bChapter /bb340 /b

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Ethan sat on the edge of my sofa, his attention fixed on my phone as he swiped through the photos. His expression shifted subtly with each image, a mixture of curiosity and something deeper I couldn’t quite name.

‘This is you in Russia,” he said, holding up the phone to show me a photo of Shadow–my former self–lounging on a plush sofa in a private vi. In the next photo, I was wrapped in a silk robe, a ss of whiskey in hand, my expression rxed and unguarded.

“Did Night take all these?” Ethan asked, his tone carefully neutral.

I nodded, still scrolling through messages on my new phone. “Yes.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Night clearly has strong feelings toward me. If he found out this isn’t one–sided, he’d probably kill me.”

I looked up from my phone, meeting his eyes. “Night doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for me.”

“How could that…” Ethan started, then stopped himself. “But he clearly… I mean, the way he looks at you, the way he acts around you. Perhaps it was because of Dusk’s presence? That would make sense, but only while Dusk was alive. And now that Dusk is gone…”

“If he had those kinds of feelings for me,” I exined, “I wouldn’t allow him to be so casual with me or have such deep connections.”

I set my phone down. “When we first met, he was interested in me romantically. He’s quite skilled with women and did try to pursue me.”

“Butter, I think he realized friendshipsts longer than romance, so he abandoned the idea.”

Ethan’s expression rxed slightly. “So he sees you as a friend? A sister? Family?”

“All of the above,” I confirmed. “The man’s possessive by nature. If you got close with Chris Jensen, he’d be jealous of that too. That’s just how he is. He simply doesn’t like you, and it’s because of me.”

Relief washed over Ethan’s face. Not a romantic rival–that was clearly good news to him.

“Then I’ll try to be more tolerant of him,” he said, his voice lighter.

I shook my head. “Don’t tolerate him. If you don’t like him, fight him. No need to take his shit.”

“I just don’t want to put you in a difficult position.”

“As long as nobody dies, it’s fine,” I said with a shrug.

Ethan continued scrolling through the photos, then asked, “How did you two meet?b” /b

“I had a small conflict with his 791 Group,” I exined. “When he heard I was a woman and ‘not bad looking,‘ he put out a Russia–wide

search for me.”

Ethan’s expression shifted. “Not bad looking? Miss Morgan, you’re being modest.” His eyebrow raised. “And was it really just a small

conflict?”

10:37 Fri, bOct /bb3 /b…

“Don’t interrupt,” I warned.

He nodded slightly. “Continue.”

:

277.J

“He’s into car racing and had a pretty good team. They all lost to me in one race. I won five hundred million from him–bin /bUS dors.”

“Later, his father suffered a sudden illnessplicated by an old condition. I performed the surgery, and that’s when we officially met.”

Ethan nodded thoughtfully. “What about Chris Jensen? How did you meet himb?/b”

“Chris and Night have known each other for over twenty years. They grew up together. Chris went to school in Russia, and when Night transferred to France in middle school to live with his grandmother, Chris followed him.”

I continued, “But I didn’t meet Chris because of Night. The first time I saw him, the greatwyer was in the middle of killing someone.”

Ethan leaned forward slightly. “There’s more?”

I looked at him. “I’ll tell you next time.”

“All right,” Ethan agreed with a smile, returning his attention to my phone. He paused when he came across a short video.

In the footage, I descended from the second floor to the first. Night’s voice came through clearly, calling me “baby” repeatedly, his chatter non–stop. The background revealed a high–tech vi built by the sea.

“Is this your house?” Ethan asked, holding up the video.

“Ever heard of ‘Smart Ark‘?” I replied. “It’s made headlines several times and won multiple architectural design awards.” Not that I’d bothered to collect them.

“That seaside vi is yours?” Ethan’s eyes widened slightly. The vi was famous in architectural circles worldwide.

“I’ll take you there sometime,” I offered.

“I’d like that,” he said simply.

I felt fatigue settling into my bones. “Are you going to keep looking, or are you done?”

Ethan looked up at me, his voice softening. “Tired?”

I nodded. “Are you sleeping downstairsi?/i”

“Yes,” he confirmed.

He stood up. “Let me help you fasten your bra.”

“No need,” I said. fne087 The source of th?s content is Find?Novel/fne087

Ethan misunderstood my meaning. “bI /bshould help. It must be difficult for you to manage on your own.”

I looked up at him expressionlessly. “I sleep without it.”

His face colored slightly before he asked with sudden watiness, “Night won’te to wake you up tomorrow morning, will hap

“He wouldn’t dare,” I assured him.

I’lle back tomorrow night to apply your medication,” he said.

1 didn’t respond directly. “Take a bottle of this cream for yourself. And I will send those photos to you,”

Ethan nced at his palm with its several knife scars. “Thanks.”

He took the medicine, then leaned down and pressed a light kiss against my cheek. “Goodnight.”

The next morning, I was heading downstairs when I encountered Chris in the hallway.

“Did you tell him?” Chris asked without preamble, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

I didn’t need to ask what he meant. “That I’m Shadow? Yes.”

Chris’s expression remained neutral. “I see. And how did he take it?”

“Better than expected.”

A knowing smile yed at the corner of his mouth. “How far have things progressed between you two?”

I shot him an unimpressed look. “That’s none of your business.”

“Just curious,” Chris shrugged, falling into step beside me as we headed downstairs. “Night’s going to lose his mind when he finds out.”

“Night doesn’t get a vote.”

“And Ethan? Is he…” Chris hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “Pushing things?”

“Quite the opposite. He’s almost frustratingly traditional.”

Chris chuckled. “A gentleman. How boring.”

“By the way,” he continued, “you should respond to the Astor siblings when you have time. Every time you disappear, Eleanor Astor contacts me on her brother’s behalf.”

“Have you made it clear to her?” I asked.

“Still looking for the right opportunity,” Chris sighed. “She hasn’t explicitly expressed interest in meb, /bso I don’t even have a chance to reject her.”

“If you’re not interested, just tell her you don’t like women,” I suggested.

We were halfway down the stairs when we heard movement below. Ethan emerged from his room, dressed casually but immactely in dark jeans and a gray henley thatplemented his athletic build. He looked up, his eyes immediately finding mine.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice still carrying traces of sleep. His gaze shifted to Chris, and he acknowledged him with a slight nod.

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