---
Chapter 52 – If That's What He Wants
Amara's POV
Malik and I were officially dating now.
He picked me up from work. Called every night before bed. Sent random "thinking of you" texts that made me smile even when I didn't want to. Everyone at the office who noticed my new glow assumed I was finally moving on.
And maybe I was… on the outside.
But on the inside?
There was still one shadow I couldn't erase — Ethan Lantel.
Since the day he saw me kiss Malik and walked away like it meant nothing, something inside me had hardened. I had hoped — secretly, shamefully — that seeing me with someone else would stir something in him. Even a flicker of jealousy. Anger. Anything.
But he did nothing.
And that silence? That cold, empty reaction?
It shattered something inside me that I didn't even know was still breakable.
So I made a decision: If I meant nothing to him, then he would mean nothing to me.
I stopped lingering around his office when I didn't have to. Stopped looking for excuses to be close. When I entered meetings, I kept my eyes on the agenda and my tone professional. Polite. Distant. If he asked for files, I responded, "Of course, Mr. Lantel."
Not Ethan.
Never Ethan again.
He noticed the change. I could tell. He'd glance at me sometimes, like he was trying to figure out what had shifted. But true to his nature — the same nature that ignored my existence after our one night together — he said nothing.
Not a word.
No "Are you okay?"
No "Why are you acting different?"
No "I miss you."
And that silence only fueled the fire.
I wasn't going to beg him for scraps of attention. I wasn't going to break every time he flirted with a new girl in the office or left lunch with some model-looking woman clinging to his sleeve.
I was done.
Malik didn't deserve half of me, but I gave him what I could. Time. Smiles. Laughter. I let him hold my hand. I let him call me his. But ever since that kiss — that one, impulsive kiss I gave him in front of Ethan — I hadn't kissed him again.
I couldn't.
Every time Malik leaned in, something in me froze. I'd smile and turn away, giving some excuse about timing or not rushing things. He never pressured me. He was too kind for that.
But I could see the confusion in his eyes. The quiet sadness he tried to hide.
And I hated myself for it.
Because he deserved more.
He deserved someone who wasn't secretly watching the man she used to dream about. Who wasn't quietly unraveling every time he stood too close.
But Ethan had made his choice.
He treated me like a one-night stand?
Then that's exactly what I'll become.
A ghost of a moment. A forgotten name. A woman who disappeared so completely from his life, he'd be forced to remember she was ever there in the first place.
Because I wasn't going to stay in his orbit just to be overlooked.
I wasn't going to love a man who never looked back.
And I definitely wasn't going to fall apart for someone who could walk past me like I never happened.
He wanted cold?
He'd get ice.
---
It was a Thursday afternoon when I passed him in the hallway. He was speaking with a client — some smug-looking man with too much cologne and a heavy gold chain. I kept my eyes forward, heels clicking confidently against the tile.
Ethan saw me.
Our eyes met.
I gave him nothing.
Not even a blink.
And just like always, he said nothing.
I hated how badly I wanted him to say something. Anything. Even "You've changed" would've been enough.
But no.
I was invisible again.
Good.
Because if I wasn't his, then I wouldn't let my heart belong to him anymore.
I'd smile with Malik. Go on real dates. Accept flowers. Build something new.
Even if Ethan's name still echoed in the deepest, darkest corner of my mind.
Even if I still checked the door of every restaurant, praying he wouldn't walk in.
Even if every time I kissed the air before bed, I remembered the way he used to taste.
I was tired.
Tired of hurting. Tired of hoping. Tired of holding on to a memory he clearly let go of the moment the sun came up.
So this time…
I'm letting go first.
---