“I’m making a move now.” Ethan glanced at Alexander, giving him one last heads-up.
Alexander acted all amused, like this was some kind of show.
He smiled and made a polite gesture at Ethan, “Be my guest.”
Ethan gave a small nod, then, without warning, reached out and grabbed the cake.
The golden cake looked like a mini pyramid—Ethan snatched the very top, took a big bite, and started munching like it was no big deal.
“What, you thought I wouldn’t actually do it?”
Everyone froze.
Alexander and his bodyguards looked like someone had hit pause—mouths hanging open.
Over on the side, Olivia, Chloe, and Donna were stunned too.
They’d thought things were about to turn violent—not that Ethan would just straight-up eat the cake.
Watching him feast like nothing was wrong, the girls couldn’t help but laugh.
“You—” Alexander was furious, pointing his finger at Ethan.
“What, ‘you’? I said I’d make a move, and I did. You really expect to give Donna a cake someone else already bit into? Seriously?” Ethan fired back.
“Exactly!” Chloe grinned, wrapping an arm around Ethan’s shoulder.
“If it were me, I’d just bake a new, better one!”
Damn it!
Alexander nearly lost it.
That cake had been crafted by twenty top pastry chefs over forty-eight hours.
You don’t just whip up another one overnight!
He was itching to deck Ethan right then and there, but with Donna watching, he couldn’t afford to mess up his image.
So he held back, forced a stiff smile toward Donna, and said, “Donna, I’ll come by again tomorrow.”
He waved his bodyguards over dramatically, gave Ethan one last nasty glare, and turned to leave.
The bodyguards glowered at Ethan too, all of them gritting their teeth, but without Alexander’s say-so, none dared act.
They picked up the remains of the cake and headed out.
“This cake’s actually pretty solid. Tastes great,” Ethan said between bites, nodding toward Chloe and Olivia.
The girls burst out laughing, and even Donna cracked a smile.
None of them had expected Ethan to shut Alexander down just like that—with a bite of cake.
Chloe, clearly in a great mood, leaned over and gave Ethan a playful kiss on the cheek.
What can you do?
Get a little excited and the kisses just fly.
Donna glanced at Ethan, remembering his earlier massage, and gave him a subtle nod.
Sure, he might be a bit of a flirt, but the guy definitely had some skill to back it up.
“Not quite the ending you wanted, huh?” Ethan said to Olivia, giving her a cool smile.
She smirked, leaned in close, and whispered, “You’ve made an enemy of Mr.
Rex now.
Better start thinking about how you’re gonna handle that.”
“You think I’m scared?” Ethan might’ve been shaken, but no way he was showing it.
“Let’s see how this plays out.”
“Oh, we’ll see alright,” Olivia said smugly, giving him an exaggerated nod.
“Let’s ride that drama llama and see where it takes us.”With how close they were, staring each other down like that, things looked unintentionally flirty. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
The second Ethan’s gaze dropped to Olivia’s…
impressive figure, her fist clenched out of reflex.
“Alright, alright, don’t start again,” Chloe laughed, quickly stepping in to pull Ethan away.
“C’mon, Donna needs to rest!”
Only then did Ethan retreat, waving at Donna with Chloe as they left the hospital room.
“Ethan, we just pissed off Alex Rex big time,” Chloe murmured as they walked.
“Better watch your back.”
Ethan just gave a chuckle, walking casually toward the elevator.
“Well, it was bound to happen. No point in freaking out.”
But while he kept things cool on the outside, he was using his Eye of Insight to scan their surroundings, already analyzing what Alex might do next.
Sure enough, he spotted Alex and his crew loitering in the stairwell, whispering amongst themselves.
He scratched his head, suspicious.
What’re those guys scheming now?
As they reached the elevator, they only had to wait a moment before stepping in.
Ethan kept his Eye of Insight active, scanning again—only to spot Alex Rex charging over with four burly bodyguards.
His heart skipped a beat.
Without thinking, he grabbed Chloe’s hand.
“We’re taking the stairs!”
“What? No way,” Chloe tugged him back.
“Ethan, my legs are killing me. I’m not walking that many floors.”
Ethan was out of options.
In one swift move, he scooped her up and made a dash for the stairs.
“Hey!” Chloe shrieked, squirming in his arms.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Not now!” Ethan said, holding her tighter.
“We’ve gotta go!”
Chloe struggled again.
“Ethan, seriously! What’re you up to?!”
Right as they were caught in a tug-of-war, the few people standing by the elevator suddenly disappeared—and just then, a pack of big guys stormed in.
Ethan and Chloe froze when they saw it was Alex Rex and his four goons.
Only now did Chloe realize all the lifting-and-running Ethan had been doing was to try to stay ahead of this gang.
But it was too late.
“What’s this little scene, huh?” Alex leaned against the wall, smirking at them.
“Didn’t know elevators could host such ‘passionate’ moments.”
“Ugh, gross.” Chloe glared at him.
“What do you want, Alex?”
“What do I want?” Alex sneered, pointing straight at Ethan.
“You ate my cake and ruined my buzz. What do you think I want?”
Chloe quickly stepped in front of Ethan protectively.
“Watch it, Alex.
There’s a camera in here.”
“Oh, really?” Alex gave a low chuckle and motioned to one of the tall bodyguards.
The guy—easily over six foot four—reached up and covered the security camera on the ceiling without breaking a sweat.
Chloe’s face tightened, and she shuffled with Ethan into the corner.
Alex and his men all burst into smug, mocking laughter.As the big guy shut the elevator doors, it slowly started rising.
She knew now wasn’t the time to argue—if money could fix it, they’d throw money at it.
“Money? You think I care about that crap?” Alexander snapped, then pointed straight at Ethan.
“Get over here. Weren’t you acting all brave just now? Let’s see how tough you really are.”
Ethan gently pushed Chloe’s hand off his shoulder and stepped forward.
There was nowhere to hide now—might as well face it head-on.
Chloe tried to hold him back.
“Don’t go,” she whispered anxiously.
“Kneel!” Alexander suddenly barked.
His voice exploded in the cramped elevator like a thunderclap, rattling everyone’s nerves.
Chloe winced at the volume and instinctively grabbed Ethan’s arm.
She might usually be fearless, but seeing Alexander this pissed off shook her.
She took a deep breath and said, “Let’s talk this out—”
“Shut it!” Alexander snapped, eyes bloodshot as he glared at her.
“Say one more word and you’re next, Chloe!”
He pointed at Ethan again.
“I said kneel!”
Ethan took a step forward, expression calm but eyes sharp.
“It’s your knees.
If you want to kneel, be my guest.
You don’t need my permission.”
“You son of a—” Alexander growled, face contorted with anger.
He waved at the burly man next to him.
“Hit him!”
The black-cloaked bodyguard lunged forward and threw a punch at Ethan’s face.
“Watch out!” Chloe screamed, panicked.
Ethan didn’t flinch.
He activated his Insight Vision, and suddenly the guy’s movements looked slow and predictable.
A message flashed in his mind: “Tilt your head right, kick his groin.”
He reacted instantly—head dodged right, leg snapped up.
“Ugh!” The bodyguard let out a howl of pain and stumbled back, clutching his groin as he collapsed in the corner.
A moment ago he looked like a beast; now he was a wreck.
Everyone was stunned.
Alexander’s eyes went wide with disbelief—he couldn’t wrap his head around his own elite bodyguard getting taken out like that.
Was Ethan hiding skills this whole time?
Chloe stared at him, mouth slightly open.
Ethan could fight?
“What, weren’t you all ready to brawl? Come on then.” Ethan casually brushed the dust off his pants, staying cool on the outside even though his heart was racing.
But he had to keep the act.
If he could bluff his way through this, maybe things wouldn’t spiral out of control.
“Pathetic! All of you, get him!” Alexander suddenly yelled and charged at Ethan himself.