Chapter 127: Admit The Truth

The bedroom was bathed in the soft, warm glow of the late afternoon sun filtering through the sheer curtains. The only sound in the suite was the gentle, rhythmic crashing of the ocean waves outside and the quiet breath of Chloe resting beside me.

I lay there shirtless under the cool linen sheets, staring up at the intricate patterns on the ceiling. Chloe had her arm wrapped tightly around my chest, her head nestled against my shoulder, fast asleep from the sheer exhaustion of her flight and everything that had transpired after.

I gently rested my hand over hers, running my thumb over her knuckles without waking her.

It was my first time, and the intensity of it all still lingered in the quiet air of the room. Beyond the physical rush, there was a profound sense of relief—the unspoken tension, the jealousy, and the raw vulnerability had all melted away into a deeper, unshakeable connection between us.

Every move I made in the business world was driven by logic, calculation, and strategy. But lying here in the quiet stillness of the island, holding Chloe close while she slept, I realized some things couldn’t be planned or calculated.

I took a slow, deep breath, letting the tension leave my shoulders entirely, and just enjoyed the peaceful silence of the afternoon.

Later, Chloe stirred against my side, opening her eyes with a slow, wicked smirk. She stretched like a cat, tracing a lazy line down my chest.

"That was thrilling," she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep and satisfaction. "Should we go again?"

Before I could answer, a firm, polite knock echoed through the suite’s front door.

Chloe let out a soft laugh, sitting up and pulling a silk robe over her shoulders, tying the sash tightly around her waist as I slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of dark trousers.

I walked over to the entryway and opened the door.

Standing in the hallway was Patricia. She had dropped her executive chef coat for a simple dress, but her expression was racked with nerves and visible anxiety.

"Ethan," Patricia started, her voice tight. "I... I needed to see Chloe. I couldn’t let today stand between us or leave things the way they were at the restaurant."

Chloe walked up beside me, leaning casually against the doorframe. She looked Patricia up and down with total, quiet confidence.

"I’m here, Patricia," Chloe said smoothly. "What do you want to say?"

Patricia took a deep breath, wringing her hands slightly. "I came to apologize. What happened last night... and my attitude earlier... it was wrong of me. I crossed a line with Ethan, and I disrespected you. I’m truly sorry."

Chloe stood there for a beat, watching Patricia’s genuine distress, before a calm, almost amused smile broke across her face.

"I forgive you," Chloe said easily, her tone completely relaxed. "It’s completely fine."

Patricia froze, her eyes widening in absolute stunned disbelief. "Wait... what? Just like that?"

"Just like that," Chloe said, taking a step forward. "As long as you’re honest about it. You don’t have to hide behind ’adrenaline’ or ’celebration,’ Patricia. Just admit it. You like him, don’t you?"

Patricia went completely red, her cheeks flushing crimson as she stammered, totally caught off guard by Chloe’s directness. "I—well, I... Ethan is... he saved my career, he—"

"Admit it," Chloe repeated, her voice dripping with effortless dominance.

Patricia swallowed hard, her composure completely shattering under Chloe’s gaze. "I... I love him," she confessed softly, looking down at the floor, completely flustered. "I have for a while now."

I stepped up, reaching out and gently lifting Patricia’s chin with two fingers so her eyes met mine.

"Hey," I said softly, my voice smooth and reassuring. "Look at me. There’s nothing bad about how you feel. Nobody is angry with you."

Patricia blinked, still visibly shocked by how completely unfazed Chloe was by the confession. But Chloe made her standing abundantly clear—stepping up right beside me, resting a hand on my shoulder, asserting her place as the undisputed first without needing to throw a single insult.

I reached out, wrapping one arm around Chloe’s waist and pulling Patricia in close with the other, bringing the two of them flush against me. I leaned down and kissed Chloe deeply first, letting the quiet authority of her position sink in, before turning and capturing Patricia’s lips in a slow, lingering kiss that left her entirely breathless.

I walked over to the plush velvet armchair in the corner of the suite and sat down, pulling Patricia directly onto my lap.

She sat there completely flustered, her heart racing, stammering over her own words as her mind tried to process the wildly unexpected turn the evening had taken. I gave her a calm, knowing smile, wrapped my arms around her waist, and leaned in to kiss her again—this time on my own terms—while Chloe stood by, watching with a satisfied, triumphant smile.

Chloe leaned against the mahogany dresser, swirling a glass of sparkling water, a wicked, amused glint in her eyes as she watched Patricia still trying to compose herself on my lap.

"You know," Chloe said smoothly, setting her glass down, "we should set up a dinner with the rest of the group tonight. Right here at LUMEN." She smirked, tilting her head toward Patricia. "Especially Ruby. That girl is so obsessed with Ethan, her brain is going to completely short-circuit the second she sees you sitting right next to him."

I chuckled, running a hand through my hair. "Ruby is definitely going to lose her mind."

Next week by evening, the reservation was locked in at LUMEN. I left Chloe and Patricia at the restaurant to finish coordinating the private VIP table, took the sports car, and drove down to pick up May and Ruby from their shared oceanfront villa.

May was leaning against the front porch railing when I pulled up, stretching out her calves in an effortless, athletic jumpsuit. She was fresh off a training run, her skin glowing, radiate with raw energy and that grounded, no-nonsense grit she carried everywhere. Ruby, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with theatrical excitement near the entrance, dressed in a jaw-dropping, figure-hugging velvet dress that screamed ’pop star’—her hyper-imaginative, seductive energy filling the entire driveway before she even opened her mouth.

"Ethan!" Ruby squealed, practically gliding toward the car like a siren in high heels. "I missed you so much! I was literally writing a dark romance song about you two hours ago—"

She threw her arms around my neck the second I stepped out to open the door for them. But as she pulled back, running her soft fingers lightly over my collarbone, her deep violet eyes suddenly widened.

Her gaze locked dead-center onto the dark, obvious hickey resting right on the side of my neck.

May slung her gym bag over her shoulder, stepping up to the car with a dry, amused smirk, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Ruby go completely motionless.

"Wait..." Ruby whispered, her voice dropping from high-pitched excitement into a low, intense, almost obsessive purr. Her fingers hovered an inch from the mark, her eyes flashing with a wild mix of jealousy, fascination, and sheer disbelief. "What... is that?"

May leaned in, taking a quick glance, and let out a sharp, breathless laugh, shaking her head. "Damn, Ethan. Looks like someone marked their territory pretty hard while we were gone."

Ruby’s breath hitched, her hyper-active imagination clearly running a million miles an hour as she stared at the mark, her lips parting in a sultry, dangerous smile. "Chloe did that... didn’t she? Or... did someone else try to touch what’s mine?"