CHAPTER 9: Beneath the Surface

Chapter 9: Beneath the Surface

That evening, Sophia retraced steps back to her room at a snail's pace. Claire's words echoed in her brain like a haunting melody: Ethan's been hurt before. Badly. But she couldn't get the shadows she had glimpsed in his eyes out of her head, the instances when his confidence appeared to flicker.

She had dealt with people who wore masks — models, clients, executives — but with Ethan, the mask appeared to weigh more, almost suffocating. It was an urge to peel it back, not because of curiosity, but because she cared about him.

Sophia and Ethan met in the resort's botanical garden for their photoshoot the next morning. The gardens were blanketed in lush greenery, but Sophia's thoughts were anything but lush. Ethan remained, as always, charming as he prepped the shoot, cracking jokes and helming the set with his trademark self-assuredness. But every time Sophia attempted to turn the conversation into personal territory, she felt him resisting, subtle shifts, a deflection, a fast laugh, a brief cloud across his eyes.

At the end of the session, Ethan suggested they go to lunch in a quiet café near the beach. The café was intimate, soft jazz drifting through the air complemented by a faint background noise of waves. Across from his uninvited guest, Ethan appeared less uptight, his defenses down a notch.

Sophia chose to leap into the dark.

"Can I ask you something?" she offered, putting her fork down.

Ethan turned in his chair and, for all his playfulness, his features grew wary. "Depends," he said breezily. "What's on your mind?"

Sophia laid her hand on her chin, still looking for the right words. "Claire told me … about your past. That you have been hurt in the past."

Ethan bristled, and for a moment, Sophia thought he might stand and walk out. The muscles bunched in his jaw, and his eyes darkened with something like anger or pain.

"Claire had no business sharing that," he said, his voice low.

Sophia extended her arm out, hesitating with her hand over his on the table, but withdrawing. "She told me because she loves you, Ethan. And so do I."

His eyes were softer, the storm in them receding a little. "It's not something I care to talk about," he said, his voice softer now.

"I know," Sophia said tenderly. "But sometimes… bottling it up makes it worse." You don't have to do it by yourself."

Ethan looked at her with an intense look. For a moment, she worried he may shut her out completely. Then, he sighed deeply, leaned forward with his elbows on the table.

"You're different, Sophia," he said, his voice low. "Most people don't care enough to ask — or they're just curious. But with you it seems I can trust you."

The vulnerability in his tone made Sophia's heart ache. "I'm here for you, Ethan," she said gently.

He held out his hand toward her, and took her hand in his. His touch was warm, grounding. "I'll explain everything to you," he said. "But you need to promise me something first."

Sophia's breath hitched. "What is it?"

Ethan stared into her eyes, and she could see all those things echoed in his. "Promise me you're still going to be here, after you know the truth. Promise me you won't see me any differently."

Sophia felt her chest constrict, but she nodded, her voice even. "I promise, Ethan."

That evening, they sat on the sand under the stars. As Ethan started to speak, the waves lapped softly onto the shore, a soothing beat in the background.

"It started maybe five years ago," he said, and then continued in a voice brittle with pain. "I was engaged to someone. Her name was Lily. "She was everything I thought I wanted — smart, beautiful, driven.

Sophia listened, her heart already breaking for him.

"Or so I thought. We were building a life together," Ethan continued. "But then one day, out of the blue, she told me she was unhappy. She said she felt like she was in a cage and had to leave to discover herself."

He stopped, gazing into the distance. "I tried to understand. I even begged her to stay. But she had already left — emotionally, if not physically. She left, and I was... lost."

Sophia's throat tightened. "I'm so sorry, Ethan," she said, in a whisper.

Ethan shook his head. "It's not simply that she left, Sophia. It's what happened after. Later I learned she'd been seeing someone else for months before she told me. I wasn't just taken by surprise — I was betrayed."

She felt a flash of indignation on his behalf, but drew her focus to him, allowing him to share at his own pace.

"I built walls after that," Ethan admitted. "I promised myself I would never allow anyone to get that close again. It was easier to work to drown myself in the project, to throw myself into the expansion of the resort. But then..."

His voice faded and he looked at her. "Then you came along."

Sophia's breath stopped in her throat.

"You've made me feel things I haven't felt in years," Ethan said, his voice tight. "And that frickin' scares me to death."

Sophia extended her hand, putting it on top of his. "Ethan," she said gently, "I'm not Lily. And I'm not going anywhere."

Finally, an honest smile spread across Ethan's face. It was small, hesitant, but it was real.

"Thank you, Sophia," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

They sat on a hill, side by side, under the stars, and something was different. She didn't have all the answers, and the way forward wouldn't be easy. But for the first time, she

and Ethan had moved closer to something real something worth fighting for.