---- Chapter 21 21 Ethan. How had he found me? Of course. The awards. It was public knowledge. He must have researched "New Leaf Designs." Seen my success. My new life. He looked... lost. A ghost from a past | had fought so hard to escape. His flourishing life? That was me. Not him. He was stagnating in the mess he'd created. He started to move towards us. Then, a perfectly manicured hand grasped his arm. Chloe. She was clinging to him, her expression a mixture of resentment and desperation. She whispered something in his ear, her eyes darting towards me. She looked... faded. Her usual charisma dulled by a bitterness that seemed to eat at her from the inside. | remembered the news reports after her restaurant disaster. Her tearful, manipulative live stream. Her forced public apology after Ethan had, apparently, finally stood up to her. Ethan had destroyed all their mementos. Burned them. A ---- symbolic cleansing. Yet, she was still here. Clinging to him. Afraid. Angry. Threatened by my reappearance. My happiness. Ethan gently disengaged his arm from Chloe's grasp. He walked towards us. Alone. His eyes never left mine. "Ava," he said, his voice hoarse. Filled with a longing that made my skin crawl. "I... | finally found you." | met his gaze, my own cool, detached. "Mr. Cole," | said, my voice polite, distant. The way one addresses a stranger. A business acquaintance. His face fell. The hope in his eyes died. "Ava... please... don't..." "| believe congratulations are in order for your award, Ms. Miller," | said, cutting him off. "You seem to be doing very well." My tone was formal, my smile brittle. "But you shouldn't keep your... companion... waiting." | nodded towards Chloe, who was watching us like a hawk, her face a mask of fury. Ethan looked frantic. "She's not... we're not... She's only here because she insisted on apologizing to you. In person." He practically dragged a protesting Chloe over to us. "Chloe. Apologize. Now." His voice was steel. Chloe glared at me, then at Ethan, then back at me. She mumbled a grudging, insincere, "Sorry." | just raised an eyebrow. Unmoved. Unimpressed. ---- "Ethan," | said, my voice firm. "It's over. It has been for a long time. There's nothing left to say." His face crumpled. The fight seemed to go out of him. "But Ava... | hoped... maybe we could..." "No, Ethan," | said, my voice softening slightly, but my resolve unwavering. "There is no 'we.' Not anymore." Liam stepped forward then, placing a protective arm around my waist. His presence was a silent statement. A boundary. Ethan's gaze flickered to Liam's arm, then back to my face. Defeat. Utter, absolute defeat. It was etched on his features.