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I let out a shaky breath, my heart aching as I processed everything he was saying. “You should have trusted me,” I whispered. “You should have believed I wouldn’t care about your money.”
“Perhaps,” he said, stepping closer, his eyes pleading. “And I’m sorry, Natalie. I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for any of this to happen. But I’m here now, being as honest as I can be. I don’t want to lose you.”
His vulnerability caught me off guard, and I felt my resolve wavering. This was the Ethan I’d fallen for—the man who couldbe strong, confident, open, and sincere. But the betrayal still stung.
“You’ve hurt me, Ethan,” I said, trembling. “I don’t know if I can trust you again.”
He reached out, gently taking my hands in his. “I understand that. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to earn your trust back. But you need to know that I’m serious about us. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I love you, Natalie.”
The words hung in the air between us, their weight almost too much to bear. My heart swelled with emotion, but the fear and uncertainty held me back. “I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you,” I admitted.
He nodded, accepting my hesitation. “I’m not asking you to forgive me right now. I want you to give us a chance. Come to Dallas with me, see my world—meet the people who matter to me. Let me show you who I really am, not the person I pretended to be.”
I held his gaze, the sincerity in his words chipping away at the walls I’d built around my heart. But as much as I wanted to believe that things could go back to how they were, I couldn’t ignore the fact that we both had our own baggage.
“I haven’t been completely honest either,” I admitted, my voice wavering. “It’s not just about you and your deceptions. I’ve been carrying my own fears and insecurities, and maybe I let them get the better of me.”
Ethan looked at me with a mix of concern and curiosity. “What do you mean?”
I took a deep breath, my eyes drifting to the open laptop on the desk, surrounded by scattered papers and files. “ You know, Jason… my ex. He really messed me up. I thought I was over it, but when I discovered the truth about you, all those old wounds opened back up. I’ve been so afraid of being abandoned again forsomeone or something else that I didn’t stop to think about what you might be going through.”
Ethan’s expression softened as he listened, and I could see he understood. “Natalie, I wish I could take away that pain, but I’m glad you’re telling me this. It’s important for us to be honest with each other if we’re going to move forward.”
I nodded, the weight of my own admission bringing a sense of relief. “I know I should have called you back when you tried to reach out. I was scared, angry, confused… and maybe a little selfish. I was so wrapped up in my hurt that I didn’t stop to think about your reality.”
Ethan’s grip on my hands tightened slightly, his gaze intense but filled with understanding. “I get it, Natalie. Believe me, I do. But you need to know that I wasn’t just ignoring you.”
He glanced over at the open laptop and the files spread across the desk. “This project is for one of my best clients, Charles Whitmore. My sister, Sophia, is brilliant, but I didn’t feel she could handle this one alone. That’s why I had to leave Cedar Cove so abruptly. I didn’t want to go, but I had to. My work—it’s not just about the money or the success. It’s about responsibility, about keeping the promises I’ve made to people who trust me.”
I blinked, really seeing him for the first time since I’d walked into the room. He wasn’t just the man I’d fallen for—he was also the CEO of a massive company, a man who bore the weight of decisions that could impact hundreds, maybe even thousands of lives. His world was so much bigger than the small-town life I was used to, and I realized that I hadn’t fully appreciated that before.
I took a step closer, my heart aching at the vulnerability in his voice. “But you’re not just another rich guy, Ethan. You’re the man I fell in love with—the one who worked on cars, who made me laugh, who cared about the people in this town. That’s who you are to me.”
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you’re the woman who made me realize there’s more to life than only work and success. You made me want something different—something real.”
Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them back. “So where do we go from here?”
Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Natalie. But I do know that I don’t want to lose you. I’m returning to Dallas in a day or two to wrap up this deal. Now that school is out for the summer, please come with me. See my world—meet the people who matter to me, understand why I do what I do.”
I hesitated. The thought of leaving Cedar Cove and stepping into his world filled me with excitement and fear. “I don’t know, Ethan. That’s a big step. I don’t want to give up my preschool. I’ve worked too hard to walk away.”
“I understand, and I don’t blame you,” he said, his tone gentle but firm. “Just for starters, I want you to see I’m not just a billionaire CEO. I’m still the same guy you got to know here in Cedar Cove. The only difference is that I won’t hide anything from you anymore.”
I looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity there, and I knew that he meant every word. He was offering me a chance to be a part of his life, to see the whole picture and not just the parts he’d shown me before.
“That sounds like something I should do,” I finally said, my voice steady. “I’ll go with you to Dallas. But I need you to promise me something, Ethan.”
“Anything!”
“Promise me that from now on, we’ll be honest with each other. No more secrets, no more half-truths.”
Ethan nodded. “I promise, Natalie. No more secrets.”
I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, the strain that had been building between us beginning to dissipate. “Then let’s try to make this work,” I said, smiling a little.
Ethan winked, a look of relief dawning over his face. He reached out and pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “We’ll make it work, Natalie. I promise.”
As I rested my head against his chest, I felt a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in days. Yet, for the first time in a long time, I believed we were on the same path—together.
