CHAPTER 216: BE HONEST WITH ME

[Back inside Anna’s room]

"You didn’t have to stop. I can wait until you finish your meal," Ethan said as he settled onto the chair across from her, one leg casually crossed over the other. His gaze drifted over the table crowded with dishes before flicking back to Anna.

He had assumed she was a foodie based on her soft curves, but he hadn’t expected her to be so ravenous that she nearly choked herself earlier. The memory lingered in his mind—not in judgment, but in surprise.

"Haha... it’s fine. I’m almost done," Anna murmured, mortified that Ethan had witnessed her stuffing her face like someone who hadn’t eaten in days. At least he had been kind enough not to comment on it—or worse, give her that look.

"W-what brings you here?" she asked quickly, trying to bury her embarrassment with a smile so wide it almost reached her ears.

Ethan raised a brow. Her attempt at pretending nothing happened was almost too obvious. But to her relief, he wasn’t judging her the way she feared.

"How is Kathrine?" he asked instead, brushing aside the previous moment as if it never existed. His tone was calm, but his eyes were sharp, intent.

"Good," Anna replied with a shrug. Honestly, she had no doubts—Kathrine was always fine.

Ethan hummed thoughtfully, though Anna’s curiosity only deepened. What exactly had he been doing with Kathrine that day? And was he aware of the danger she had been in?

"Ethan, can I ask you something?" she said, her voice soft, seeking permission.

He nodded, giving her that quiet go-ahead.

"What were you doing with Kathrine at the park?" she asked casually, though her mind was far from calm.

After learning that Kathrine had been the intended target of an attack, Anna needed to know just how much Ethan had already pieced together. Had he sensed something off? Seen someone suspicious? Or was he completely unaware?

Ethan, on the other hand, recalled the day before yesterday—the very reason he had driven out to find a quiet place to clear his mind. He hadn’t expected that pursuit of peace to come with a surprise he had not been prepared for.

"I needed an escape. And the park felt like the best place to hide," Ethan said simply.

Anna’s smile faltered. Hide? From whom? His words made something uneasy curl inside her. For a moment, it felt like she wasn’t the only one carrying secrets in this room.

"Okay..." she murmured, rubbing her palms together, as if trying to smooth out the questions forming in her head. The more she probed him, the more she risked revealing things she wasn’t sure she should.

But Ethan had already noticed the shift in her.

"Is there something you want to ask?" he asked, leaning forward slightly. His tone was gentle, but it left no room for evasion.

The Anna he knew before was timid—a meek girl who needed an eternity just to voice a concern. But the woman in front of him now? She wasn’t good at hiding her thoughts at all. Her restlessness was practically vibrating off her.

"Huh?" Anna blinked, startled, as though caught in the act of thinking too loudly.

Should I involve him? He could actually help, she debated frantically. But before she could speak—

"About the accident," Ethan said quietly, "I think it was intentional."

Anna’s breath hitched.

"...You think so?"

Ethan’s brow lifted in amusement at how quickly she reacted.

"So you thought the same," he murmured, and Anna pressed her lips together, caught.

He sighed softly. "I didn’t tell you earlier because I didn’t want to worry you. But the more I thought about it... the more I realized I should be honest with you. That accident didn’t feel accidental."

His eyes darkened as he remembered. He had my eyes on Kathrine the whole time as she walked away from him. And then that car... it didn’t just pass by. It sped toward her. If she hadn’t reacted in time—if it hadn’t been for her instincts— he don’t think even I would’ve reached her in time.

A cold silence settled between them—heavy, loaded with everything unspoken.

"Ethan... can you be honest with me?" Anna asked hesitantly.

What bothered her wasn’t just the accident. It was the way Ethan seemed familiar with Kathrine—too familiar for two people who hardly knew each other. Ethan was a celebrity. Kathrine was a businesswoman. Their worlds didn’t overlap enough to justify the way they had bickered in the hospital like they’d known each other for years.

So how exactly did Ethan know her?

Ethan’s gaze sharpened, the corners of his eyes narrowing slightly as he registered the direction of Anna’s thoughts. She was sharper than he remembered. Much sharper.

He had planned to keep the blind-date fiasco a secret until his mother stopped pestering him. But now? Now Anna was already connecting dots he didn’t want anyone touching.

"Only if you will be honest with me

," he said, voice calm but layered.

Anna blinked, thrown off by the sudden shift. "What?"

But Ethan didn’t elaborate. Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and swiped across the screen before turning it toward her.

Displayed was a photo.

"This man with you..." Ethan’s tone was cool and probing. "Is he Daniel Clafford?"

Anna: "..."

Her breath caught. Her heart actually stumbled.

Because she didn’t know what was worse—the fact that Ethan recognized Daniel or the fact that he was asking with the certainty of someone who had been trying to confirm it for a while.

Anna stared at Ethan, waiting... hoping he was joking. But jokes were practically extinct in Ethan’s dictionary, and the unwavering seriousness in his eyes only tightened the knot in her stomach.

"Yes," she finally admitted.

Ethan nodded slowly, as if her answer only confirmed what he already knew.

"No wonder I recognized him so easily," he murmured, almost to himself.

Anna’s brows pulled together. "Wait—what do you mean? How did you recognize him?"

Ethan exhaled, leaning back slightly as the memory replayed in his mind.

When he left the hospital last night, all he saw was a car—sleek, black, unmistakably expensive—parked a little too far yet close enough to be waiting for someone. At the time, Ethan ignored it. But then the photo surfaced... and he couldn’t ignore the matching clues. Anna’s clothes. Daniel’s expression. His purpose being there.

"Because he was waiting outside the hospital after I left," Ethan said simply.

"!!!"

Anna’s breath froze. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the bedsheet.

Daniel... had been there?

Watching? Waiting? The realization hit her like a wave—warm, questioning, and overwhelming all at once.