Chapter 12 - Ethan Let Rachel Say No
Ethan asked Rachel to dinner.
She said no.
He nodded.
A week later, he asked again.
She said no again.
He smiled.
“Consistent.”
Rachel laughed.
“I’m going home to Los Angeles.”
“I know.”
“My life is there.”
“I know.”
“My diner job is there.”
“You hate that job.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I know.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You say that a lot.”
“I’m learning.”
Before Rachel left Chicago, Ethan offered to arrange private
transportation.
She declined.
She booked a commercial flight.
This time she had enough money for a better seat.
When Sophie began fussing, Rachel felt her body tense.
She remembered the red-eye.
The staring faces.
The flight attendant.
The businessman telling her she should not have brought a baby.
Then another mother across the aisle smiled.
“Need a wipe?”
Rachel smiled back.
“Actually, yes.”
No king of Chicago appeared.
No bodyguards.
No terrifying reveal.
Just another parent helping.
Rachel realized how much she preferred ordinary kindness.
Back in East L.A., she reduced her diner hours.
The restitution money gave her breathing room.
She enrolled in a bookkeeping certification program.
Numbers had always made sense to her.
Perhaps she inherited that from Luis.
Ethan texted occasionally.
Never every hour.
Never demanding replies.
One message simply said:
Sophie still yelling at airplanes?
Rachel sent a photograph of Sophie asleep beneath a toy plane.
Ethan replied:
Traitor.
Rachel laughed alone in her kitchen.
May you like
Then she noticed she wanted to hear his voice.
That frightened her more than his reputation ever had.
