96| Ethan's Secret

Ethan remembered the first day he saw Sophie Miller.

She was crouched over a patch of plants, her delicate fingers brushing over ruined leaves, sadness shadowing her face. The storm that had swept through the area had destroyed nearly everything, and yet—she still searched for something to save.

Something about that moment stirred something unfamiliar in his chest.

Then, just as suddenly, she beamed.

Her smile was so bright it nearly outshone the sun.

She pointed excitedly at a single flower that had somehow survived the storm, her entire face lighting up like she'd just discovered something magical.

At that moment, Ethan wondered what it would feel like to be smiled at like that.

In his family, no one ever smiled.

Especially not at him.

But he didn't have to wonder for long.

Because then—she turned her head, noticed him standing there, and grinned with that same radiant smile.

His cheeks flushed.

"One of the flowers survived!" she said cheerfully, as if that small victory was the most wonderful thing in the world.

Ethan hesitated.

Was she... talking to him?

He turned to check, expecting her to be speaking to someone else.

But she wasn't.

She was looking right at him.

His heart skipped a beat.

He nodded—awkwardly, stiffly—barely managing to meet her gaze. But she didn't seem bothered by his lack of response.

She simply turned her attention back to the plants, leaving him standing there, captivated.

And from that day forward, Ethan's eyes always seemed to find her.

In class, he'd catch glimpses of her during English, the breeze teasing strands of golden hair through the open windows.

He noticed the way her face lit up when she laughed with her friends.

The way her brows furrowed in deep concentration whenever she tended to the school garden.

He noticed everything.

Their high school was a prestigious private academy—one that prioritized academics over everything else.

Just the way his father liked it.

But amid the suffocating pressure of rigorous schedules and the endless private tutoring sessions his father forced on him—

Sophie became his one source of peace.

Every morning, he found himself drawn to the school garden, where she worked with quiet determination, humming softly as she nurtured the flowers.

Ethan would take a book and sit just near the garden, pretending to read.

He never remembered the words on the page.

But he remembered everything about her.

Then, fate intervened.

They were paired together for a school project and for the first time, he had an excuse to be near her.

Sophie always had something to say—about the project, about her day, about something as simple as the changing weather.

Her voice filled the space effortlessly, as if she hated the idea of silence.

But for Ethan, words didn't come easily to him.

He was as antisocial as they came, and conversation—real conversation—was never something he excelled at.

Yet Sophie never seemed to mind.

She never grew frustrated when he stayed quiet or when his words came out uneven, stumbling over his own thoughts.

She just kept talking, filling the space between them with warmth, like she was letting him borrow some of her light.

What baffled him the most was how easily she made him lose his composure.

Around others, he was stoic and controlled, but with her—every thought vanished.

Words would stick in his throat, and for the first time in his life, he found himself at a loss.

He still remembered the day she confessed to him—in the quiet of the library, surrounded by the scent of old books and the hush of turning pages.

The way she looked at him with those warm, honest eyes and said, "Ethan, I like you."

The words had knocked the air out of him.

For a moment, he'd frozen, unsure if he'd heard her correctly.

How could someone like Sophie—so full of life, so effortlessly captivating—possibly like someone like him?

She was everything he wasn't. Light where he was shadow. Warmth where he was cold.

And yet...

It was in that moment he finally understood what had been gnawing at him for weeks, months even.

Like.

That's what this was—

Why his heart raced whenever he saw her.

Why her voice echoed in his mind long after their conversations had ended.

Why he found himself holding onto the smallest moments they shared.

He liked her.

Of course, he did.

But the realization only brought pain.

But the realization only brought pain. He couldn't say it back—not because he didn't feel the same, but because he couldn't.

Not with his father looming over every aspect of his life.

If Robert found out Ethan had feelings for a girl—let alone acted on them—he wouldn't hesitate to tear her life apart.

Just as he'd done to others before.

Ethan had seen it firsthand—how his father's power could crush anyone in his way.

So, even though his chest ached and his heart screamed at him to speak the truth—

He forced out the coldest words he could muster.

He rejected her.

And when she blinked at him, her bright eyes filling with tears, he hated himself more than he ever thought possible.

He wanted to take it all back.

Wanted to reach out and tell her the truth.

But he didn't.

He couldn't.

Instead, he watched her turn away, leaving him alone in the quiet library with nothing but the crushing weight of his own cowardice.

For weeks after, he found himself staring at a photograph he'd kept—a group picture from a school event.

There were others in the frame, but somehow, he'd managed to crop it just right so it looked like it was only the two of them.

He would hold it in his hands, tracing her face with his thumb, and wonder what might have been...

If he'd just been brave enough to say—

"I like you too."

After high school, they went their separate ways.

Ethan heard through the grapevine that Sophie had gotten into a good college—far from his own. He told himself it was for the best.

And he tried to move on.

College gave him a sense of freedom he'd never known before—freedom from his father's grip. He made new friends, including David, who often tried to set him up with women.

Ethan always turned him down.

One night, David had laughed, shaking his head.

"Do you have some secret love you're waiting for or something?" he teased.

Ethan smirked, brushing it off.

But the question lingered.

Was he waiting for Sophie?

He hated to admit it, even to himself, but the truth was undeniable.

He thought of her often.

He convinced himself she would meet someone kind. Someone who could love her properly—someone who wasn't him.

Sophie deserved a good man.

Not a broken one.

Years passed.

But Sophie never really left his mind.

One day, on a crowded street, he caught a glimpse of her.

Just a fleeting moment.

A blur of golden hair, a soft laugh carried by the wind.

But it was enough to make his heart ache.

She hadn't changed—still radiant, still beautiful.

And in that instant, he knew.

He would never truly get over her.

He resisted the urge to find out more, telling himself it wasn't his place.

Could he even love her the right way if they met again?

Yet, despite his resolve, he found himself watching.

Every time he left his office, his eyes scanned the streets, hoping for another glimpse of her. Some days, he was lucky. From the large window in his office, he'd catch sight of her—always moving, always graceful, always busy. And each time, he'd curse himself for not having the courage to chase after her.

Then came the arranged marriage. A proposal he'd never expected.

Sophie's family had fallen from wealth. Her father, once a successful businessman, had stepped down from his thriving company to open a flower shop. Ethan's father had scoffed at the decision, calling it foolish—trading financial success for a "useless hobby."

And yet, Robert Sinclair had allowed the arrangement.

Ethan's first instinct had been to refuse.

He didn't want Sophie to feel trapped in a marriage she didn't want. He even considered paying off her family's debts anonymously, just to spare her from this.

But then he saw her again.

After years of silence, he stood before her once more.

And everything changed.

He'd been prepared to tell her he couldn't marry her. He'd rehearsed the words in his head, ready to set her free. But then, she smiled at him.

That same smile.

Bright. Warm. Unrelenting.

"I want to continue to be myself," she had said.

And that's all he had ever wanted for her—to never change. To remain carefree, joyful, untouched by the weight of the world.

But even he knew that wouldn't be possible under the crushing debt she carried.

At least, that's the excuse he told himself.

Maybe he could help her financially. Maybe this was his way of repaying the kindness she had always shown him.

But deep down, he knew the truth.

The selfish part of him just wanted to be near her.

So, all the reasons he should have walked away faded in that moment. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered.

And why—why did she have to smile at him like that?

How was he supposed to ignore her?

She was his sunshine.

The light he didn't even know he needed.

When she told him she loved him, he had said he wanted to wait—

To say those words when he felt worthy of her love.

But the truth was, he had always been in love with her.

From the first day he'd seen her crouched over those storm-damaged plants, she had stolen his heart.

Sophie had been the one constant in his life.

The one thing he had loved without hesitation.

Unlike the love he had fought so hard to earn from his parents—

Loving Sophie had never hurt.

Even when it was one-sided, it had never brought him pain.

Only peace.

He didn't just love her.

He loved the things she loved.

Her family.

Her flower shop.

Her passions. Her kindness. Her strength.

No.

He loved everything about her.

Everything she was.

Everything she was going to be.

And he wanted to love her for eternity.

In every universe, in every lifetime—she would always be the center of his world.

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