Lexi
Ethan didn't talk on the plane, and I respected that. I didn't want to mention Travis and Tanya. I could see he wasn’t happy about it, and the only reason he didn’t kill Travis was because of what Tanya said to him. I was glad he didn’t, because it showed he could see how happy his sister was. I’m hoping once we get back, things will go back to normal between them.
Ethan opens the car door for me and I take a quick look around. Not because I think Sam has followed me, but out of habit.
“I’m with you,” Ethan whispers in my ear.
I smile at him and look over at the hotel. “So, what do we have planned for the—” I stop as his phone starts to ring.
“Selena… What the fuck do they need that much money for?” Ethan shouts, making some of the passers-by look over at us. “You can tell them I said fuck you… For fuck’s sake.” He ends the call and looks over at me.
“Want to talk about it?” I ask him.
“I need a drink,” he says, taking my bag from my hands.
The only thing left for me to do was follow him into the hotel. As he goes to check us in, I call my brother to let him know I’m here and safe. Ethan told Ms. Jackie he would keep me safe and that I won’t have to message her every day, which is fine with me. I trust him more than he thinks I do.
I look over at Ethan waving the room key. I start walking over to him as I end the call to my brother.
“So, I thought today could be a hotel day, with you naked.” Ethan gives me a wink and I push him away.
“Is that really all you think about?” I ask playfully.
“With you around, yes. Sex is on my mind all the time,” Ethan says, walking over. “I think you have too many clothes on for what I want to do.” He puts his hand up my top.
“You do, too,” I say, turning around to kiss him.
***
Ethan didn’t lie, we spent the entire day in the hotel. He ordered room service and we stayed in bed, naked, all day.
Getting out of the shower, I look over at Ethan on his phone with Selena about his meeting on Friday. “No, I'll get them to sign before I get back… If you fax them over to the hotel, I'll let them know… Travis oversees the London account… Well, tell him if he can't do it, then drop the account… He’s not a baby, he can work without me holding his hand.” Ending the call, Ethan throws the phone on the bed.
“You know if you give him a chance to talk—”
“I don’t want to hear what Travis has to say.” He walks to the window where the minibar is set up. “He should know what he's doing by now without me there telling him step-by-step.” He fills his glass with whiskey.
“I take it there was more to that call, and I only got to hear the end of it.” I walk over to him, wrapping my arms around him.
“Too much shit is happening right now, and I’m beginning to realize I can’t trust anyone. They always want something from me." Ethan downs his drink and looks down at me. “So, what is it that you want?” he asks. There's something different in his voice. Hate drips from it like venom.
I have no idea who wants his money, or what they want it for, but he has no right to talk to me like this. “Don’t ever talk about me like I want something from you, because I don’t,” I say, walking away. I was ready to walk away from him and start a new life. He’s the one who wanted me to stay, and now he’s being like this.
“Lexi, I’m—”
“Save it,” I shout back as I grab my bag to get out of here for a while. I think he needs some time alone to think about what he wants, and if he intends to talk to me or not.
Walking around, I decide to stay close to the hotel, worried that I would get lost. Plus, I don’t want to see the city alone; I want to see it with Ethan.
I look down at my phone as it rings. “Hello, Ms. Jackie,” I say, as I sit on the bench at the park in front of the hotel.
“How are you?”
“Good, just sitting at the park,” I reply, watching the dogs running around.
“You sound a little upset.”
“There’s something going on with Ethan. I wish he would talk to me, that’s all,” I tell her. I don’t want to say too much. I don’t know what she can tell me, and would rather hear it from him.
“I’ve spoken to Lisa. Ethan has more on his mind than you know, and he’s just not sure how to handle it,” Ms. Jackie tells me.
“I know, but he hurt me today. He thinks I’m with him because I want something from him. He knows better that that. I’m not…”
“Lexi, go talk to him. Maybe he just needs a little push to talk,” Ms. Jackie says.
“I know, and I will,” I say as I make my way back to the hotel. “Thank you for calling me. I needed someone to tell me what to do.”
“Anytime. I'll see you when you get back.” Ms. Jackie ends the call.
Glancing over my shoulder, I throw my phone back into my bag and start walking toward the hotel. Dan has been in contact with the police about Sam for me. I want to try and live my life without worrying all the time, so Dan said he would sort it all out. The last update I got was the police had sent Sam's picture to stations around the states, and a warrant for his arrest is in place. But, that still doesn’t stop me looking around for him.
Taking out my room key, I look down the corridor and smile as a couple giggling to each other walk past me.
Walking into the suite, I look around for Ethan and hear his voice coming from the other room. Walking into the room, I throw my bag on the bed and look at him as he turns around to face me.
“I'll call you back.” Putting the phone on the table, he walks over to me. “I’m sorry. I am. I know you don’t want anything from me, but it’s been bad few weeks. I didn’t handle them the best way.” He stops in front of me, then leans his forehead against mine with his hands on my hips. “We need to talk. It’s time to tell you who's making my life a living hell and who keeps calling me,” he tells me.
“Okay,” I reply. I might finally learn who this Edward and Angie are.
“Edward Cult is my father, the man I’ve hated for years and never want to see. He left my mom for some twenty-year-old and took all the money we had, leaving us nothing. I built my company from nothing—all by myself.” He takes my hand in his. “What I said to you the other day about never being in love, it was the truth. There was a time I thought I was in love, but I was blind. You’ve heard me talk about her. Angie…is my ex-wife.” I take my hands out of his. What? Did I just hear that right? “She used me for my money. Mom and Travis kept warning me, but I didn’t listen. They kept telling me I was seeing the real her. Then, everything was falling apart around me. Edward came back and said he needed money because his whore spent it all. I told him to fuck off and that I wouldn’t give him anything.” Ethan stops for a moment while I try to wrap my head around everything he's telling me.
“So, your dad left you, and is now back because he wants more money? What I don’t understand is what this has to do with your ex-wife,” I say. It’s like he’s started two different stories and wasn’t sure which one to tell me about first.
“When I told him to fuck off, he told me he would ruin me and make sure I was left with nothing, just like him. Three years ago, he tried. I came home and caught my dad fucking my wife. I told them both to get the fuck out of my house and that I never wanted to see either of them again.” Ethan looks at me standing there with my mouth wide open. What a cocksucker, and she's nothing but a bitch. “You would think that was the worst of it, but it had been going on for months. My mom and Travis were right. She was using me for my money, to give to him.” Now what Tanya said to me about being a gold digger makes sense. She thinks I'll do the same thing. “I told her she wouldn’t see a dime because of the prenup. So, for the last seven months, she has been calling, wanting to talk. And now he’s also back in the picture wanting to talk. Mom thinks I should talk to them, but I don’t want to be in the same room with either of them,” he says.
I’m still dumbstruck with everything he just threw at me. I mean, that was a lot of information. “What do you think you should do?” I ask him. At the end of the day, it’s him they want to see, not his mom.
“I don’t want to see them, but they keep calling and that just pisses me off.”
“Then hear what they have to say. At least that way, you’ll know and they can leave you alone,” I tell him. Once he hears them out, maybe they'll finally leave him alone.
“I'll call mom, then have Selena set something up.”
“How much money does she want?” I ask him. I know that was one of the things that got him in a bad mood.
“Six hundred thousand.”
“What?” What the hell do they need that much money for?
“I know, trust me. I’m not giving them a fucking cent. Emily has also been talking to my dad for some reason, so I don’t trust her either.” Ethan pulls me in for a hug. “I need you to know that I hate myself for what I said to you. I hated not telling you why I keep having mood changes,” Ethan says. Kissing me on the head, he tightens his arms around me.
“I’m happy you told me. I want to be there for you when you need to talk. I want us to be able to talk to each other about anything,” I tell him.
“I want you to be there when I see them,” Ethan says, walking away from me to answer his phone. “This better be good news… What time?... That’s fine, tell them I won’t leave until we reach an agreement, so they need to leave the day open.” He walks over to me and mouths the word ‘lunch.’ Giving him a nod, I grab my bag as he continues his conversation.
As I wait for him to get off the phone, I think about what he told me about his dad and ex-wife. I can’t believe someone would go that low for money. How can someone play with another person’s feeling like that? I can see why Ethan was so cold at the start of our relationship. He was worried about having someone around him that would do all this to him again. I get it because I’m the same way. Ethan was the first person I’ve even thought about staying with after Sam found me. The difference between us, is my fear is of Sam hurting Ethan, while Ethan’s fear is of someone taking advantage of him again and taking what he’s worked very hard for.
The reason he’s the man he is today, is because of his dad leaving them with nothing. Ethan has earned every dime he has, and he’s going to make sure no one takes it from him again.