Ethan nodded as though he had expected me to say that. “I won’t take your time,” he said. “If anything, you can just call me.”
And with that, he turned and left, his silhouette fading into the distance.
I hastily stuffed the name card into my pocket as if I was allergic to it and was afraid that others would see it.
“Gosh! Am I dreaming?” Lianne mumbled with an astonished look on her face. “Mr. Grayson wants to collaborate with you? That’s simply unbelievable!”
I didn’t share her exuberance, though. Somehow, I felt as though everything was in Ethan’s grasp.
It was as if he was trying to lure me into his trap and that he was carefully planning his every move so that I would fall right back into his world.
I couldn’t stop worrying about how uncertain the future may be, and my thoughts weighed on me, making me feel suffocated.
“Let’s head back. We don’t want others seeing us here,” said Kevin, pulling me back from my thoughts.
Lianne grabbed my arm. “Right. We’ll talk about it later.”
I nodded numbly and let the two of them drag me away with them.
When we got back to the dorm, I still couldn’t snap out of the shock of meeting Ethan just now. I seemed so zoned-out and listless that I probably looked like a zombie.
Noticing this, Lianne started to worry. “Are you okay? You don’t look good.”
“I’m fine.” I smiled wryly. “I just… don’t know what to do. He suddenly showed up, and his suggestion for a collaboration… It’s just too abrupt for me.”
“What are you worried about?” Kevin asked seriously. “This opportunity is hard to come by! It’s not necessarily a bad thing, you know.”
“But… “I faltered. I feared that this was all part of his plan.
I had been avoiding him recently. I just couldn’t trust him now that he suddenly took the initiative to be kind to me.
Besides, too many things happened between the two of us, and there was an uncrossable chasm between us. I was scared of making the same mistake as I did in my previous life. Lianne sensed how hesitant I was and lightly patted my shoulder to comfort me.
“Evelyn, I know that you’re worried,” she told me. “Rather than overthinking, you should just talk to him and ask him about it.”
Kevin was on the same page. “Go see him and find out what he’s trying to do. Isn’t that better than overthinking? You have the right to refuse if he has an ulterior motive.” “But… “I was still hesitant.
Lianne added, “You don’t have to
give him an answer right away. Just hear what he has to say first. You can also tell him where you stand so that you won’t give him false hope. Isn’t that what you had in mind?”
After giving it some thought, I decided that it was a reasonable idea. I couldn’t just avoid him until the end of time, so I might as well make the first move.
“Okay,” I said through gritted teeth. My mind was made up. “I’ll see him. I’ll take it as a chance to find out what he’s planning.”
Seeing my resolve, Kevin and Lianne stopped persuading me. They simply told me to be careful.
The next day, I called Ethan’s
assistant and made an appointment to meet Ethan at a café near his company. I purposely chose to meet after working hours. He would probably be free by then.
When I reached the café, I saw him sitting at a table in a corner. He looked sharp in his suit, but his face was cold and grim.
When he saw me, he smiled an inscrutable smile. I couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
“You’re here,” he said, getting up to pull a chair out for me. “Have a seat. What would you like to drink?”
I wasn’t used to him being so
assertive and gentlemanly. He never treated me like this before. In the past, he was always authoritative and possessive. He wanted me to listen to him all the time and do whatever he wished. He treated me like I was a pet.
“Cappuccino,” I said, suppressing my anxiety. “Thanks.”
After giving the waiter our orders, Ethan’s eyes fell back on me, and he said, “What do you think of my offer of a collaboration?”