~HIDDEN THOUGHTS~
ETHAN’S POV
I couldn’t afford distractions right now. Three weeks away from this house should have cleared my head. Instead, it only made me realize how badly I had gotten used to her being here, and that was dangerous.
I walked down the hallway, trying to focus on the things that actually mattered. The next move and the revenge I had planned long before Amaya unexpectedly became part of it. But the moment I entered the living room, the tension inside me eased slightly.
Maria and Ariel sat on the rug together laughing over some cartoon puzzle spread across the floor. Ariel’s tiny giggles filled the room while Maria pretended to lose dramatically just to make the child laugh harder.
It honestly looked like they belonged together. Like Ariel had somehow been dropped in
