ManyWriters

Ethan Blake's father was my family's bodyguard. He was brutally stabbed to death while rescuing me from kidnappers.
My father, consumed by guilt, took Ethan into our home and raised him as part of our family. He planned for Ethan to marry me when we grew up, as a way in honor of this debt of gratitude.
I also felt indebted and tried everything to win Ethan's affection, almost to the point of fawning over him.
However, Ethan always treated me with cold indifference, barely acknowledging my existence.
One evening, I was working on my personal statements for university applications, he suddenly came to see me and asked about my preparations for the Science Innovation Award.
I thought he had finally warmed up to me and excitedly shared all the details of my project with him.
One week later, I discovered that Ethan's childhood sweetheart, Olivia, had stolen my idea and submitted it as her own for the competition.
She ended up winning first place in the Science Innovation Award and received an early admission to Stanford University.
Heartbroken, I confronted Ethan about why he had extracted my ideas to help Olivia.
He replied with utter indifference, "Aren't you supposed to be capable? Even without the early admission opportunity, you should be able to get in on your own merit."

My Dear Enemy, My New Beginning

Alexander had been seething with jealousy lately. He says he wants to teach Ethan a lesson, to stop him from doing these pointless things.


To prevent the situation from escalating, I'd been trying to dissuade him from taking drastic action.


I've decided to have a face-to-face talk with Ethan, to put an end to his delusions once and for all.


Alexander suggested we meet in the tea room at the Grand Regent Hotel, so that if Ethan tries anything rash, security can step in immediately.


When security informed Ethan of our meeting, he was over the moon. He went home, dolled himself up, and came to the rendezvous.


As we met, he gazed at me intently: "Sophia, you finally agreed to see me."


"It wasn't until you got engaged to Alexander that I realized who I truly loved deep down."


"Before, because of my father's death and the class divide between us, I was filled with insecurity and resentment, which is why I treated you so coldly."


Chapter 9