Chapter 9 - The Billionaire Asked Me to Stay, but I Refused Until He Told Me the One Truth He Had Been Afraid to SayEverything changed after the arrests.
I was no longer homeless.
I had a home.
A bank account.
A future.
But I felt strange.
I had spent so long surviving that being safe felt unfamiliar.
Ethan's father found me on the balcony.
“Leaving?”
“Maybe.”
“Where will you go?”
“I don't know.”
He nodded.
“You don't owe me anything.”
“I know.”
“I don't expect you to stay.”
I looked at him.
“Then why ask?”
He hesitated.
“Because I want you to.”
My heart tightened.
“Why?”
He looked at the city.
“Because when I first saw you, you were wearing nothing but a torn coat.”
I laughed.
“You mean your coat.”
“Yes.”
“You gave it to me.”
“I did.”
“I still have it.”
He smiled.
“I know.”
“How?”
“I see it sometimes.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because it reminds me what you did.”
“What?”
“You gave your only coat to my son.”
I looked down.
“I couldn't let him freeze.”
He stepped closer.
“I couldn't let you disappear.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
His voice became quiet.
“Because I think I fell in love with you.”
I stopped breathing.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
“That sounds familiar.”
He smiled.
“I've been practicing.”
I laughed.
Then he offered his hand.
May you like
“Stay.”
I took it.
Related Stories
