Chapter 7

I rushed home.

I sat on the sofa flipping through the photos — equal parts furious and exhilarated.

Furious that someone this lucky had someone as good as Ethan, and didn't care.

Exhilarated because I was about to expose her right in front of him.

He'd break things off with her for sure. He had to.

Just then, the front lock turned.

Ethan walked in.

He saw me and looked mildly surprised. "You're back?"

"Yeah!"

I nodded, my excitement bleeding into my voice before I even realized it.

"Ethan, come sit. I need to tell you something serious. Brace yourself."

He gave me a strange look, let himself be pulled to the sofa.

"What is it..."

"Look—"

I held up my phone.

"The woman you've been seeing? The one you're considering marrying? She's not only seeing you."

"..."

Something flickered across his face. A faint shadow — almost like disappointment — passed through his expression and vanished just as quickly.

I was baffled.

What did he think I was about to say?

"Ethan?"

He still hadn't reacted. I waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hm?"

He came back to himself.

He looked at me, his gaze slowly sharpening. Then his expression shifted into something that felt almost... pressuring.

"Zoe — how do you know she's my blind date? You two haven't met."

Oh no.

My ears rang.

I'd been so caught up in the excitement of having this to show him that I'd completely forgotten — Ethan didn't know I'd seen them at the karaoke lounge.

I couldn't say that. It would expose the location tracking app.

My pulse spiked.

But I didn't even pause long enough to let the panic show.

"Don't you remember? You showed me a photo of her."

He frowned. "I don't remember doing that."

"You did. You just don't remember because you'd had too much to drink that night."

I let it sit for a beat, then pivoted hard.

"But is that even the point? The point is she's playing you. Isn't that what matters?"

Ethan stared at me.

He didn't answer right away. Something shifted behind his eyes — a stillness on the surface, but underneath, something slow and formless turning.

After a long, long moment — long enough that I started to feel the quiet pressing in — he finally spoke.

He looked down. "One photo doesn't prove anything. That man could easily be a relative. A brother, a cousin..."

A relative? What relative?

"Have you ever seen adults that age who don't bother keeping their distance from a relative?

"And for that matter — are we not close? Would you share a bite of my ice cream right now?"

Ethan went quiet.

I thought I'd gotten through to him.

Then he opened his mouth, and my vision went dark.

"I trust her."

"I don't!"

The words shot out of me.

"Call her right now. Send her the photo. Get her on video and confront her."

Another silence.

He tilted his head back and pressed his fingers hard against his forehead — the gesture of someone utterly exhausted.

"Zoe, we're adults. Let's not make a scene."

"But she's cheating on you!"

I couldn't understand what had gotten into him.

"You're planning to marry her, and she doesn't even take you seriously. If she's like this now — after the wedding, it'll only get worse. You'll never be happy."

Just picturing it made something tight squeeze around my lungs.

But Ethan only sighed, patient and measured.

"Technically, we haven't made anything official. We're just getting to know each other with the intention of marriage. So right now, who she's close with is her business.

"I believe that once we're actually married, she'll understand the importance of boundaries."

What?

Jealousy sank its teeth into my chest.

I pointed at him, my fingertip trembling with barely contained anger.

"How can you—how can you just—"

I had a hundred things I wanted to say, none of them kind. But I looked at him, and I couldn't get a single harsh word out.

All I managed was:

"How can you be so completely unreasonable?"