Chapter 4 - THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WAS NEVER ABOUT LOVE
Victoria Haynes didn't disappear quietly.
Three days after Ethan ended their engagement, she appeared on the front page of a society magazine.
The headline accused Ethan of humiliating her over a household employee.
I stared at the article.
My stomach tightened.
The photograph showed Victoria crying outside a restaurant.
The caption described her as the abandoned fiancée of New York's most powerful businessman.
There was no mention of Lily.
No mention of the shove.
No mention of the bruised wrist.
Just Victoria.
The victim.
Ethan found me reading it.
"Don't."
I looked up.
"Don't what?"
"Let her get inside your head."
I laughed bitterly.
"Easy for you to say."
He sat beside me.
"Rosa."
I looked at him.
"She's going to make people hate us."
His expression hardened.
"Then she'll be disappointed."
I shook my head.
"You don't understand."
He studied me.
"I understand more than you think."
I swallowed.
"People already think I came here to trap you."
His face changed.
"Who said that?"
I looked away.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
I sighed.
"Ethan, I don't want you threatening anyone."
He nodded.
"I won't."
I looked at him.
"Promise?"
He held my gaze.
"Promise."
That evening, Ethan released a public statement.
It was brief.
He confirmed the engagement had ended.
He asked the press to respect the privacy of everyone involved.
And he made one thing clear.
He would not discuss a child in public.
Victoria was furious.
She called him repeatedly.
He didn't answer.
Then she sent a message.
You have no idea what you're protecting.
Ethan read it twice.
May you like
His expression changed.
And for the first time, I wondered whether Victoria knew something about the threats that had driven me away.
