Chapter 3

Ethan had a barrage of questions, all tinged with hurt and confusion.

I froze. This wasn't what I expected at all. No scheming, and he actually seemed kind of pitiful.

"She's gone," Ethan said, his voice sounding tired. "I've been searching for her all night."

Irene was still keeping up the act. "Seriously? She ran away? Where could she possibly go?"

'Oh, you idiot, obviously she's with me,' Irene thought, rolling her eyes internally.

I shot Irene a silent thumbs-up. Honestly, Irene deserved an Oscar for that performance.

Ethan's worried thoughts kept spilling out on the other end of the call.

Ethan thought, 'She barely has any money, and her phone's about to die. It's way too dangerous for a girl to be out there alone.

'What if she runs into some creep? What if something bad happens? No, I need to find her, and fast.'

His thoughts were just full of worry and panic.

I was totally lost for a second. I thought he was a creep who wanted to lock me up. Why did he sound like a worried brother afraid his sister had gone missing?

No, that couldn't be right. Ethan must be putting on an act.

Creeps like him always had layers. He was just playing the caring brother to throw me off guard, then he would hit me with whatever twisted scheme he planned.

The more I dwelled on it, the more sure I was. That tiny flicker of doubt I had? Gone, just like that.

Irene hung up and shot me a mischievous wink.

"Done. I told him I'd help you hunt for her tomorrow too," she said, grinning.

"Thanks, Irene," I said, genuinely grateful.

Irene waved it off, grabbing her phone. "No need to thank me. Come on, let me carry you to the top."

I asked, "Wait, what?"

Irene grinned and replied, "Gaming, obviously. What else are we supposed to do? It's a long night. We need some fun."

So while Ethan was practically turning the whole city upside down looking for me, I was busy dominating King's Canyon with Irene by my side.

*****

The next morning, I woke up in Irene's bed. We'd stayed up so late gaming that she just let me crash with her.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, warming the room.

I stretched, feeling like I hadn't slept this soundly in ages.

"Up already?" Irene called out, emerging from the bathroom with dark circles under her eyes. "Come on, get dressed. I'm taking you shopping."

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked, still half-asleep.

Irene said with a grin, "The mall, duh. Judging by your luggage, you look like you made a run for it and brought nothing. Today, I'm gonna let you taste the joys of being loaded."

I quickly waved my hands. "No way, I can't spend your money."

Irene replied with a sly grin, "It's not my money. It's Ethan's."

She waved her phone, showing me a screenshot of a successful application for a Black Card's secondary card.

"He set it up for me in the middle of the night, told me to 'take care of myself and grab a few things for you too.' Talk about obvious intentions," Irene said, rolling her eyes.

I stared at the card, and Ethan's words echoed in my head, 'With my money, she belongs to me.'

I instinctively took a step back, my guard going up.

"No, I don't want it!" I blurted out.

"Yes, you do." Irene insisted, shoving her phone into my hand. "If you don't take advantage of a good deal, you're an idiot. Come on, today's mission is to max out this card!"

Irene hauled me off to the most luxurious mall downtown. And just like that, we ran smack into Ethan.

He was standing outside a women's boutique, two bodyguards at his side, his aura so intense that nobody dared come within ten feet of him.

I freaked out and tried to make a run for it, but Irene grabbed me before I could escape.

"Why are you running? Feeling guilty or just scared?" Irene snickered.

"I..." I stammered, not knowing what to say.

Ethan had already seen us. He strode over, closing the gap in a few long steps.

I was so nervous that my palms were sweating, and I instinctively hid behind Irene.

Ethan looked right at me, his brows drawing together.

He thought, 'Why is she wearing Irene's clothes? And pink, of all colors? That doesn't suit her. She should be in red, like a rose.

'She's gotten even skinnier. Is she not eating right? I need to feed her more. If she puts on some weight, she won't be able to run off so easily.'

Listening to his nonstop inner rambling, I felt completely numb.

He wanted to fatten up so I wouldn't be able to run off... So he really hadn't dropped that twisted scheme!

"Hey, Ethan, fancy running into you!" Irene grinned, flashing him a cheeky smile.

Ethan replied curtly, "Not a coincidence. I came to pick you girls up."

He glanced at me and added, "To pick you up."

"Nope, not happening!" I mustered up some courage and poked my head out from behind Irene.

Ethan's expression fell instantly.

'She really hates me. Am I really that scary to her? That stings. Feels like needles in my heart,' Ethan winced inwardly.

For a moment, his tall figure actually looked kind of... sorrow?

I must be losing it. Why did I actually feel bad for him?

"Ethan, don't freak her out," Irene said, trying to lighten the mood. "We're just shopping. Wanna tag along?"