ETHAN’S POV
I knew she would go. That was never the question. The moment Mia decided to move first and contact Jason, the outcome was already set in motion. Not because I couldn’t stop her, but because I didn’t.
People reveal their true nature when they think they’re in control. And Mia Carter… she had just stepped onto a board she didn’t fully understand.
The restaurant had been predictable. Jason waiting. Mia arriving. The tension. The hesitation. The slow collapse of distance.
I watched it all, not from inside. That would have been too obvious. Instead, I stood across the street, inside the tinted silence of the car.
My eyes were fixed on the glass walls that reflected more than they concealed.
David sat in the front seat, quiet. He knew better than to speak while I was thinking
