?Chapter 1025:


    Even his breathing seemed strained, every inhale thick with anxiety.


    Sending that private message meant revealing everything—no room left to retreat, no way to hide.


    He lingered for a heartbeat, his thumb hovering above the send button, summoning every shred of courage he could muster. Then, with a hesitant tap, the message was gone.


    For a long while, he kept his eyes fixed on the screen, waiting for the reply that never came.


    Time crawled forward with deliberate cruelty, each second stretching longer than thest, as though some invisible force was holding it in ce.


    At that moment, Chris turned his head, casting a half-smile at Ethan, and asked gently, “Would you like some fruit? I can peel an apple for you.”


    Of course, Chris had seen Ethan’s message and was tempted to reply, “I’m already your brother-inw now.”


    But he held his tongue. That was Maia’s news to share, not his.


    Hence, he didn’t respond.


    Ethan shook his head. “No, thank you. I do not want any.”


    The soft chime of Chris’ ringtone cut through the air.


    Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan caught the screen lighting up—an image of a woman’s avatar shing across it.


    The change in Chris’ expression was immediate.


    The easy warmth faded, reced by something colder, harder, as though a gust of icy wind had swept through him.


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    A woman? Ethan’s stomach dropped. His gaze darted between Chris and the phone, his mind working fast.


    Chris narrowed his eyes, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he swallowed his irritation.


    Raegan?


    How dare she call him? And the timing couldn’t have been worse.


    He had nned to track down this insubordinate woman tonight and confront her about the incident in Wront. Instead, she had reached out first.


    Still, it was an opportunity to hear her exnation. Without answering, Chris locked the screen and turned to Maia. “Sorry. I need to take this call outside.”


    Maia nodded, unbothered. “Go ahead. If anything happens, I will use the call button.”


    The door clicked shut behind him, his footsteps fading into the corridor. Once the room was quiet again, Ethan’s restraint shattered.


    “Maia, why did you hire him as your bodyguard?”


    He hesitated before adding, “I’ve heard things, you know. That Chris is tangled up with women in Wront, with all kinds of ambiguous rtionships. And now I just saw a woman’s face on his caller ID… Keeping him around—what will people think?”<fnbac2> Readplete version only at find(?)ovel</fnbac2>


    A crease formed between Maia’s brows. Her voice sharpened, though it remained calm. “Ethan, have I not told you before? Some things you need to see for yourself, not just follow the crowd’s assumptions. A woman’s face doesn’t mean anything. Maybe that’s his family member, or a friend, or maybe a colleague. If Chris had not been there that day… do you have any idea what could have happened to me?”


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