Chapter Four : A Gentleman’s Promise
1742 Words
The tailor’s boutique smelled faintly of cedar and pressed linen. Ethan stood with his arms outstretched while the tailor adjusted the shoulders of his tuxedo jacket while Lucas leaned against a mirrored wall, watching his reflection rather than the fitting.
“You’d think after a dozen fittings, they’d figure out how not to jab you in the ribs,” Lucas muttered.
Ethan arched his brow without turning. “Maybe you’re just more dramatic than I remember.”
Lucas scoffed. “Please, I’m the most patient man in London. This is just unnecessary torture.”
“They like to remind us we’re not as untouchable as we think,” Ethan replied dryly.
“Speak for yourself, Sienna already thinks I’m the picture of perfection.”
“You’re lucky she’s the forgiving type,” Ethan said with a smirk.
Lucas grinned. “I know.”
He folded his arms, glancing at Ethan through the mirror.
“Speaking of untouchable,” he added, “Sienna’s planning to host our engagement dinner at the Whitmore estate.”
Ethan raised a brow. “Brave woman.”
“She says it’s tradition, I say it’s masochism.”
“Let me guess. You tried to convince her otherwise?”
“Of course,” Lucas said. “She ignored me completely.”
Ethan chuckled softly. “Sounds familiar.”
Lucas turned toward him, his voice softening. “I want you standing next to me, Ethan, as my best man, just like we promised back when we were still wearing knotted ties to school assemblies.”
Ethan nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
Lucas looked at him, eyes narrowing slightly. “You remember what else we promised, right?”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “You mean that childish vow to marry at the same time so we could honeymoon together in Italy and have adjoining suites?”
Lucas laughed. “Hey, I still think it’s a great idea. You and your wife in the suite next door to me and mine; Champagne, sun and zero paparazzi.”
“Somehow, I doubt reality will let it be that easy.”
Lucas’s expression changed. He paused, then asked, “But seriously, when are you going to stop dodging the girlfriend question?”
Ethan’s eyes remained on his reflection. “Maybe I’m not ready.”
“You mean you’re still not over Juliette?”
His jaw tensed slightly. “It’s not that simple.”
“I didn’t say it was.” Lucas dropped the teasing, his tone steady now.
“But you’ve been different lately. Since the double date… If you want her man, I think you should go for it.”
“Like I said, not that simple”
“It literally is”
Ethan said nothing but his silence spoke volumes.
Lucas stepped closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ethan glanced down at his watch, then shrugged. “Because I don’t even know what I’d say.”
Lucas gave him space but didn’t drop it.
“She gets under your skin,” he said. “She always has, right?”
Ethan didn’t deny it. He just let out a quiet breath. “She also disappeared without a word three years ago.”
Lucas’s brow lifted. “I know, she broke your heart and now she’s back. That’s a lot to take in.”
“She came back into my life like a grenade with lipstick,” Ethan muttered.
Lucas smiled faintly. “Yeah, well, you don’t look like someone who regrets the explosion.”
There was a pause before Lucas added, “You have already lost her once. Don’t let history be your excuse.”
Ethan gave a small nod. “Noted.”
Lucas grinned. “Good, now stop sulking and let them finish pinning your jacket before you end up on every tabloid’s worst-dressed list.”
Later that evening in the Whitmore Estate tearoom, Vanessa adjusted the diamond bracelet on her wrist for the fourth time, her nails tapping impatiently against the porcelain saucer beside her. Her eyes drifted to the antique clock on the wall again. Eloise was late.
When the matriarch finally arrived, coat draped over her arm and her heels echoing against the marble floor, Vanessa was already pouring tea.
“I thought you had forgotten about me. I have been waiting for over twenty minutes, Ma’am,” Vanessa said politely.
Eloise set her coat on the back of a chair and smoothed her blouse with slow, practiced fingers.
“Punctuality is for those who don’t control the room. When I asked you to wait, well…. You wait.”
Vanessa slid the teacup toward her. “I’ve been waiting all my life, what now?”
Eloise gave her a sharp glance but said nothing as she took her seat.
“I’m telling you,” Vanessa continued, voice clipped,
“He’s pulling away. Every time I call or text, he doesn’t pick up or reply. If I drop by, he treats me like nothing.”
Eloise stirred her tea with delicate grace. “You’re being impatient.”
“I’m being cautious,” Vanessa replied :
“He’s not just drifting. He’s running and if we’re not careful, we’ll lose him for good.”
Eloise took a slow sip before replying:
“Ethan is impulsive, not rebellious. He might wander, but he always circles back to obligation.”
Vanessa folded her arms. “This isn’t about obligation anymore, I can feel it. Something’s changed.”
“Because of the new woman?”
Vanessa hesitated. "He lit up around her. It's different, I can't explain it, but he’s not pretending when she’s in the room.”
Eloise’s expression didn’t change, but her tone cooled a degree:
“Then maybe it’s time we make him remember who he is. I make him remember who he's tied to.”
Vanessa arched her brow. “You mean guilt him into staying?”
“No,” Eloise said calmly. “No need to guilt him, I just need to remind him that loyalty is expected from every Whitmore, and he’s already spent too much time forgetting where his duty lies.”
Vanessa leaned in, quietly. “And if that doesn’t work?”
Eloise set her teacup down with precision. “Then we give him a reason to remember who he is.”
There was a beat of silence between them.
Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “What kind of reason?”
Eloise’s smile was practiced, polite, and entirely without warmth:
“Timing is everything, darling. Let him believe he’s free, then we strike.”
That same night in Whitmore Private Gym, the rhythmic thud of Ethan’s fists slamming into the punching bag echoed through the dim gym. His shirt clung to his back with sweat and his breathing heavy, raw.
Jab. Cross. Jab.
“Are you still punishing that bag for existing?”
Lucas’s voice echoed from the doorway as he tossed a towel and water bottle toward him.
Ethan caught both without breaking stride, but his next punch came slower.
“Some things don’t talk back,” he muttered.
Lucas walked in, arms crossed. “You know most people just hit ‘Do Not Disturb’ on their phones when they’re brooding.”
“This works better.”
Lucas raised a brow. “If by better you mean self-destructive, sure.”
Ethan stopped, grabbing the towel and pressing it into his face.
“What are you doing here, Lucas?”
“I came to make sure my best man didn’t collapse in a puddle of his own drama sweat.”
Ethan gave him a look, then collapsed onto the bench nearby, breathing hard.
Lucas sat beside him, letting the silence hang a little before nudging, “So… Juliette?”
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
Lucas shook his head. “She’s the reason you’ve been like this all week, isn’t she?”
Ethan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “She finds ways to get under my skin even when we are not dating.”
“Because she never threw herself at you like the others?”
“No,” Ethan said. “Because when I’m around her, I actually want to be a better person.”
Lucas studied him for a moment, then said carefully:
“You really were in love with her in Santorini, it was just five days, Ethan?”
Ethan nodded once, then said, “ We can’t control our heart.”
Lucas let out a low whistle. “Honestly, I didn’t realize it was that serious.”
Ethan’s voice dropped. “Neither did I until she vanished.”
Lucas frowned. “She ghosted you?”
“Yeah, one night we were planning to meet by the dock. The next thing I saw, I was being handed a note. Can you imagine that? Just a note in the suite saying it was over.”
Lucas’s brow furrowed. “And you just accepted that?”
“I didn’t have a choice. I waited and later searched for her, but I didn’t know her last name, so I gave up.”
Lucas rubbed his jaw. “And now?”
“She’s back,” Ethan said. “And somehow she looks at me like it is all my fault”.
“Maybe It is”, Lucas said honestly. “You can find out.”
Ethan shook his head. “Don’t know about that……maybe I will, there’s definitely something she’s not saying.”
Lucas nodded slowly, leaning back against the wall. “ While you are at it, be the guy she fell for, not the guy she disappeared on. Maybe it will help.”
Ethan cracked a faint smile. “Since when did you become the wise one?”
“Since I fell in love with a woman who could eat me alive if I lied to her.”
They both laughed.
After a beat, Lucas added, “You going to talk to her?”
“Maybe”, Ethan said.
Lucas stood, grabbing his own towel. “OK, but start with what’s true, your feelings for her.”
Ethan nodded slowly, wiping his face. “She deserves that much.”
Lucas moved toward the door but paused. “And Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“When you’re ready… let her see it.”
“See what?”
“That you are in love with her”
Ethan stared down at his hands.
- Writer
