Ficorpio
Chapter 1
On my first night staying at my boyfriend’s family home, I walked into the wrong bedroom.
Someone came in sometime after midnight.
“Ethan, stop fooling around.”
Still half-asleep, I assumed it was my boyfriend.
He acted as though he hadn’t heard me. One burning kiss after another landed along my neck.
It was completely unlike Ethan’s usual shy, innocent self.
Then I caught the faint smell of liquor in the air and understood.
Alcohol had given the timid courage.
I stopped resisting and slid my arms around his neck instead.
“Adrian, are you in there?”
Ethan’s voice suddenly came clearly through the door.
I froze.
If Ethan was outside, then who was in here?!
I shoved the man away and switched on the bedside lamp.
The room flooded with light.
And Adrian Sterling’s cold, handsome face appeared before me.
Two unmistakable spots of color stained his fair cheeks. He still looked slightly drunk.
Afraid Ethan would notice something, I lowered my voice.
“Adrian, what are you doing in my room?”
I couldn’t bring myself to mention what had just happened.
In my mind, Adrian was aloof, quiet, mature, and steady. He couldn’t possibly be some kind of sexual predator.
There had to be a misunderstanding.
Adrian rubbed his forehead, the usual clarity returning to his eyes.
He looked at me, then glanced around the room.
As if confirming something, he frowned with sudden regret.
“This is my room.”
“As for what happened just now…” He paused. “I’m sorry. I thought I was dreaming.”
I stared at him.
The hand clutching the blanket began to tremble even harder.
“Adrian, something’s come up. Can I come in?”
At the sound of Ethan’s voice, my heart leaped into my throat.
My nightdress was a mess.
My neck was covered in unmistakable red marks.
If Ethan came in and saw me like this, I might as well die on the spot.
Adrian, however, was clearly much calmer.
“Don’t come in yet.”
His tone was even, but it carried an authority that left no room for argument.
Ethan fell silent outside.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Adrian, sorry. Did I wake you? I’m just in a real hurry—”
While Ethan continued talking to himself, Adrian pulled a shirt from the wardrobe and tossed it to me. Then he pointed toward the en suite bathroom.
I threw the shirt on and hurried inside, locking the door behind me.
“What is it?”
Once he was sure I was safely hidden, Adrian opened the bedroom door.
“Why isn’t Chloe here? I checked both guest rooms, but she wasn’t in either one. I had something to deal with this afternoon, so I asked you to send someone to pick her up. Where is she? And I can’t get through to her phone, so I’ve been worried—”
Adrian cut him off.
“I sent Marcus Reed to pick her up this afternoon. Her flight was delayed, and she didn’t arrive until eight. The guest rooms hadn’t been prepared yet, so I had Marcus book her a room at the Airport Hotel. Don’t worry. She’s fine and perfectly safe.”
As soon as I heard that, I quickly pulled out my phone.
It was on silent.
Chapter 2
After sitting on a plane for several hours, I had showered and fallen straight asleep.
I hadn’t realized Ethan had sent me a string of messages and called five or six times.
I hurriedly texted him back.
[Ethan, my phone died earlier.]
[Your brother booked me a room at the Airport Hotel, and I’m already in bed. He said he’d have Marcus come pick me up tomorrow. Don’t worry.]
Ethan’s phone vibrated.
“Oh—Chloe messaged me.”
He checked the messages and smiled.
“If Adrian handled it, I know everything’s fine.”
“Since Chloe’s safe and sound, I can relax. Sorry for waking you in the middle of the night, Adrian.”
Adrian remained composed. “It’s fine. Go back to your room and get some rest.”
“Yeah.”
Ethan left.
A moment later, I heard the door close outside.
Only then did I let out the breath I’d been holding.
That night, after Ethan had fallen asleep, Adrian quietly ushered me out of the house.
His assistant, Marcus Reed, was waiting outside. He drove me to the Airport Hotel.
The next day, Ethan came to pick me up.
He didn’t notice anything unusual. The moment he saw me, he pulled me into his arms.
“I missed you,” he murmured, then apologized. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I should have come to get you yesterday.”
“It’s okay.”
I ran my fingers through the tousled hair at the back of his head.
The thought that I’d be able to see Ethan every day from then on filled me with warmth.
During the second half of my junior year, Ethan Sterling and I started dating.
He was a senior then.
Not long after we got together, he was accepted into Westbridge University. The two months of summer vacation that followed became the honeymoon phase of our relationship. We were together every day, practically inseparable.
But once summer ended, we found ourselves in a long-distance relationship.
I studied harder than I ever had before so I could be with Ethan. When the results came out, my score was more than ten points above Westbridge’s admissions cutoff.
After more than a year of being apart, our long-distance relationship finally came to an end.
There were still more than two weeks before classes began when Ethan suggested that I come early to City A. He could show me around before the semester started.
Desperate to see him as soon as possible, I packed my bags and boarded a flight to City A.
Ethan didn’t live in the dorms. He stayed in a detached estate near campus.
The property belonged to his older brother, Adrian Sterling.
Because Adrian was busy with work and frequently traveled, he rarely stayed there. In practice, Ethan lived there alone.
The estate was enormous, with three floors. Ethan told me I could use one of the guest rooms.
Everything had been arranged perfectly.
Unfortunately, Ethan had something come up that day and couldn’t make it to the airport to meet me.
Instead, Adrian’s assistant, Marcus Reed, came to pick me up. He drove me to the estate.
“Ms. Bennett, I’ve brought your luggage inside. Your room is the first guest room on the second floor.”
Chapter 3
After giving me the instructions, Marcus left.
There wasn’t a single person in the estate. I went upstairs and pushed open the door to the first room.
It was completely empty, without the slightest sign that anyone lived there, so I assumed it was the guest room.
In reality, it was Adrian’s primary suite.
If I had opened the wardrobe, I would have seen an entire row of men’s pajamas and suits.
As if that weren’t enough, Adrian came home that very night.
He’d been out entertaining clients and had drunk quite a bit.
That evening, Adrian had the household staff prepare an elaborate dinner to welcome me.
Ethan and I sat together on one side of the dining table, while Adrian sat across from us.
Under the warm lights, the sharp lines of Adrian’s face looked even more refined and handsome. He carried the aloofness and distance of someone untouched by the ordinary concerns of the world.
That had always been my impression of him.
Meticulous. Untouchable. Almost sacred.
He was Ethan’s older brother, five years his senior. He was also the heir to Sterling Holdings, a king standing at the very top of the pyramid.
Ethan, on the other hand, was completely different.
As the younger son of a wealthy family, he had grown up with far more freedom. He was outgoing, cheerful, relaxed, and confident.
That was why I loved being with Ethan. Around him, I felt comfortable and carefree, without a single worry.
“Chloe, eat more.”
Ethan kept putting food onto my plate until it was piled into a small mountain.
“That’s enough, that’s enough. Do you think I’m a pig?”
Perhaps he wasn’t used to watching young couples be so annoyingly affectionate. Across the table, Adrian cleared his throat after sitting in silence for a while.
Ethan and I immediately stopped teasing each other.
Then, as if he had suddenly noticed something, Ethan’s expression changed. He became excited.
“Bro, do you have a woman now?”
“Why is your neck red? It looks like someone scratched you with their fingernails. Wait… don’t tell me—”
The implication in his voice was unmistakable.
When I saw the red marks just above Adrian’s collar, I choked on my food.
“Chloe, slow down. Don’t rush.”
Ethan patted my back while continuing to tease Adrian.
“An old bachelor finally found someone! After being single for twenty-four years, you actually have a situation going on. I have to tell Mom right away so she can stop worrying that you’ll never find a wife…”
Ethan went on and on, while I sat there in sheer panic.
After all, I was the one who had caused those marks.
Adrian had been rather rough the night before. I had cried out in pain and accidentally scratched his neck hard enough to break the skin.
I never imagined Ethan would notice.