Ethan felt a sharp pang in his chest as he looked into Chloe's tear-filled eyes. The cold, calculating monarch of Royal vanished for a moment, replaced by the man who had spent countless nights staring at his phone, waiting for a message that never came. His pride had stopped him from using Crul to hunt her down, and seeing her suffer now filled him with a bitter, simmering regret.
"Don't worry about me, Chloe," Ethan said, his voice dropping to a tender, grounding whisper. "They don't have the strength to take me down. Not today, not ever. I've missed you... more than I can put into words."
The dam finally broke. Chloe let out a choked sob and collapsed into his chest. Ethan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, his hand gently stroking her hair as she wept into his suit.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Chloe whispered between sobs. "I thought my life was over, that I was just a ghost waiting to be buried."
