Chapter 2: Something Colder Than Anger
Ethan didn't move for a long moment.
Then he reached past me and quietly closed the dressing room door.
"How long?" he asked.
I couldn't answer.
"How long has he been doing this to you?"
I looked down at my hands.
"Long enough that I stopped counting."
Something shifted in his face.
Not anger.
Something colder than anger.
He pulled out his phone.
"What are you doing?" I grabbed his arm.
"Ethan, if you say anything tonight, he will make sure I disappear.
You don't know what he's capable of."
Ethan looked at me steadily.
"I know exactly what he's capable of.
I've known Andrew Holt for eleven years."
He paused.
"What I didn't know…
is that he'd done it before you."
My breath stopped.
"There was another woman," Ethan said quietly.
"Three years ago.
She signed something and went away.
I always thought it was strange.
I never pushed."
He set his jaw.
"I should have pushed."
Downstairs, the applause had started.
Andrew's introduction had begun.
Ethan straightened his jacket, slipped his phone into his pocket, and looked at me one last time.
"Stay in this room."
"Ethan—"
"Trust me."
He opened the door.
And walked toward the stairs.
---
What Ethan did next — and what Andrew said when he saw him coming — left the entire room silent.
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