The Dress Fitting He Promised I Would Not Attend Chapter 07

The Dress Fitting He Promised I Would Not Attend Chapter 07

Ethan stared into her eyes. His voice was like ice.

Lily flinched. “No. No, I haven’t.”

He could see right through her. His gaze turned cold and menacing.

“Tell me the truth now, or I’ll find out another way. And you won’t like it.”

Lily had only been out of school for a few months when she met someone like Ethan. Rich. Powerful. Charming.

He’d treated her so well, and made her the envy of her social circle.

She’d never seen him look so terrifying.

“I… I just posted some everyday stuff. I never showed your face…”

“Give it to me. Now.”

He didn’t shout, but the command was absolute.

Lily choked back her tears and opened her feed with shaking hands. She handed him the phone.

Ethan scrolled through post after post. Then he read the comments.

His face got darker with every second.

“Who told you to post any of this? What made you think I could ever want someone like you?”

Lily couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. That cut too deep.

“Mr. Whitmore, I was just… I was trying to get attention. This is my first job. My friends were all so jealous of me. I just wanted to—”

“Delete everything. Right now. Then go to HR and pack your things.”

Lily’s head shot up. She stopped crying.

“Why? No… You obviously liked me. Why are you doing this?”

Ethan let out a short, mean laugh.

“I have a fiancée. Why would I like you? What do you even have to offer?”

“Then why did you cancel the deal with the Hastings to take me to Silverport? Why did you let me book one room?”

“Why did you take me to play hooky and see movies and bring me to your Grandpa’s birthday party? Wasn’t that all because you liked me?”

Lily genuinely didn’t understand how someone could change so much.

Ethan tugged at his tie, annoyed.

“You wouldn’t understand business decisions. As for the rest of it… I thought it was fun. I was playing with you. More importantly, I wanted to see how Claire would react.”

Lily swayed on her feet like she’d been pushed.

All of it. The attention. The special treatment. It was never about her.

He’d just been testing Claire.

She was a tool. A pawn.

She couldn’t take it. She ran out with her face in her hands.

Ethan sat in his office chair and stared at nothing for a long time.

Memories came flooding back.

When he was just learning to talk, the adults used to ask him if he liked little Claire.

He’d look at that perfect, delicate little girl and feel his heart swell.

Yes, he liked her. He was going to marry her when he grew up.

It always made the grownups laugh.

Then they got older. They learned what it meant to want someone.

He knew they were going to get married someday.

He wanted to give her everything good in the world, as long as she was happy.

But growing up changed things. Running the company both excited and exhausted him. He needed some freedom.

But Claire’s expectations hadn’t changed.

So their relationship got a little off track.

It wasn’t a big deal.

But now it seemed like he was the only one who thought that.

A wave of panic washed over Ethan.

He called his secretary. Told her to book a flight to Vancouver.

Some things just needed to be said face to face. Then everything would be fine, he told himself.