If it Meant Nothing

Chapter 44: If It Meant Nothing

Ethan didn't move.

Raindrops clung to his suit jacket, each one a silent echo of everything he didn't say.

Evelyn's chest rose and fell, her fingers still gripping the doorframe like it was the only thing keeping her upright. "I'm giving you one chance," she said, her voice trembling. "Tell me it meant nothing. That all of it—the late nights, the way you looked at me, the way you held me like I was… more than just a contract—tell me it was all pretend."

He finally looked at her. Not cold. Not angry. Just… tired. Torn.

"You knew what this was, Evelyn."

Her heart cracked at the way he said her name. So distant. So final.

"But I didn't know what you were," she whispered. "I thought I did. I thought behind that perfect CEO mask, there was someone real. Someone who felt something."

Ethan turned away, one hand running through his damp hair. "I can't afford to feel. Not with you. Not now."

"So you did feel something," she snapped, stepping into the room, her heels clicking like thunder in the silence. "You just chose to bury it."

Silence.

She let out a shaky laugh. "God, you're a coward."

His jaw tightened. "And you're naive."

"No," she said, voice low. "I'm just finally done pretending I don't love you."

She walked past him without looking back.

And for the first time since they signed that contract, the silence between them felt like a goodbye.