"I see…" I said softly.


    "We didn’t meet much when we were young and even less so when we grew up. I definitely wasn’t thrilled at the idea of having my life partner decided for me and I bet she felt the same way. We both tried our best not to get involved with each other’s lives and not to get in each other’s way. That was like our silent agreement.


    Everything was fine, until Hayden turned up…" Ethan said before his tone darkened.


    "Hayden?" I said questioningly.


    "Yeah. Do you want to see Hayden again?" Ethan asked.


    "I…" I began saying but then I hesitated.


    I did want to see him again, but I wasn’t sure if I should tell Ethan that.


    "Do you, or don’t you?" Ethan asked.


    The way his evil green eyes were looking at me told me that he already knew my answer and he probably had everything figured out already. Ethan would never approach me unless there was something that he wanted. That was just the person that he was. He’s handsome, charming, kind…and extremely maniptive.


    "Why do you want to know?" I asked cautiously.


    "Because in the unlikely case that you do…I can make it happen…" Ethan said as he smiled knowingly at me.


    "What would you want in return?" I asked directly as I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him.


    "I want you to seduce Hayden and make him yours. No matter what, you must marry him and be his wife…" Ethan said decisively.


    "…huh? That’s not what you said when we met on the cruise at all," I said in confusion.


    "Did you honestly think that I would want you back?" Ethan asked with a smallugh.


    Honestly, I didn’t care what he wanted…


    "That’s not the issue here…" I said through clenched teeth.


    "Sorry for giving you false hope, but I just wanted to see Hayden’s reaction," Ethan admitted without sounding guilty.


    "Don’t worry. I wouldn’t go back to you even if I could…" I said honestly.


    Ethan was silent for a moment, and I started to regret my words. For a moment, I truly believed that I may have hurt his feelings. I may not love him anymore and there were many things about him now that I didn’t quite understand; however, back when we were together, he took care of me well and helped me in a lot of ways.


    "Just for the record, I really loved you and enjoyed the time we had together. I really broke up with you because I didn’t want to get you involved in the mafia. Somethings happened and I had to return to Silva…and I decided not to take you with me," Ethan exined and for some reason, I believed him.


    "Ethan…" I whispered his name.


    "It’s ok if you don’t believe me but I’m going to say it anyways. When I left you, I honestly didn’t want to get you involved. I never thought that the Torex old man would find you and drag you into this mess. Now it’s toote, you’re so involved, and you can’t get out of this anymore…" Ethan said regretfully as he shook his head slowly.


    "I’m sorry about what I said…" I apologized softly.


    "You don’t have to be. So…can you do it?" Ethan asked as his eyes stared at me.


    I knew that he was referring to me bing Hayden’s wife. That’s just insane…


    "Of course, not…" I replied resolutely.


    "You don’t love him anymore? I didn’t know that your heart would change so fast…" Ethan said in such a fake regrettable tone that I wanted to smack him.


    "Ethan…why are you doing this?" I asked suspiciously.


    "I already told you, I just want a partnership between my gang and Torex," Ethan said with determination.


    "What does that have to do with me marrying Hayden?" I asked, not following his thoughts.


    "Everything actually…don’t you want the two gang to be at peace?"" Ethan said before he smiled at me.


    I guess I do but I wasn’t sure if I could change anything between them. Hayden also wanted peaceful negotiations but I’m not sure if his view has changed on that.


    "I’m not following. Why can’t you just exin everything to me?" I pleaded as my frustration started taking over.


    "Jack Witman," Ethan said abruptly.


    "What? Who is that?" I asked.


    Something at the back of my mind told me that I’ve heard that name somewhere before but for the life of me, I just couldn’t remember where or when. Digging through my memories didn’t help either. I just couldn’t recall although I was certain that I’ve heard that name before…


    "Ask Hayden. Find Hayden and ask him…" Ethan instructed.


    "How do I find him? I don’t know where he is. He’s not someone that I can reach anymore…" I replied, feeling frustrated.


    I didn’t know where he lived. The only ce I knew was where he worked which was Torex’s headquarters but even there it wasn’t like I could casually waltz in and request for a meeting with him.


    "Your little chat here with me just helped you with that," Ethan replied carefreely.


    "How?" I asked.


    "Hayden probably isn’t super pleased right now that you’re meeting up with me…he’lle to you soon enough…" Ethan said.


    "If only things were that simple…" I hissed.


    "Haha…you’re right. Hayden’s a mystery, that’s for sure. Well, good luck to you" Ethan said before he stood up from his seat.


    It was clear that our little coffee chat was over. I wasn’t sure if I fully understood everything that Ethan had told me or his intentions but if there’s a way for me to get in touch with Hayden and to learn more about the truth, then I would still like to try.


    …


    After Ethan left, I returned to the exibhition. Because of what he said, I was very conscious of the people around me. I wondered if the men from Torex were still following and watching me. They probably were. I had no idea that I was being watched. Have I been watched all this time?


    Hayden, what are you thinking?


    --To be continued…