The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 179

Ethan didn’t respond to Ramona right away. He looked at her with an intensity she couldn’t quite decipher, as if something heavy was weighing on his mind.

She shifted uneasily, feeling the tension in the air. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, his fingers gently brushing through her hair. “Jotham is downstairs.”

Though his voice was calm and even, something about it made Ramona’s heart sink.

“You saw all that?” Her eyes flashed with a hint of panic. She sat up straight, rushing to explain, “Don’t get the wrong idea, please. I just happened to run into him today, and I made everything clear with him!”

She’d chosen to settle things with Jotham today because of Ethan. After thinking it through these past days, she realized what mattered most wasn’t the past, but the present. If Ethan was unhappy with her ties to the Holt Group, she was ready to let it all go—her grudges, her connections, everything.

“I’m not misunderstanding anything,” Ethan said quietly. “But seeing another man pester you…” His eyes darkened, betraying a chill he was trying to suppress. “I can’t help feeling upset.”

He trusted Ramona completely and didn’t think Jotham was any real competition. Still, that twinge of jealousy lingered, refusing to leave him.

Ethan pulled Ramona into his arms. Despite the strength in his broad shoulders and the calm that seemed to surround him, there was a vulnerability there she hadn’t noticed before.

Touched, Ramona wrapped her arms around his back, soothing him like one might calm a lion.

“I’m sorry. I won’t let you see something like that again,” she murmured, her voice gentle. “What can I do to make you feel better? If there’s anything you want, just tell me. I’ll do my best.”

He was quiet for a moment, then said, almost offhandedly, “I had someone rough him up a bit. Nothing too minor. He’ll probably spend the night in the hospital.”

Ramona blinked in surprise, but then nodded. “Good. Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“I’ve arranged for tighter security in the building.”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t think this place is right for us anymore. Let’s move.”

“What?”

“We should start looking for a new home, a place for us. I’ve already asked Ash to get the information together. We’ll choose whatever you like.”

With that, Ethan finally let her go, and when he looked at her, the shadows in his eyes had lifted, replaced by a gentle, almost playful smile.

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