My phone lights up in my hand.
Ethan.
For a second, I honestly think my brain made it up. Like when you think you hear your name in a crowd because you’ve been thinking about someone too much.
But no.
His name is right there.
Ethan Cole.
Calling.
My heart reacts before my mind does. Too fast. Too loud. Like something urgent is happening even though I’m just sitting on my couch in pajamas, hair messy, mascara half smudged from crying earlier.
I already know he left.
He told me himself. Headlines confirmed it. Business blogs dissected it for days. Ethan Cole steps down. Cole heir relocates abroad. Corporate restructuring.
So why does it still feel like a surprise hearing from him?
The phone keeps ringing.
I could ignore it.
Maybe I should.
But the truth is ugly and simple.
I m
