107 - The Threat That Failed
The foyer had gone strangely quiet.
Scarlett stood a few steps from the door, her suitcase leaning against her leg. The handle dug into her palm, but she didn't let go. She wasn't sure what she would do if she did.
Across the room, Ethan was watching her.
Not Catherine. Not Andrian.
Just her.
"Scarlett," he said again, a little softer this time.
The sound of her name did something odd to her chest, like a knot loosening and tightening at the same time.
For a moment she simply stared at him.
Then something in her face must have cracked, because Ethan crossed the space between them in three long strides.
He stopped close. Close enough that she could smell the faint, clean scent of his cologne mixed with cold night air from outside.
His hands came up without hesitation and framed her face.
Scarlett blinked.
His palms were warm. Slightly rough. One of his thumbs brushed under her eye and came away damp.
Apparently she'd been crying again.
She hadn't even noticed.
Ethan frowned faintly, like that detail annoyed him.
"I should have said it sooner," he said quietly.
His voice wasn't smooth the way it usually was in meetings or interviews. It sounded tired. A little rough around the edges.
"But I'm not a man who plays with words."
He let out a slow breath through his nose.
"I thought protecting you was enough. Keeping you here. Making sure no one could touch you." His thumb traced the path of another tear almost absently. "I thought you'd... figure it out."
Scarlett's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Her brain was still stuck somewhere around Did he just run in here for me?
"I was wrong," Ethan added.
The words landed softly, but they carried weight.
Scarlett's pulse started racing, so hard it made her chest ache.
For months she'd imagined him saying something like this.
Not exactly this—she'd never managed to picture Ethan Blackwood fumbling through a confession—but something close.
Still, Catherine's voice crept through the back of her mind like smoke.
He'll choose his empire.
When everything burns, he'll hate you.
Scarlett shook her head quickly. A small, broken sob slipped out before she could stop it.
"You don't understand," she said hoarsely. "It's not that simple."
Ethan stepped closer.
There really wasn't any space between them now.
His forehead rested lightly against hers. For a second neither of them spoke. They just stood there breathing the same air while the foyer clock ticked quietly somewhere behind them.
"It is that simple," he said.
His voice dropped lower.
"I don't care about Catherine."
A pause.
"I don't care about the business."
His chest rose sharply like the words had taken more effort than he expected.
"And I sure as hell don't care about this empire if it means losing you."
Scarlett felt something in her ribs tighten.
"Do you hear me?" he asked.
Not loudly. Just... firmly.
"I love you."
The sentence didn't sound rehearsed.
If anything, it sounded like he'd dragged it out of himself.
Each word came slower.
"Nothing is bigger than that."
Scarlett inhaled sharply.
For a moment she just searched his face.
She knew Ethan's usual expressions—the calm strategist, the untouchable CEO, the man who never looked rattled by anything.
But the man standing in front of her looked different.
His hair was slightly out of place, like he'd run a hand through it too many times. His tie hung loose. There was a crease between his brows that hadn't been there this morning.
He looked... human.
"Ethan..." she whispered.
He pulled her into his arms before she could say anything else.
The hug wasn't elegant.
It was tight. Almost desperate.
His chin brushed her hair.
"I can live without my empire," he murmured.
The words vibrated faintly against her temple.
Then, quieter—
"But I can't live without you."
Scarlett's fingers twisted into the front of his shirt.
For one reckless second she almost believed everything could just... stop here. No contracts. No threats. No Catherine.
Just this.
But Catherine's warning returned.
If you stay, everything burns.
Scarlett swallowed.
"It's because of Catherine."
Ethan went still.
The shift was subtle but immediate. His arms loosened slightly as he leaned back enough to see her face.
"What did you say?"
"She found the contract," Scarlett said.
Her voice trembled despite her best effort.
"She said if I told you... if I stayed..." Scarlett hesitated, trying to steady her breathing. "She'd leak it. To the media. To everyone."
Ethan's expression sharpened.
Scarlett forced herself to keep going.
"She said your empire would collapse." Her throat tightened. "And that you'd hate me for it."
Silence followed.
Not the dramatic kind.
Just a heavy pause while Ethan processed the information.
Scarlett suddenly became very aware of how tightly she was gripping his shirt.
"I didn't want to believe her," she said quickly. "But what if she's right? What if everything falls apart because of me?"
Ethan inhaled slowly.
His thumb brushed her cheek again. This time the movement was a little rougher.
"Listen to me."
His voice dropped.
"I don't give a damn about her threats."
Scarlett blinked.
"I don't give a damn about that contract either."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"The only thing I care about—"
His voice caught.
Just for a second.
"—is you."
Scarlett hadn't expected that crack.
It startled her enough that her tears slowed.
Ethan stepped back half a step so he could look at her properly.
"So Catherine thinks she can use you to break me," he said.
There was a faint curve to his mouth, though it wasn't humor.
"She has absolutely no idea who she's dealing with."
Behind them, Catherine shifted impatiently.
"Oh please," she muttered. "Are we finished with the dramatic declarations?"
Ethan didn't even glance at her.
Scarlett wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. Her fingers felt cold.
For the first time in days, the tight pressure in her chest eased slightly.
Because Ethan wasn't angry at her.
If anything...
He looked furious on her behalf.
And that, strangely enough, was a little terrifying.
Catherine folded her arms.
"Lovely speech, Ethan," she said. "Very heartfelt. But unfortunately we're dealing with reality."
Ethan finally turned his head.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.
"You've said enough already."
Catherine smiled thinly.
"Oh? I don't think so."
She lifted her phone slightly.
"This contract goes public, your board will tear you apart. Investors will panic. Regulators will start asking questions." She tilted her head. "All because you decided to marry someone in secret."
Scarlett felt Ethan's hand settle lightly at the small of her back.
Not gripping. Just there.
Grounding.
"I told you," Ethan said calmly, "I don't care."
"You will," Catherine replied. "When the empire you spent your life building collapses."
Andrian shifted awkwardly near the staircase.
"Maybe we should all calm down—"
"No one asked you," Catherine snapped.
He shut up immediately.
Ethan watched her for another quiet second.
Then he spoke.
"You're not leaking anything."
Catherine laughed.
"And how exactly are you planning to stop me?"
Ethan slid his hand into his coat pocket.
For a moment Scarlett thought he might actually pull out his phone.
Instead, he pulled out a folded piece of paper.
He held it up between two fingers.
Catherine's smile faded slightly.
"Recognize this?" Ethan asked.
Scarlett frowned.
It looked like... another contract.
Catherine's eyes narrowed.
"What is that?"
Ethan unfolded the paper slowly.
"The document transferring your voting shares to the family trust."
Catherine went very still.
"You signed it last quarter," Ethan continued mildly. "Remember? You were in such a hurry you barely read the amendments."
Scarlett looked between them.
Catherine's expression had turned dangerously sharp.
"You altered the clause," she said.
"I clarified it."
Ethan's tone stayed calm.
"Which means if you attempt to publicly damage the company or its leadership—"
He tapped the paper lightly.
"—you lose everything."
For once, Catherine didn't have a quick response.
Andrian blinked.
"Wait... seriously?"
Ethan ignored him.
Catherine stared at the document.
Then at Ethan.
"You planned this."
"Of course I did."
The honesty in his voice was almost casual.
For a moment no one spoke.
Then Catherine let out a small, humorless laugh.
"Well," she said. "That's irritating."
Scarlett couldn't help it.
A tiny, disbelieving breath escaped her.
Ethan glanced sideways at her.
"Something funny?"
She wiped under her eye again.
"I just—" she sniffed. "I thought everything was about to collapse."
"It still might," he said.
Scarlett blinked.
"That's not comforting."
Ethan's mouth twitched faintly.
"Honesty rarely is."
For the first time that night, the tension in the room loosened just a little.
Scarlett realized she was still barefoot.
The marble floor was freezing.
Her toes curled again.
Ethan noticed.
Without comment, he slid off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.
It was far too big.
Scarlett looked up at him.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
They stood there for a second.
Not kissing. Not arguing.
Just... standing.
And somehow that quiet moment felt just as important as everything that had come before.