I Took His Own Radio Advice And Walked Away From Seven Years Chapter 06

I Took His Own Radio Advice And Walked Away From Seven Years Chapter 06

Ethan stood with the dead phone at his ear for a long time. He had expected me to demand details about what he and Tara had done overseas. He had expected tears and accusations about why he had stayed away so long.

But I asked none of it. There had been no fight, no wounded questions, not even jealousy. I only wanted my thirty-nine thousand dollars back. It was as if the money were the last remaining connection between us. The next day, the production team prepared to record an anniversary retrospective. An editor brought a selection of old clips into the studio.

“Ethan, can you approve the segments we’re rebroadcasting?”

He took the script without interest. The recording from the anniversary event began to play over the speakers. At first, he paid no attention. Then he heard his own voice, and the hand turning the page stopped. In the recording, he calmly and methodically advised the anonymous writer to cut her losses and leave a fiancé who did not deserve her. He sat up and looked toward the control room. He had heard the segment before, yet every word sounded different now. He went completely still as fear swept through him.

He had assumed I sent the letter because I wanted him to understand how hurt I was. Instead, I had taken his advice and left him.

Tara entered the studio. When she saw the submission number on the screen, her hand stopped halfway to the script.

“Why are we dragging this one out again? She’s already gone.”

Ethan stared at her.

“How did you know Claire wrote it?”

Tara’s lips parted, but no words came. He stood and walked toward her.

“You knew. That means those questions you asked on the air were deliberate.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice began to shake.

“But you were the one who gave those answers. You said that man didn’t love her. You said she was afraid to admit she’d chosen the wrong person.”

“I only thought that if she took your advice, maybe you and I would finally have a chance.”

Ethan’s expression turned colder by the second. Tara clenched her hands and finally said everything she had kept buried.

“Listeners have been trying to pair us up for years. When I posted pictures of us, you never asked me to take them down. When people said we belonged together, you never corrected them. I thought I was different to you.”

Ethan did not deny it. She was telling the truth. Every time Tara had used their chemistry to generate buzz, he knew exactly what she was doing. He never stopped her because the speculation brought the show attention. But he hated himself most of all. He had let Tara cross one boundary after another because the rumors were good for ratings. In the end, his own choices had driven Claire away.

When the live broadcast began that day, Ethan set aside the prepared script. He looked toward the camera, his voice quiet but steady.

“Today, I want to address the rumors about Tara and me once and for all. We are colleagues. We have never dated.”

“Claire Quinn has always been my fiancée. I knew our promotional campaign crossed boundaries, and I failed to stop it. That was my fault.”

The studio fell silent. He continued.

“Effective today, Tara and I will no longer be regular co-hosts. Every promotion that suggests we are a couple will be removed. We will no longer accept brand deals built around rumors about our relationship.”

Tara shot to her feet, all color gone from her face. When the broadcast ended, Ethan ignored the stunned staff and strode out of the studio. He booked the next flight to Bayport.