost moved toward them without thinking, but then Ethan looked across the ballroom.
Their eyes met.
For several seconds, neither of them looked away.
Ethan's expression remained calm, almost amused.
Then he smirked.
It was subtle, but Adrian saw it.
The message was unmistakable.
**I won.**
Adrian's hands curled into fists.
He hated that smirk. He hated the way Ethan stood beside Elle as though he had every right to be there. More than anything, he hated the possibility that Elle had chosen him.
Adrian knew he had no claim over her. He had never told her how he felt, never asked her to be his, and had no right to question who she chose to attend the ball with.
But none of that mattered to the anger burning inside him.
His eyes returned to Elle.
She was smiling at something Ethan had said, completely unaware of the silent battle taking place across the ballroom.
Adrian's chest tightened.
If Ethan and Elle were really together, then why did the thought make him feel like he had just lost something that had never belonged to him?
And that realization made him even angrier.
Because for the first time, Adrian wasn't sure he was angry at Ethan.
He was angry at himself.
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