Chapter 6 - Above the Skyline
The penthouse at the top of Carter Tower was a sanctuary of glass, moonlight, and silence.
Far below us, the city lights twinkled like a scattered galaxy, blurred slightly by the rain that had started to streak against the floor-to-ceiling windows. The chaotic noise of the gala, the flashing cameras, the police sirens, and the collapsing wreckage of Adrian’s life felt a million miles away.
Ethan led me to a deep, charcoal-gray sofa overlooking the sprawling skyline, gently pressing me down before walking over to a sleek wet bar.
“Water?” he asked, his back to me as he poured a glass from a crystal decanter.
“Please,” I whispered.
He walked back, handed me the glass, and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa, leaving a respectful, comforting distance between us. He didn't crowd me. He didn't demand explanations. He simply waited, giving me the one thing I hadn't had in over a year: absolute safety.
I took a slow sip of the cool water, feeling the tension finally begin to drain from my locked shoulders.
“How long did you know?” I asked quietly, staring down at the condensation forming on the glass.
Ethan was quiet for a long moment. When I looked up, his dark eyes were filled with a raw, agonizing vulnerability I had never seen on the face of Carter Enterprises’ ruthless CEO.
“From the day you dropped your blue scarf on my office chair and forgot to pick it up,” Ethan admitted softly. “You walked out of the room, and I noticed the faint discoloration around your wrist when you reached for your laptop. I thought I was losing my mind. I told myself it was none of my business. I told myself you chose him, that my job was to be your employer and nothing more.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped tightly together.
“Every single day for eleven months,” Ethan continued, his voice dropping into a rough, gravelly whisper, “I watched you work yourself to the bone, trying to outrun a monster at home. I watched you lose weight, watched you flinch when doors slammed too loudly in the office, watched you smile through agony while I sat across from you pretending I didn't want nothing more in this world than to tear him apart with my bare hands.”
Tears prickled behind my eyes, hot and sudden.
“Why didn't you say anything?” I choked out.
“Because you weren't ready,” Ethan answered instantly, his gaze locking onto mine with fierce, unyielding devotion. “If I had stepped in too early, without the proof, without breaking his foundation first, he would have isolated you further. He would have convinced you that you had nowhere else to go. I had to wait until he walked into the wrong room, until he exposed himself in front of the one person who had the power to strip away everything he ever cared about.”
I set the glass down on the marble coffee table. My hands were still shaking, but the fear was gone. Replaced by something overwhelming, terrifying, and achingly beautiful.
“You tore down half your own foundation tonight to stop him,” I whispered.
“I would have burned this entire tower to the ground if it meant getting you out of that house,” Ethan said without a single second of hesitation.
He stood up slowly, crossing the short distance between us, and knelt down on one knee in front of the sofa. He didn't touch me—he kept his hands resting on his own knees, giving me total control.
“Ava,” Ethan whispered, his voice trembling slightly. “I have loved you since the second week you started working for me. I hid it because I respected you, because I wanted to be your refuge, not another burden. But now... now you are free. And I need to know—if I promise to spend the rest of my life making sure you never have to look over your shoulder again... will you let me try?”
I didn't answer with words.
Instead, I leaned forward, cupped his warm, rugged face with both hands, and pressed my lips against his.
May you like
It wasn't a tentative kiss. It was a collision of two souls who had survived the dark and finally found the light. Ethan let out a ragged breath, his hands finally coming up to wrap gently around my waist—not pressing on my bruises, but holding me as if I were the most precious, fragile treasure in the universe.
In that moment, high above the glittering city lights, the past was burned away to ash.
