The event ended successfully, and a few guests were lingering at the ball, enjoying themselves and mingling with each other. Austin stayed, sending Athena, Stephen, and Maxime home to be escorted by the President’s security. They left way before the party even ended.
Austin planned to keep Ethan busy with the help of the media. He was planning to confront Ethan after they all left because he didn’t want to drag his father’s reputation in the dirt and make an issue of what Ethan had declared earlier.
Ethan knew Austin wanted to confront him, and he stayed because he wanted to know what his friend wanted to say. He considered Austin as his family and wanted to know why they didn’t confront him when they learned the truth. When the rest of the guests left, Ethan caught Austin standing in the corner, facing the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
“Do you think you can easily take Athena away from me?” Ethan said as he approached his friend.
