Chapter 40 — Amara: The Stranger Has a Name
(Amara's POV)
I don't remember how I made it out of his office.
One minute I was staring into the eyes of the man who had taken my virginity on my birthday — a man I thought I would never see again — and the next, I was seated at my desk, my hands trembling under the table, pretending everything was fine.
Ethan Lantel.
That was his name.
Not just "E." Not just the smooth-talking stranger in a black shirt who looked like he belonged in a cologne commercial.
No. He was my new boss. The CEO.
And not just any CEO. A billionaire. The Ethan Lantel.
I had read about him. I'd seen the headlines. "Tech Prince of the Future." "Billionaire Playboy Turned Business Mogul." If I had known that was the man I'd gone home with three months ago, I would have run the other way.
But back then, he was just a man. A stranger who looked at me like I wasn't invisible. Who kissed me like I was something rare. Who touched me like I was made of glass and fire all at once.
And I gave myself to him.
Not because I was drunk or foolish, but because I wanted to feel something. Anything. On my birthday, in a club full of noise and strangers, I chose him to be my first.
And now he was my boss.
I pressed my lips together, trying to stay calm as I pulled up his schedule on the screen. The tremble in my hand wouldn't go away.
He didn't recognize me right away.
Part of me was glad. It gave me a second to breathe. But when he did… when he said my name — the wrong one — everything I'd buried came rushing back.
I hadn't planned on ever seeing him again. That night was supposed to stay locked in the dark, tucked away in the folds of a memory I could keep to myself. One night. No name. No attachment.
But now… he knew.
Not everything. Not that he was my first. But he knew enough.
He remembered me.
I hated how part of me wanted that.
No. I couldn't think that way.
I needed this job. It was the first stable thing I'd built for myself. After years of watching Arya shine, of being Damon's little sister, I finally had something of my own. I'd worked hard to be taken seriously here. I wasn't about to let a mistake — even a beautiful one — destroy that.
I took a deep breath, forcing my hands to still as I compiled the investor report. I could do this. I would keep it professional. I would forget about the way his hands felt on my skin. The way he looked at me like I was more than just another girl in the club.
He probably didn't even remember the details of that night. Guys like him didn't dwell. He'd probably been with dozens since then.
I was just the girl who left blood on his sheets.
God, the shame rose like bile in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
I didn't cry that night. I didn't cry after, either.
But now, sitting here, with him in the next room… I felt something breaking inside me.
No.
I wouldn't let him see it.
I heard his voice through the glass. Calm, commanding, confident. He was speaking to someone on a call. I didn't catch the words, but the tone was the same as that night — low and steady, like he was always in control.
I hated that my body still reacted to it.
I hated that I remembered how his voice sounded in the dark, murmuring against my skin.
A knock on the glass startled me.
I looked up.
He stood there, in the doorway, one hand in his pocket, the other lightly tapping the frame.
His face was unreadable.
"I need the quarterly report," he said, voice even.
"On your desk," I replied, keeping mine just as neutral.
He nodded once. "Thanks."
He started to leave, then paused.
"Are you okay?" he asked without turning around.
I froze.
Was I okay?
Was anyone?
"Yes," I said quickly, maybe too quickly.
He turned then. His eyes scanned my face, searching for something I wasn't ready to give.
"Good," he said softly. "Let me know if you need anything."
And then he was gone.
I stared at the space he left behind, heart pounding in my chest.
I wasn't okay.
Not really.
But I would be.
Because I had to be.
Ethan Lantel was my boss now.
And whatever happened that night… it was over.
Buried.
At least, that's what I told myself.
Until I saw him again.
End of Chapter 40.