Ethan’s POV
It was hard to pinpoint exactly when everything shifted. I had been so careful, so controlled for so long, building walls around my emotions, telling myself I was better off without getting tangled in something as dangerous as love. But then, there was Emily.
Her laughter was the first c***k in the armor. It had that ability to ripple through me, to pull me from the inside out. The way she laughed, like she had a secret she was sharing with me alone, made me feel something raw, something I couldn’t ignore. And then, when she said my name—Ethan—like it was both a question and a promise, I felt the weight of it settle deep in my chest, as if the world had just whispered back at me, this is it.
I could feel the change in the air, the tension crackling between us. Every time she
