Ethan found her on a night when the world outside seemed almost too quiet, as though even the city itself sensed the storm brewing between two hearts that once belonged to each other. Liana had spent the entire day locked in her apartment after Camille's scandalous trap had splashed her name across tabloids and social feeds, twisting the story until she looked like an ambitious assistant who had seduced her own boss for power.
It didn't matter that the people close to her knew the truth. The damage was done. Brands she worked with paused contracts. A board meeting was called. And though she tried to stay strong, her chest felt tight, her breath too shallow, her thoughts scattered like broken glass.
When the doorbell rang, she already knew who it was. She didn't move at first. She stayed curled on the couch, staring at her knees, wishing her heart wasn't trembling already at the thought of him standing outside. She thought he would give up after the first ring, maybe the second, but then she heard the soft knock. Not forceful. Not demanding. Almost begging.
She closed her eyes, inhaled sharply, and tried to ground herself. Ethan Cole had already taken enough from her, even unintentionally. She didn't need his presence shaking her more than she already was.
But then he whispered through the door, voice cracking in a way she had never heard. "Liana… please. Just open the door. Just this once."
Her breath caught. For a moment she hated how her pulse reacted, how memories sparked inside her chest as if she hadn't spent months trying to bury them. Slowly, with legs that felt foreign, she pushed herself up, walked to the door, and opened it only halfway. Ethan stood there, eyes swollen, hair messy, his shirt wrinkled like he had spent the day running from place to place with no rest. He looked nothing like the polished man who used to walk in confidence. He looked like someone falling apart.
"Can I come in?" he asked quietly.
She wanted to say no. She wanted to slam the door and protect the tiny bit of stability she had rebuilt. But instead, she stepped aside without a word. Ethan walked in slowly, as though he was afraid the ground itself might reject him. Liana crossed her arms, keeping distance, holding every emotion behind an expression cold enough to shield her.
He stood in the centre of her living room, staring at his hands like he didn't know how to begin. The silence stretched painfully before he finally lifted his gaze. "Liana… I'm sorry."
The words were barely more than a whisper, but they shook something deep inside her. She kept her voice steady. "You've said that before."
"No," he said quickly. "Not like this. Not when I actually understand what I did. Not when I've lost everything that mattered to me."
She looked away, heart pounding. "What do you want, Ethan?"
"You," he said instantly, his voice breaking. "I want you back. I want the chance to make things right. I want to explain everything I couldn't before."
Her jaw tightened. "Explain how you ended up in a bed with Camille?"
He flinched as if the words physically struck him. "Liana… that night wasn't what you think. I swear to you, I didn't-"
"Don't," she interrupted sharply. "I've moved past that pain. I'm not letting you drag me back."
"But you haven't," he said softly, stepping closer before stopping himself. "You pretend you have. You act strong and confident and untouchable, and God, I admire you for it. But I know you. I know when you're hurting."
She swallowed hard, annoyed at the way her vision blurred for a second. "You don't know me anymore."
His breath hitched, and then he dropped to his knees. The movement startled her, her body tensing as he looked up at her with eyes full of desperation and guilt. "I'm begging you," he whispered. "I'm begging you to let me talk. Let me tell you everything I should've told you before. Let me apologize the way you deserve."
Liana froze, torn between fury and the ache that never fully left her. Seeing him kneeling on her living room floor, shoulders trembling, shattered her in a way she didn't expect. But she lifted her chin, refusing to let that show. "Then talk."
He inhaled shakily. "Camille manipulated the entire situation. She wanted to sabotage us. She hated that I loved you more than I ever cared about her. She drugged me that night. I didn't even know she was at the hotel until I woke up. I swear on everything I have, Liana, I didn't choose her. I didn't touch her. I didn't betray you willingly."
Her heart twisted. She had heard pieces of this from another source, but hearing it from him felt different. Still, she didn't move. "Even if that's true," she whispered, "you still shattered me. You still let me leave. You didn't come after me. You didn't fight for me."
He bowed his head. "Because I thought you deserved better than the mess I had become. I thought leaving you alone would protect you. I was wrong. I was wrong about everything."
Her breath trembled. "You hurt me, Ethan. You broke me."
He lifted his gaze again, tears finally spilling. "And I'll regret that for the rest of my life."
She closed her eyes, and a few tears escaped before she could stop them. She wiped them quickly, wishing he hadn't seen. But he did. His expression crumpled, pain etched deeply into every line of his face. "Don't cry because of me," he begged softly. "Please. I can't stand seeing you hurt."
She stepped back. "Ethan… I don't know what you expect from me."
"I expect nothing," he whispered. "I'm not asking you to forgive me today. Or tomorrow. Or ever, if that's what you choose. I just want you to know the truth. I want you to know that losing you is my fault, and I accept it. But I will spend the rest of my life proving I can be someone worthy of you."
He reached into his jacket, hands trembling, and pulled out a folded envelope. He placed it gently on her coffee table, not trying to hand it to her. "This is for you. It's not a plea. It's not pressure. It's just everything I was too much of a coward to say earlier."
She stared at the envelope but didn't touch it.
Ethan smiled weakly, heartbreak all over his face. Then he stood on unsteady legs, wiped his eyes, and walked slowly toward the door. He paused with his hand on the knob, voice barely audible. "I'll wait for you, Liana. Even if it takes a lifetime."
He didn't look back as he stepped outside. He closed the door quietly behind him, like he didn't want the sound to disturb her.
For a long moment Liana stood completely still, her breath caught somewhere between pain and disbelief. The apartment felt colder without him in it, even though she didn't want to admit that.
She stared at the envelope on the table, her hand trembling as she reached for it. But when her fingers touched the paper, she froze. And instead of opening it, she pressed it to her chest and sank slowly onto the couch. Tears streamed silently down her face, her heart twisting with everything she had tried so hard to bury. She didn't read the letter that night. She wasn't ready. But the weight of it in her hands was enough to break down the wall she had built so carefully around herself.
By the time she finally lay down, exhaustion pulling her into sleep, the envelope rested beside her pillow like a ghost of the past she wasn't sure she could escape. And despite everything she told herself, everything she believed she needed to do to protect her future, her last thought before sleep claimed her was Ethan's voice echoing in her mind-soft, broken, and unbearably sincere.
"I'll wait for you… even if it takes a lifetime."