Chapter 341

"Finn! Stop right there!"

"Finn!"

Vivian's shouts echoed through the hallway. She had intended for Finn to drag the drunk Ethan away, but the boy had bolted like a startled rabbit.

Useless when it mattered most. What a waste of a disciple.

Finn barricaded himself in his room, locking the door securely. He thought his master was furious at him for interrupting her moment—no way he'd show his face now.

Vivian gritted her teeth. Without someone holding her back, she wasn't sure she could control her strength.

"F—"

Warm lips suddenly pressed against hers, cutting off her words. Ethan's kiss was urgent and relentless, leaving no room for protest.

The audacity of this man!

Just as Vivian was about to retaliate, Ethan abruptly pulled back. His lips hovered mere inches from hers, his heated breath fanning across her face.

"Don't say another man's name," he rasped, voice rough. "Especially not his."

Vivian's eyes widened.

What gave him the right? They weren't even—

"You never came last night when I called," Ethan murmured, his tone dipping into something vulnerable. "I waited for you... for hours."

Her heart clenched.

She had gone. He was the one who left first.

"Why should I?" She turned her face away. "You're nothing to me."

"I could be." Ethan suddenly cupped her cheeks, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Vivian, let me be yours."

Her breath hitched.

"Give me a chance." His dark eyes held only her reflection, deep and unwavering. "I'll spend my whole life treating you right. I know you hate me, but don't push me away. Please."

Vivian's pulse stuttered.

Once, she would have given anything for him to look at her like this. Yet the day after their wedding, he had vanished overseas without a word for three years.

And now he dared say such things?

"You're drunk," she forced out, feigning composure.

"I'm perfectly sober." Ethan's thumb brushed gently along her cheekbone. "Vivian... I think I'm falling for you."

His quiet admission struck her like thunder.

Finally, he understood what it meant to care—to want to see her every moment, to protect her, to share his life with her.

This realization had come far too late.

Yet it was undeniably real.