Chapter 11

The black Rolls-Royce stopped in front of my family's villa. By coincidence, we ran into Lucas, who was walking up with a box of pastries.

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"Do you want to go say hello?" he asked.

I turned to him and said, "Lucas is a good friend of mine. No need."

Ethan leaned over and unbuckled my seatbelt. "You should head inside then."

Though he said it wasn't necessary, his heart clearly sank, a bitter taste rising in his throat like he had swallowed some bitter herb.

I grabbed his wrist. "Lucas and I really are just friends. Don't overthink it."

"I won't," he said.

"You really won't?" I turned my head and saw him gripping the steering wheel tightly, faint blue veins visible.

I reached out and touched his fingertips.

"If something's bothering you, can you tell me?

"Don't keep it all bottled up inside. It makes things very difficult."

Pressured by me, Ethan's Adam's apple bobbed. He turned to look away and slowly admitted:

"I don't really like him."

"Then you don't have to interact with him," I said, encouragingly patting his head.

"He's just my friend. You don't need to force yourself to like him."

"Besides, we're going to be husband and wife soon. That's a much closer relationship than I have with him. If you're uncomfortable with my friendship with him... I can keep some distance from now on."

Ethan looked surprised. "You'd distance yourself from him for my sake?"

"Why not?" I smiled at Ethan and said softly, "We're going to be married after all!"

Ethan froze, looking somewhat dazed.

I pressed on while the iron was hot, leaning close to tell him:

"See, talking things out is how problems get solved, right?

"If you're ever unsatisfied with me or want to tell me something, you have to let me know.

"Don't keep it all inside and make yourself miserable while I'm completely unaware. That would be such a waste!"

I was starting to realize that Ethan didn't know how to handle intimate relationships.

He tried to use his business negotiation tactics in matters of the heart, coercing my family into an arranged marriage. But when I took the initiative to seek him out, he was at a loss for how to respond.

He was incredibly naive when it came to romance.

"It's okay," I thought to myself. "I can teach him slowly."