The next morning, I met Ethan in the dining room.
I didn’t know when he returned. Not that he was obligated to inform me of his whereabouts.
“Have you seen the news online?” he asked.
As his clear voice reached my ears, I paused in the midst of sipping my milk and looked up at him.
“What news?” I pretended to be unaware.
His gaze lingered scrutinizingly on my expression. Then, he said nonchalantly, “It’s nothing. Just some boring, baseless news.”
I let out a soft hum in response. As I lowered my eyes, my eyelashes cast a shadow over my eyes, hiding the swirling emotions within. I continued having my breakfast.
After some time, Ethan spoke again. “I guess it’s a good thing that you didn’t see them.”
His deep voice seemed to be tinged with mixed feelings, which I had difficulty distinguishing.
He seemed relieved yet somehow disappointed.
My heart clenched.
Perhaps he was hoping I would cause a fuss over the incident so that he could go with the flow and suggest that we break our mate bond.
With that, he could then get rid of me, a burden cast onto him by the older generation.
I thought that by being silent and submissive, I’d be able to stay by his side for a bit longer.
Yet, I forgot that no matter how hard I strived, I could never keep what wasn’t mine in the first place.
âŠ
“Thanks for meeting me today.”
Across from me sat the highly sought-after healer as of now, Sophia.
