---- Chapter 14 14 Chloe didn't give up. In the following days, she was a constant presence. She "helped" him sort through Ava's remaining things - the few items Maria hadn't packed for charity. She talked endlessly about their future. Reopening her restaurant. Traveling. Ethan listened, numb. He agreed to help her with the restaurant It was a promise he'd made, long ago. A debt he felt he still owed. Or maybe it was just easier than fighting her. The grand reopening of "Chloe's" (now rebranded "Chloe & Ethan's Bistro") was a subdued affair. He found himself behind the bar, just as he'd joked about years ago. He was a surprisingly good bartender. A skill he'd picked up in college, trying to impress her. He mixed a perfect martini. The crowd murmured approval. Chloe beamed at him from across the room "You see, Ethan?" she mouthed. "Perfect." She came over, linking her arm through his. "Just like old times," she whispered, nuzzling his shoulder. ---- "Remember that little bar in Mykonos? You charmed the owner into letting you bartend for a night. You were terrible then, but so cute." She sighed dramatically. "| suffered so much after | left you, Ethan. That European... he was a monster." Her usual victim narrative. He'd heard it a thousand times. Suddenly, a crash. Screams. Déja vu. Another light fixture. Identical to the first one. It smashed onto an empty table. Ethan froze. His blood ran cold Not again. It couldn't be. He looked at Chloe. Her eyes were wide, but there was a strange, almost excited glint in them. This time, the patrons weren't just shocked. They were angry. "This place is a death trap!" someone shouted. "She's trying to kill us all for insurance money!" another yelled. The word "negligence" rippled through the crowd. Chloe looked panicked. Genuinely panicked this time. "Ethan! Do something!" she shrieked, grabbing his arm He looked at the fallen fixture. Then at Chloe. He remembered Ava. The blood. The pain in her eyes. The baby they'd lost. He pulled his arm free from Chloe's grasp. The crowd was surging forward, shouting accusations. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Chloe, shielding her. But it was different this time. ---- There was no adoration in his eyes. No desperate need to protect her. Just a weary sense of obligation. And a growing, sickening suspicion. "Ethan, tell them!" Chloe hissed behind him. "Tell them it's not my fault! Tell them Ava did this! Sabotage! That jealous ex- wife!" He remained silent. His mind replayed the first accident. Ava, injured, ignored. Chloe, dramatic but unharmed. And now this. Too similar. Too convenient. He looked at Chloe. Really looked at her. And for the first time, he saw not the charismatic victim, but a manipulative, desperate woman. Capable of anything to get what she wanted.