All Chapters of TAMING THE BILLIONAIRE; My Brother's Best Friend : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Aaron's POVI came home not caring to face the day once more.Ever since Ethan returned to my life, all of it had become shallow — the talk more shallow, my temper thinner, my distractions continuous. But in seriousness? I liked shallow. Shallow was warm water that I could wade through. Hollow had been my one companion for years. Hollow was the quiet house, the empty nights, the sound of feet belonging to no one.I opened the double doors to the manor and the silence hit me like a slap. Everything was left untouched and spotless. The marble floor glimmered as if no one had walked on it for months. The top-of-the-line furniture remained in the same position the interior decorator had placed it, staged like a room in a store, not a home. The chandelier dangled over the foyer, crystal, flawless, unmarred by dust — but it might as well have been a star on a different planet for all the welcome it gave.There were no photographs, no books flung about, no worn blankets scattered carelessly

Aaron's POVI steeled myself before entering the boardroom. My hands were damp even though the marble-cold air always present in this wing of the building made me shiver. Benson was already seated, naturally—always early, always ready, always one step ahead. He occupied space like a monarch at the farthest end of the table, his figure broad, his years etched on hard lines which didn't temper his presence.And standing next to him—someone I hadn't been anticipating.A blonde-haired girl, her hair falling in silky waves, green eyes that sparkled under the lights. She was lovely, nearly negligently so, and smiled politely when our gazes met."Warner," Benson's gravelly voice broke the silence, jolting my focus back to him.I swallowed, keeping my smooth face, detached, though my heart pounded against my chest. Don't let him notice it. Don't let him smell it."Mr. Benson," I demanded, speaking in a relaxed cadence as I sat down. "Always a pleasure."He did not hesitate. "This is my daught

Ethan's POVIt started in the office.The office was the same, except for the corners blurring like on a painting done in watercolor. My workspace had disappeared, the papers filed, and in the middle of all of this was Aaron. His black suit gleamed, his hair falling over his forehead the way it always did when he'd forgotten to notice."I missed you," he said, voice richer than I'd remembered.I tensed. "What?""I had to leave. There were nasty individuals chasing me. If I'd stayed, they would have targeted you… your family. I couldn't expose you to that."My chest tightened. His words sounded true, despite knowing part of myself it was impossible. "You could've warned me.""I couldn't risk it." He stepped closer to me, his hand tracing the curve of my jaw. The warmth of his skin seared me. "But I thought of you each day."I wanted to be angry, shove him away, insist on real answers. Instead, I moved in. Our lips rammed together, starved and clumsy, like we were catching up on all the

Ethan's POVA month.Thirty consecutive days of overtime work hours, endless meetings, coffee spilled on my shirt, all-night reports, and me occasionally asking myself if I was unwittingly signing away my life in invisible ink. But the thing is — for the first time in a very long time, the hustle and bustle felt… worth it.Because yesterday, the company gave me my first paycheck.I had pulled the bank app out in Anderson's office bathroom, my thumb trembling against the shattered screen like I was ready to be disappointed. And then—Boom.My mouth had fallen open. My mouth was actually so wide I'm sure it rang on the floor. I fetched it up, cleaned it off, and dropped it once more.What in the holy holy hell?This was what these stuffy-collared, self-centered office colleagues were being mailed each month?No wonder they strutted around like they owned the goddamn world. No wonder they had attitudes sharper than razors and smiles faker than knock-off Gucci. I’d thought the snobbishne

Ethan's POVTwo hours. That was all it took for me to hate the man again.I paced my little corner of the shared office like a caged animal, hands moving faster than my brain was, mouth sour with bile. I hated him. I hated him so bloody much. He had the nerve — the audacity — to come into my life after six years of nothing and ask me to marry him like it was some kind of business proposition. Like I was something he could just take up and use.Who gave him that confidence? Who gave him the impression that I was the kind of man who'd get down on his knees and make everything all right for him? He leaves; he disappears; he lets all of us burn for five years — and then he wants me to be "efficient" and clean up after him? No. No way.I thrust my hand through my hair and slammed the keys on my laptop until the screen fuzzed into a mess of code and deadlines. Why did I have to be the one to rescue the company? Why did I have to be the one to fall into his neat little trap because Benson wa