Ethan had never checked his phone this much in his life.
And that alone annoyed him.
Messages flooded in—friends, business partners, even people he barely spoke to.
"Is it true?"
"Your ex is engaged?"
"Bro… you fumbled."
He stared at that last message for a long time.
"…Fumbled?" he muttered.
Since when did people start talking about his life like it was entertainment?
He tossed the phone onto the table—then picked it up again almost immediately.
This time, he opened social media.
Big mistake.
There it was.
A blurry picture of Nora walking beside Alexander.
Elegant. Composed.
Untouchable.
The caption read:
"Who is this mystery woman beside billionaire Alexander?"
The comments were worse.
"She's gorgeous."
"Way out of his league 🔥"
"If that's his ex… he messed up BAD."
Ethan scoffed.
"People are ridiculous."
But his jaw tightened.
Because for some reason—
He didn't like reading that.
Not one bit.
Across town, Nora was also staring at her phone.
"…Are you seeing this?" she asked.
Alexander, sitting across from her, barely glanced up from his coffee.
"Seeing what?"
She turned the screen toward him.
His eyes flickered briefly.
"Oh," he said calmly. "That."
Nora blinked.
"That's your reaction?"
"What kind of reaction were you expecting?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said. "Concern? Panic? A press statement?"
Alexander took a sip of his coffee.
"If I reacted to everything the internet said, I wouldn't have time to run my companies."
Nora stared at him for a second.
"…You're actually serious."
"Very."
She shook her head, trying not to smile.
For someone so powerful—
He was oddly… calm.
Suspiciously calm.
"You don't find this funny?" she asked.
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
"I find it accurate."
Nora almost choked.
"Excuse me?"
"They said you're out of his league," he said casually. "I agree."
She stared at him.
Then let out a short laugh before she could stop herself.
"…You're unbelievable."
And just like that—
For the first time in a long while—
Nora laughed.
Not forced.
Not polite.
But real.
Alexander watched her quietly.
And something in his expression softened.