Chapter Twenty-Five
“Choose.”
The word didn’t echo.
It didn’t linger dramatically in the air.
It just… sat there.
Heavy.
Final.
Like everything depended on it.
Because it did.
I stood there, Ethan’s hand still loosely wrapped around mine, and for the first time since this started—
I felt both sides clearly.
Not blurred.
Not tangled.
Separate.
Him.
And it.
Two forces pulling at me in completely different ways.
Ethan’s grip was warm, steady, grounding. It didn’t demand anything from me. It didn’t rush me. It just… held.
But the other thing—
It wasn’t patient anymore.
It pressed.
Pushed.
Expected.
You already know what you are.
My chest tightened.
“I don’t,” I whispered.
Ethan’s fingers shifted slightly, tightening just enough.
“Yes, you do,” he said quietly. “You’r
