Sophia hesitated, her instincts telling her to be cautious. This could be a trap, another manipulation. But there was something in Ethan's eyes, something raw and honest, that made her pause.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her.
Ethan didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, worn envelope. He held it out to her, his expression unreadable.
Sophia took the envelope, her fingers brushing against his as she did. The touch sent a jolt through her, a reminder of the tangled emotions she had tried so hard to suppress. She looked down at the envelope, noticing the faded handwriting on the front.
"Open it," Ethan said softly.
With a deep breath, Sophia slid her finger under the flap and pulled out the contents. Inside was a single sheet of paper, yellowed with age. As she unfolded it, her eyes scanned the handwritten words, her breath catching as she realized what she was holding.
It was a letter—a letter that, judging by the date, had been written nearly a decade ago. And as she read the words, the truth began to unfold before her, a truth that shattered everything she thought she knew.
The letter was from her father. Written in the days before his death, it was a confession of sorts—a plea for forgiveness. He spoke of the pressures he had faced, the decisions he had made, and the regrets that had haunted him until the end.
But what struck Sophia the most was the part where he mentioned Ethan's name, not with blame, but with gratitude. According to the letter, Ethan had tried to help him, had offered him a way out—a way to protect his family, to keep them safe. But her father had been too proud, too stubborn to accept.
"You helped my father?" Sophia's hands trembled as she finished reading, her mind reeling from the revelation.
All this time, she had believed that Ethan was the enemy, that he had played a role in her family's downfall. But this letter told a different story, one in which Ethan had tried to do the right thing, only to be thwarted by forces beyond his control.
She looked up at Ethan, her heart pounding. "Why didn't you show me this before?"
Ethan's expression was filled with a sadness she hadn't seen before. "Because I didn't think you'd believe me. And because, until now, I didn't think it would make a difference."
Sophia stared at him, struggling to process the implications of what she had just learned. Everything she had planned, everything she had worked for, had been based on a lie—a lie she had told herself for years.
"What do I do now?" she whispered, the words slipping out before she could stop them.
Ethan stepped closer, his presence a steadying force in the whirlwind of her emotions. "We start over," he said quietly. "We find the truth together."
Sophia searched his eyes, looking for any sign of deception, but found none. For the first time in a long time, she felt a flicker of something other than anger or determination—something that felt dangerously like hope.
But as she stood there, on the precipice of a decision that could change everything, one question remained in the back of her mind: Could she really trust Ethan Blackwood?
And more importantly, could she trust herself to find out?
Sophia knew that the path ahead would not be easy, that there would be more revelations, more challenges to face. But as she looked into Ethan's eyes, she realized that, for the first time in years, she was not alone.
Sophia held the letter tightly in her hands, her mind swirling with the newfound information. The words of her father were still echoing in her thoughts, challenging everything she had believed for so long. The room seemed to close in around her, the once spacious boardroom now feeling suffocating and oppressive.
Ethan watched her, his eyes filled with a mixture of empathy and regret. He knew what this revelation meant to her, how it would shake the very foundation of the vendetta she had built her life around.
Sophia finally looked up, meeting Ethan's gaze. "Why now?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion and pain. "Why are you showing me this now, after all these years?" She tried to suppress the hint of anger.
Ethan took a deep breath, resting his head over hers. "Because I've been living with the guilt of what happened for too long. I thought I could bury it, move on, but the truth has a way of resurfacing. And when I saw you again, I knew I couldn't keep this from you any longer. You deserve to know what really happened."
She pushed Ethan walking away from him. She bite her lips struggling to control her emotions.
She shook her head, struggling to process the enormity of the situation. "But what am I supposed to do with this? Everything I've worked for, everything I've planned—it's all based on a lie. I don't know how to move forward from this."
Ethan stepped away and leaned over the table, his voice soft yet firm.
"We move forward by finding the truth together. Whatever happened in the past, it's not too late to make things right. But we have to do it together, Sophia. You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore."
"Alone? Are you going to be with me?" She snapped at him with tear and anger filled eyes.
"No, you are not Ethan. Who are you? To be with me in my problems?" She buried all her flowing emotions and headed to took her bag and leave but before she could take her bag, Ethan held her arm and pulled her towards him, pressing her hard over him.
"Who am I? Just look in my eyes and say again." He lifted her head slowly with tip of his finger, glaring at her with flaming eyes.
"Then where were you? When my father took his life because of that scandal? When your family was hatching plan to destroy my family? When my mother went into coma because of shock and then followed by death?" She felt like she couldn't breath anymore. Ethan's hand shook and loosened his grip over you.
"I wasn't there but I am now." He didn't tried to hold you anymore. Your words bruised him hard.
"Lily is my only family and I must protect her now." You whipped out those rolling tears and sucked air in your lungs again.
"Even though you don't remember those days Soph, let me help you" Sophia's heart ached with the weight of his words. Its been long, she heard Soph from from him.
She had spent so many years building walls around herself, isolating her pain and anger, that the idea of letting someone else in—especially Ethan—felt terrifying.
But as she looked into his eyes, she saw a sincerity that she couldn't ignore.
Could she really trust him? Could she let go of her desire for revenge and work with the man she had once vowed to destroy?