Chapter 4 - THE GLASS TOWER
The penthouse was a palace of glass and steel.
It overlooked the park,
the trees looking like tiny green specks below.
Ethan led Maya through the rooms,
showing her the guest wing.
“This is yours,”
he said.
“There’s a studio at the end of the hall.”
She walked to the window,
staring out at the view.
“It’s beautiful,”
she said.
“It’s a long way up,”
he noted.
“I like it,”
she said.
“It’s quiet here.”
Ethan watched her move through the space.
She seemed to fit,
her presence softening the sharp edges of the room.
He had lived here alone for five years.
He had liked the solitude.
But now,
the silence felt different.
It felt like an invitation.
Over the next week,
they fell into a rhythm.
Ethan would go to work,
but he would come home early.
They would eat dinner on the terrace,
talking about everything and nothing.
He found himself wanting to impress her.
He found himself wanting to make her laugh.
He stopped being the cold CEO.
He started being a man who was falling in love.
But Maya was guarded.
She was grateful,
yes.
She was kind,
yes.
But there was a distance she wouldn't let him cross.
“I’ve never done this before,”
she told him one night.
“What?”
“Lived like this.”
“Being cared for.”
“It’s scary,”
she said.
“Why?”
“Because I don't want to lose myself in your world.”
Ethan stood up and walked to her.
He took her hands in his.
“You won't lose yourself,”
he said.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
He felt the pulse in her wrist,
fast and erratic.
He leaned in,
his forehead touching hers.
“Maya,”
he whispered.
She closed her eyes,
leaning into him.
He wanted to kiss her,
to claim her.
But he remembered her fragility.
He remembered the hospital bed.
He pulled back,
slowly.
“Sleep well,”
he said.
He walked to his own room,
his body thrumming with desire.
He was a man who took what he wanted.
But with Maya,
he wanted to be given.
He wanted her to choose him.
He sat at his desk,
trying to work.
But the numbers were just lines on a page.
The only thing that was real was the girl in the next room.
The girl with the amber eyes and the broken past.
He realized he was in deep.
Deeper than he had ever been.
And there was no way out.
He looked at the contract on his desk.
A merger with a rival firm.
It was the deal of a lifetime.
But it required him to be cold.
It required him to be the old Ethan Vale.
He picked up a pen and hesitated.
Then he set it down.
May you like
The world could wait.
Maya couldn't.
