Chapter 2
1153 Words
Nancy’s POV
If someone had told me a week ago that I’d be having dinner in a mansion where the flower vases alone looked more expensive than my entire life savings, I would have laughed. But here I was, standing in front of an oval dining table long enough to host a political summit, wondering which of the twelve chairs I was supposed to sit on. The sitting arrangement of my newly found habitation is something I couldn't stop imagining. The mansion is systematically surrounded by workers engaged in full cleaning and day to day running of house chores. My mind was totally caged with the thoughts of the mansion as I heard Nora’s voice carried from the hallway before she appeared.
“Nancy, sit next to me,” she said, sweeping into the dining room in a fitted emerald dress that screamed money and power. She looked perfect, like she always did—smooth hair, flawless makeup, confidence dripping from every step.
I smiled lightly. “Sure.”
Ethan walked in moments later. Dark grey shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, exposing strong forearms and a silver watch that probably cost more than my car—back when I still had one. He smelled faintly of something warm, expensive, and dangerously addictive.
He offered a polite nod. “Evening, Nancy.”
My pulse did something foolish.
Nora didn’t miss a beat. “Ethan, you’re late.”
He slipped into the seat across from me. “Board call ran over.”
I forced myself to look at the food instead of the man opposite me who somehow filled a room without trying. I barely knew him, yet his presence tugged at my attention like a magnet I didn’t want to admit existed.
Dinner started calmly enough—roasted chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, vegetables arranged so neatly it felt like a crime to poke them with a fork.
“So, Nancy…” Nora began, slicing her chicken with the effortless grace of someone born into etiquette. “Any plans yet? You can’t just stay home all day.”
I swallowed. “I’m still processing everything. I lost my job two days before moving here, Nora. I need a little time.”
“A little time doesn’t pay bills,” she said with a shrug, sipping wine.
My face warmed. “I know.”
Ethan’s voice came low but firm. “Nora.”
She glanced at him, eyebrows raised.
“She just moved in,” he said. “Give her space to breathe.”
The room stilled—just a fraction—but I felt it. Something unspoken passed between them. Not affection. Not partnership. Something colder. Like two people who shared a house, not a life.
Nora rolled her eyes and turned back to me, a smile pasted on. “I’m only trying to help.”
I nodded, but my stomach tightened. Her “help” always came wrapped in judgment.
A moment later, I felt it—the pull. My eyes lifted… and collided with Ethan’s. He wasn’t even trying to look at me, yet there he was, watching quietly, like he saw more than I wanted anyone to see.
Heat crawled up my neck. I looked away fast.
Nervous, I reached for my wine glass, fingers brushing cold crystal—except it wasn’t crystal. It was Ethan.
His hand had reached for the same glass to pass it to Nora. His skin touched mine—barely, a feather-soft accident—but my breath caught and my hand froze mid-air.
A spark shot up my arm so unexpectedly, so real, I almost snatched my hand back.
Ethan paused too.
Not long. Not obvious.
Just long enough for me to feel it wasn’t my imagination.
Then he released the glass and sat back.
Nora didn’t notice. She was busy scrolling through her phone.
“So, Nancy,” she said again, tone bright, distracted. “How’s the room? I had the maid refresh everything before you came.”
“It’s lovely,” I said. “Thank you again for letting me stay.”
She waved a hand. “Family is family. Besides, Ethan insisted.” She laughed lightly. “He thought it would be… good to have someone else in the house.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
My heart did that weird flick again.
Why did that statement sound like a confession he hadn’t wanted exposed?
Nora kept talking, oblivious. “This mansion is too quiet when I’m away.”
When I’m away.
Not when we are here together.
Her marriage was starting to paint itself in strokes I couldn’t ignore.
I risked another glance at Ethan. His eyes were lowered to his plate, but his expression wasn’t cold—not right now. It was… tired. A quiet kind of tired that felt far too familiar.
Halfway through dinner, Nora’s phone rang.
“Oh! I need to take this.” She stood. “Continue without me.”
She was gone before either of us could react, heels clicking away.
Silence stretched the length of the table. I shifted in my seat, unsure if I should speak or pretend Ethan wasn’t sitting three chairs away me. I became so uncomfortable.
He broke the silence first.
“Please, don't let her actions bother you.”
I blinked. “She’s not… getting to me.”
“You’re folding your napkin into the tiniest square I’ve ever seen.”
I looked down. My napkin was indeed tightly folded to become invisible in my right fist. I exhaled, half-laughing. “Caught.”
His lips curved—just a little. Not a full smile. More like one that had forgotten how to show itself fully.
“Nora means well,” he said softly. “She just has a… sharp way of showing it.”
“Sharp is one word,” I muttered before I could stop myself.
He looked up, amused. “You can say it. She’s a lot to handle.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Has it always been like this, between both of you?”
Straight to the heart of it. I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth.
He leaned back, eyes steady on mine. “We have an understanding.”
A vague answer. A safe one. And yet, something in it felt like a truth wrapped in a lie.
Footsteps approached from the hallway—Nora returning.
Before she entered, Ethan said quietly, voice low enough to feel intimate:
“Feel free to talk to me, Nancy.”
The sound of my name in his voice did something to me. Something warm, reckless, and completely inappropriate.
I looked away as Nora reentered, laughter spilling from her lips as she ended her call.
But the air between Ethan and me had shifted.
Just slightly.
Just enough for me to know—
Something had begun.
And I didn’t know how to stop it.
- Writer
