"AM, THIS IS MY BOSS. Mr. Ethan Williams."

Amelia nodded, a little too stiffly and managed a smile even as her stomach continued to twist itself into knots.

She was going to be sick.

Alex was looking at her patiently, so blissfully unaware of the storm of emotions raging inside her.

She gritted her teeth and held out her hand.

"Amelia. Amelia Harold," she said but her voice came out barely a whisper.

She was going to be sick.

Ethan felt it too. Amelia was sure he did by the way his face hardened, eyes turning a little darker.

She held out her hand for him to shake.

"Alex's girlfriend," she added just as he bought his hand up.

His motion halted for the barest of seconds followed by a twitch in his jaw.

She hated herself for being so aware of him.

He clasped her hand and she almost gasped at the touch, eyes suddenly growing wide. She bit her lip and gave an awkward cough to cover up her actions.

His touch still sent those electric currents through her nerves.

She was going to be sick.

Alex grinned, his hand slipping around her waist as he pulled her closer.

Amelia saw the flash of something cross Ethan's features. Something dark. Something she never wanted to encounter.

His eyes lingered on Alex's arm a little longer than necessary before he brought them back to his face.

"Alex, see if the cab is here," she whispered and he nodded, pulling out his phone.

"It is. Are you sure you can't stay?" He said a little dejectedly.

"You enjoy," she whispered, not trusting her voice.

She turned around and grabbed her clutch from the stool.

"Alexandar, it's late. I think I should get going as well."

Ethan's voice. It had somehow gotten deeper. Amelia hadn't thought that could be possible.

Her knees shook and she closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing.

She needed to leave. Escape.

Alex said something to Ethan but she had tuned out their voices. She couldn't handle listening to him.

She was going to be sick.

She made Alex turn around and he kissed her goodbye. She was hyper aware of Ethan's eyes following their action.

Alex pulled back and she managed a smile, reassuring him that she would call once she reached home.

She walked out without a glance back.

___________

Their apartment's rooftop was the most beautiful part of the building.

It was a wide expanse of tiled area with sofas and couches arranged in one corner. The brown coffee table in the middle was decorated with green potted plants.

The moonlight dancing across the floor and the stars twinkling overhead had calmed her nerves after her trip back from the bar. They kept Ethan's thoughts at bay and that was all she wanted.

The sky was her friend. It always has been. From her most horrible days to her most precious ones, it had always been there, just waiting for her, listening to her.

She wasn't sure how long she sat under the wide sky with her white blanket draped over herself and binoculars in her hands as she sought peace among the stars.

The loud ping of the elevator jerked her back to reality and she placed the binoculars on the coffee table, sitting up to see who it was.

Ethan.

A little part of her brain was maybe expecting him. A sigh escaped her lips, her breath rising in a mist before it vanished in the air.

Her heart was calm now. It didn't race like it had earlier. Maybe it had also accepted the fact that he was back here. So close to her.

She had ran before, just because she couldn't bear being so close to him.

She'd kept her distance for almost two years and now? He was here. So close. So fucking close.

What was the point of running if she was only running in a circle?

She never has believed in fate but if there was such a thing, hers was playing a shitty game on her.

Ethan stood near the elevator for a long while, his eyes taking her in.

His usually neat dark hair was growing haphazardly as if he hadn't cut them in a long while. His stubble had grown thicker than she'd ever seen him with.

It suited him. His eyes. Those brown eyes that had always been so cold and unwelcoming were now filled with a foreign sort of emotion.

She wasn't sure what that emotion was. Regret? Guilt? Care?

She scoffed mentally, giving herself a shake. It was Ethan. He couldn't possibly feel any of that for her.

He took slow, cautious steps towards her as if she was fragile and he was afraid of hurting her.

The irony of the thought almost made her laugh out loud.

"What are you doing here?" She asked finally.

Putting it in words made it official. It made it real and Amelia's heart started thumping against her chest once again.

"How did you find out where I live?" She asked.

"Your boyfriend works for me," he said, voice low and his words carefully calculated like he'd practiced this conversation.

She nodded, calmer than she felt. He sat at the other end of the couch, watching her intently.

"You want to ask something," she pointed out. She hadn't ever been able to read Ethan before but that need was so painfully obvious on his face anyone could figure it out. "Go ahead."

"Alexander. Do you love him?" He asked and Amelia inhaled sharply.

Not what she was expecting.

His face was set, giving no indications to whether he was mocking her with the question or if he genuinely wanted to know.

Either way, she wasn't going to tell him shit.

"Maybe I do," she shrugged and just like that, his calm composure shattered, giving way to something sinister and terrifying.

"You're a shitty liar," he said, his voice even but Amelia could hear the storm waiting to be unleashed.

She scoffed, standing up from her position. She needed to leave.

"It's mine and Alex's business. You have no right to ask questions that don't concern you."

He was faster than her and she wasn't expecting it but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him.

She gasped, eyes widening as her brain slowly registered the closeness between them.

Her heart hammered against her ribcage. Out of anticipation or fear, she wasn't sure.

They were close. So fucking close. She could feel his breath on her face.

Anger. And desire. Those were the only things she saw in his eyes and it terrified her.

His arm slipped around her waist, pressing her into him and she felt paralyzed.

She was going to be sick.

"Do I make you sick, Lia?" He sneered, spitting out her name as if it was poison on his tongue.

He'd read her. But then again, he'd mostly always been able to read her.

Mostly.

"Let me go," she yelled. Or maybe she only yelled in her head. In reality, her voice was barely a whisper.

"I did, didn't I? I let you go but you're back here. Why, Amelia? Why did you come back here?"

"Please," she whispered once again.

"You look like I really fucking disgust you," he whispered mockingly.

"You didn't look disgusted when you begged me to take you. Or all the times after that when you begged me to fuck you, to hurt you."

Her breathing was so out of control she might have been having a panic attack for all she knew.

"Leave me alone," she gritted out.

"Does you little boyfriend fucks you like that? Do you beg him to hurt you like you did to me? Do his touches set you on fire? Because from the way you're standing right now, it doesn't look like he is able to fucking satisfy you."

Her free hand flew up and she slapped him across the face.

Ethan stilled and the sound seemed to echo around them.

She saw the look in his eyes. Like he wanted to choke her until her heart gave out.

In the next second his huge hand was around her neck, applying just the right amount of pressure. She gasped, eyes widening, the sensation fairly new to her all over again

But she acted quick. She needed to or else she might have regretted it for the rest of her life.

Even though her body protested, she acted quick and she slipped from under his grip, taking multiple steps backward.

Enough to keep him from doing what he had lunged forward to do.

He blinked as if finally realizing how fucked up this whole situation was. As if he'd only just realized that he had almost kissed her.

He took a step back, combing his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." He cursed in the air.

He threw her a disgusted look, as if it was all her fault and then he left.

He left. Just like that.

She heard his hurried footsteps and the ping of the elevator doors opening, followed by the soft click that told her that the doors had closed.

She was rooted to the spot, unable to move.

She felt a wet patch between her legs and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Shewasgoingtobesick. Shewasgoingtobesick. Shewasgoingtobesick.

She jerked back to her senses just in time as she ran towards the little trash can placed in a corner.

She got down on her knees and emptied the contents of her stomach in it.