The cool night air washed over Elena's face, but it did little to quell the strange turmoil inside her. Her heart was still pounding, no longer from panic, but from something else—something she couldn't quite name.
She leaned against the marble balustrade of the balcony, gazing at the expanse of city lights twinkling in the distance. Beside her, Ethan stood in silence, giving her space. The silence between them now felt different. No longer cold, no longer awkward. This silence felt heavy, filled with the echoes of what had just happened inside.
Her mind kept replaying the scene. Clarissa's pale face. The whispers of the guests. And most clearly, Ethan's calm, lethal voice.
Not everyone is lucky enough to marry their childhood best friend.
A lie. A lie so smooth and convincing that for a moment, Elena herself had almost believed it. The man had painted a romantic narrative over their empty marriage, shielding her with a beautiful story. Then, with the precision of a shark, he had turned and destroyed her attacker. All of it was done in less than a minute.
She had always seen Ethan as a rigid man, a businessman whose world consisted only of numbers and contracts. She had never imagined he possessed such social cunning, or... the concern to use it for her sake.
"Are you all right?"
Ethan's low voice broke her reverie. Elena turned her head. Under the moonlight, the CEO mask Ethan usually wore seemed slightly cracked. There was a trace of genuine concern in his eyes.
"Why did you do that?" Elena asked softly, the question slipping out before she could stop it.
Ethan looked at her for a moment, as if weighing his answer. "She was attacking you," he said simply, as if it were the most obvious reason in the world. "And you are my wife. No one gets to belittle a Riels."
The answer was a mix of personal protection and business arrogance. It should have annoyed Elena. But for some reason, it didn't. Perhaps because she knew there was more than just the family name behind his actions. She had seen it in his eyes for a split second before he spoke to Clarissa.
"The 'childhood best friend' story," Elena said, more to herself than to him. "That was..."
"A more publicly palatable narrative than 'a business alliance to save your family's company'," Ethan cut in, his tone flat once more. He had rebuilt his walls. "Now, they have a nice story to talk about. Problem solved."
Elena fell silent. This man thought of everything. Every angle, every possibility. While she could only stand there frozen, Ethan had already fought and won a battle for her.
"Thank you," Elena said. This time, the words came out more easily. More sincerely.
Ethan just nodded, his gaze returning to the city skyline. But in that new silence, Elena felt something had irrevocably shifted. The wall of ice between them hadn't melted, but Ethan's actions tonight had created the first major crack.
And through that crack, for the very first time, Elena began to see a glimmer of light.