Semua Bab TAMING THE BILLIONAIRE; My Brother's Best Friend : Bab 61 - Bab 70

Aaron’s POVI was emotionally drained — so much so that even my tiredness was tired. All the arguments, all the silent meals, all the times Ethan wouldn't even look in my direction had worn me bare. I'd spent years learning control, discipline, restraint. And yet here I was, falling apart like a man without a backbone, all because of him.Ethan would never forgive me. He shouldn't.I was the one who left him with no word, no message, no courtesy of farewell. Who does that to someone they love? I did not end it with him — I vanished. I did not simply leave, I disappeared like a ghost, leaving him behind with questions and silence. A coward's silence.Maybe that's all I was now — a ghost. A walking shadow of a man who felt, who loved. I could build empires, destroy competitors, influence millions with a single choice… but I couldn't face the person who used to sleep in my arms.I looked out the window of our bedroom — no, his bedroom now — the city lights twinkling like distant, mocking

Aaron's POVThe constant, driving beat of the treadmill reverberated in the air, a reflection of the chaos in my head. I had been running for nearly thirty minutes now, but it was not enough. The ache in my chest was not one to be sweated out. It was not exhaustion — it was guilt, old and familiar, twisting in my stomach like a parasite.Ethan experienced a panic attack. In my house.That alone made my fists tighten on the treadmill bars. I didn't even know if he'd had one in years. When we were together, then, we'd been celebrating two whole years without one. Two years of calm, laughter, and quiet nights where I'd thought I'd finally been able to bring him peace.And now? One month returned to my life, and I had unraveled it all.I stopped the machine, chest pounding, sweat dripping down my neck as I stared at my reflection in the glass wall. I looked like a stranger — a person hollow-eyed, a person cold, a person who'd caused too much hurt to ever be forgiven.What the hell was wro

Ethan's POVI hadn't seen Aaron all day. Not at work, not in the halls, not even on the usual silent drive home where neither one of us ever had anything to say anymore. His office at Warner Industries had been shut, and no one had spoken of him. For all I knew, he hadn't come in at all.By the time I got home, the late light was streaming through the tall glass windows of the manor—soft, gold, and obnoxiously peaceful. I went to look for him right away. It wasn't the first time Aaron had gone off into his world, but it was the first time it affected me.The house was enormous—practically too enormous. Vaulted ceilings, marble floors, long halls that seemed to echo every step I took. I realized I hadn't actually finished exploring the house since moving in. I'd been too busy with everything.And everything, of course, was Aaron.I passed by the empty dining room, the silent music room, the office he sometimes worked from. Then I came upon it—a door open at the end of the west hall, a

Ethan's POVThe lights were dimmed, the room was redolent of popcorn and strawberries, and Mandy's living room was bathed in blue from the TV screen. Jennifer's Body was playing—the film she selected, not me. I didn't even protest.It was fine to begin with. I'd only ever seen it years ago but hadn't remembered much. And then there was that scene—the one where Jennifer lures another lad into the woods with that deadpan face. Mandy and I both gasped so loudly the popcorn bowl slid over, spilling off her hands."Damn it!" she yelped, getting down to scoop the mess from the floor.I barely registered. I had my eyes glued to the screen. "Hold on—why is she just killing boys?" I complained. "She's really just killing the guys. Why doesn't she kill girls too?" Mandy leaned back forward, sliding her glasses up and giving me a knowing smirk. "Easy," she said, putting another kernel into her mouth. "Because boys are socially insane and emotionally unavailable. They're worth killing.".I glare

Aaron's POVIt had been weeks since Ethan's panic attack.The memory of the night still clung to me like the taste of smoke—twisting, biting, and relentless to remove. Every time I closed my eyes, I still saw the way he'd fallen, the rhythm of his breathing fractured and desperate. I had wanted to keep him close, to tell him he was safe, that he did not have to fight his nightmares alone… but I had not. I could not.Since I was the reason for his fears to begin with.Since then, I had dedicated myself to work in a manner that bordered on insanity. I existed at the office now, practically. I forgot some mornings whether I'd slept or eaten, and the hum of my computer was the closest thing to a heartbeat I experienced. But the result for everyone to see was Warner Industries thriving. Three times the investments, an expansion deal signed, new partners flowing in like the tide.Everyone was complimenting me. They said that I cut cleaner, that I was more concentrated. That I was thriving.