Chapter 9 - The Line We Shouldn't Cross

CHAPTER 9 - The Line We Shouldn’t Cross

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Ethan:s POV

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“You came all the way here,” I said. “Not as a prince. Not as my boss. You came as a man who panicked

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when he realized I was in danger. Why? ”

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He didn’t answer.

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I watched him swallow hard, and that alone revealed everything he refused to say.

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“Ethan,” he mumbled, “I can’t do this with you.”

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“Then stop coming back to me,” I mumbled back. “Stop defending me. Stop worrying about me. Stop looking

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at me like”

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He cut in sharply. “Like what? Say it.”

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I shook my head. “You already know.”

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His voice cracked. “I shouldn’t know.”

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My chest tightened. “But you do.”

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For a moment, neither of us moved. Neither of us moved. The quiet between us felt like a confession.

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Then he pulled the crumpled message from his pocket and threw it onto the table.

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“Leave the palace, or he loses the crown,” he read aloud, voice shaking with anger. “This is not a joke.”

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“I know.”

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“No, you don’t.” His voice rose. “You think this is about gossip or rumors or palace politics. But this… this is

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something else. Someone wants you gone.”

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“And why do you think that? ” I pressed. “Why target me unless they think I matter to you? ”

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He froze.

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I stepped forward, closing the small gap between us. “Be honest with me. Is there another reason?

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Something you fear? ”

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He breathed out slowly. “I fear losing everything I was born to protect.”

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“Your crown,” I whispered.

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His eyes lifted to mine. “Myself.”

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That answer hit me harder than the threat.

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My voice dropped. “Then tell me what I am to you.”

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“I can’t.”

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“You won’t.”

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His hand twitched almost reaching out. Almost brave enough. Almost honest enough.

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The space between our fingers pulsed with a pull we both felt.

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He whispered, “Don’t make me cross this line.”

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“You already did.”

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His eyes widened, as if I caught him in a truth he couldn’t hide.

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“I shouldn’t even be here,” he said. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Not after that message.”

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I took another step, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath. “What part of it scared you the most? The

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threat to your crown? Or the fact that losing me felt worse? ”

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His breath shook.

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My voice relaxed. “Tell me.”

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He whispered, “Both.”

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The world around us faded.

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My heart pulled toward him.

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His shoulders dropped like he was submitting to something he fought too long.

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Our hands hovered close, too close, dangerously close.

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He stared at my fingers like touching them would destroy everything or save everything.

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“Don’t,” he whispered.

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“You want to.”

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“I do,” he admitted. “God help me, I do.”

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My chest tightened painfully. “Then why stop? ”

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“Because if I take one more step toward you, I won’t be able to walk away.”

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My throat burned. “Maybe I don’t want you to walk away.”

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“That’s exactly the problem,” he said, voice breaking. “You make me forget what I’m supposed to protect.”

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“And what are you protecting? Your job or your heart? ”

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His lips opened.

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He didn’t answer.

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He didn’t need to.

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I saw it.

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I felt it.

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I almost touched it.

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Then

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The door burst open.

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A servant froze in shock. “Your Highness… I didn’t know… I mean, I wasn’t told”

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The prince jumped back instantly, fear filling his face.

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I felt the loss of him like a sudden cold.

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“It’s not what it looks like,” he snapped, too fast, too sharp.

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The girl bowed repeatedly, shaking. “Forgive me. I didn't mean to interrupt.”

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She backed away, but the damage was already done.

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The prince turned to me, fear clear in his words. “We can’t be seen alone like this.”

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“She already saw,” I whispered.

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“I know,” he said. “And she’s not the only one watching.”

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A chill ran through me.

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“All the more reason for you to distance yourself,” he added. “They’re not after you because of the crown.

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They’re after you because of me.”

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“Then tell me what to do.”

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“I don’t know,” he revealed. “For the first time in my life, I don’t know.”

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His honesty felt like a bruisetender, painful, real.

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But before I could speak again, his phone buzzed.

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He looked at it.

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He froze.

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His face was drained of color.

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“What is it? ” I asked.

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He didn’t answer me instantly.

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He just turned the screen around.

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A single picture glowed on it.

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A blurry picture.

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Two shapes.

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Too close.

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Too close.

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Too dangerous.

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Us.

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His voice broke. “Someone took this.”

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My heart dropped. “When? ”

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“Tonight,” he whispered. “Right here. Right now.”

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A message emerged under the picture.

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You crossed the line. Now watch the results.

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My pulse was hammered.

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His voice dropped to a scared whisper.

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“Ethan… this isn’t a warning anymore. This is the beginning.”

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And before I could ask what he meant, another notice popped louder, sharper, crueler.

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A story.

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A story.

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A threat.

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A story waiting to explode.

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His whisper cut through me.

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“Someone wants to destroy us both.”

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But that wasn’t the real surprise.

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Because the next photo sent seconds later showed something far worse.

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Someone had taken a picture of my window.

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From outside.

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From very close.

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And the message beneath it froze my heart.

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“You’re next.”