"I like the sound of that."
"Good. Because you're stuck with me now. And I'm a lot more demanding than I was at eighteen."
He laughs, actually laughs and it's the best sound I've heard in years.
"I'm counting on it."
Chapter 12
Ethan
Dating Ivy iseverything I imagined and nothing like I expected.
She's stubborn about taking things slow. We don't tell anyone for the first two weeks, just get used to being together without the pressure of public scrutiny.
We study together. Actually study, not just exist in the same space. She helps me with my data analysis. I help her with strategic frameworks.
We talk. About everything. About our childhoods, our dreams, what we want after graduation. No more secrets. No more half-truths.
And we learn from each other again. The ways we've changed, the ways we've stayed the same.
"You still tap your pen three times before taking notes," I observe one night in the library.
"You still mouth the words when you're reading something complex," she counters.
"I do not."
"You absolutely do." She reaches across the table and takes my hand. "It's cute."
"Cute. That's what I'm going for. Super cute."
She laughs, and my chest aches with how much I love that sound.
Three weeks after we got together, I finally dealt with my parents.
I schedule a video call. Ivy sits next to me, out of frame but present. Her hand in mine for courage.
My mother's face appears on screen. "Finally. We've been trying to reach you for weeks."
"I know. I've been avoiding you."
"That's unacceptable?—"
"I'm dating Ivy Chen," I say without preamble. "The girl you threatened three years ago. The one you said I had to destroy publicly to protect my future. I'm dating her. And I love her and if you have a problem with that, you can take your money, your connections, and your approval, and keep them. I don't want them anymore."
My mother's face goes pale. My father, visible behind her, looks furious.
"Ethan, you don't understand the implications?—"
"I understand perfectly. You tried to control me through fear and manipulation and it worked for three years. But I'm done. Ivy and I are together and if you try to threaten her or her family again, I'll go to the media. I'll tell them everything. How you blackmailed your own son. How you threatened an immigrant family's livelihood. How you use money and connections to destroy anyone who doesn't fit your vision."
"You wouldn't dare?—"
"Try me. I have evidence. Emails, texts, recordings and I'm not scared of you anymore."
My father leans into frame. "If you do this, you're cut off. No more tuition support. No trust fund. No inheritance."
"Fine. I'll get loans. Work. Figure it out, but I'm not choosing you over her again. Ever."