Chapter 5 - The Glass Fortress
The weeks turned into months,
and my life became a symphony of spreadsheets,
lectures,
and the quiet,
steady presence of Ethan.
I had moved from the guest suite into a small but luxurious apartment in the Gold Coast,
a place Ethan insisted on providing until I was "on my feet."
I worked ten hours a day at the logistics firm,
then spent another four studying for my business degree.
The bruises had long since vanished,
leaving only a faint,
almost invisible scar on my lip that I only noticed in the morning light.
I was becoming someone new,
someone who spoke with confidence in boardrooms and didn't lower her eyes when a man walked by.
But Ethan remained a mystery I couldn't quite solve.
He was my boss,
my mentor,
and my protector,
but there were moments when I caught him looking at me with a longing that went beyond business.
We were at the office late one Friday night,
the city lights of Chicago shimmering through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The cleaning crew had already left,
leaving us in a bubble of silence and soft ambient light.
"You're working too hard,
Ivy,"
Ethan said,
leaning against my desk with a glass of scotch in his hand.
"I have a midterm on Monday,"
I replied,
not looking up from my laptop.
"And the shipping manifests for the Detroit contract are a mess."
He reached out and gently closed my laptop lid,
forcing me to look at him.
"The manifest can wait."
"The midterm will be an A,
because you don't know how to do anything else."
I leaned back in my chair,
letting out a long sigh of exhaustion.
"I just feel like if I stop,
I'll lose the momentum."
"If I stop,
I'll remember that a year ago I was scrubbing your floors."
Ethan walked around the desk,
standing so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
"You say that like it's a shameful thing,"
he whispered.
"I've told you before,
your past is where you found your grit."
"But don't let it become your cage."
He reached out,
his fingers brushing the hair away from my temple,
and the air between us suddenly felt electric.
"I didn't just save you from Ryan,
Ivy."
"I saved you because I saw a spark in that kitchen that I couldn't let go out."
"A spark that I've grown very fond of."
My heart was drumming against my ribs,
and for the first time,
I didn't pull away from his touch.
"Ethan,"
I breathed,
the name feeling like a prayer.
He leaned down,
his lips hovering just inches from mine,
waiting for a signal I wasn't sure I was brave enough to give.
But then,
the silence was shattered by the frantic ringing of his phone on the desk.
He pulled back,
a flash of irritation crossing his face,
and answered it.
His expression went from frustrated to murderous in a matter of seconds.
"When?"
he barked into the phone.
"Where is he now?"
He listened for another moment,
then hung up,
his eyes turning into the cold ice I had seen the night he found me in the kitchen.
"What is it?"
I asked,
standing up as the old fear flared in my gut.
"Ryan,"
Ethan said,
his voice a low,
dangerous growl.
"He made bail through a shell company I didn't track."
"And he’s disappeared."
The glass fortress felt suddenly fragile,
the city lights looking like eyes watching us from the dark.
"He’s coming for me,
isn't he?"
Ethan grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and took my hand,
his grip tight and unyielding.
"Not if I find him first."
"We’re going to the mansion."
"You aren't staying in that apartment another night."
He led me to the elevator,
his posture that of a man going to war,
and I realized that the conversation he had with Ryan months ago was only the beginning.
The predator was back,
and this time,
he had nothing left to lose.
But as I looked at Ethan’s determined profile,
I knew that I wasn't the same girl from the kitchen anymore.
I had something to lose now,
May you like
too.
And I was done being the victim.
