Ethan's POV
"I need a help from you," came a manly voice behind me.
I didn't have to turn around to know who it belonged to.
That deep, slightly arrogant tone — only one person had it.
Theodore.
Ever since that day... the day Aurora saved me, I'd kept close to her and Theodore. At first, he was a complete drama queen, I won't lie. Uptight. Full of himself. Always acting like he owned the air around him. But eventually… he mellowed. Somehow, the four of us became inseparable ... me, Aurora, Hazel, and this pain in the ass.
"Yoo bro! What ya need?" I cooed, teasingly.
As expected, he rolled his eyes like he'd just heard nails on a chalkboard. "Can you speak like an actual human? You're twenty-nine, not fifteen."
"Why are you always so grumpy? Brohhh… peace out." I threw up two fingers in a peace sign and smirked.
That only irritated him more.
I lived for moments like this.
"Fine, fine. What's the emergency?" I asked, stretching.
He ran a hand through his annoyingly perfect hair. "One of my relatives ... he runs a major company ... suspects internal money laundering. Someone wiped the trails clean. I need you to trace it."
I raised an eyebrow. "I can help you. I can help Aurora or Hazel. But why would I help some stranger?"
I leaned back and pouted dramatically. "I don't work for free. I need to buy bread, you know…"
Theodore sighed like I was the bane of his existence. "As if I had a choice. My parents are the ones insisting I help him."
"And the money?"
"Forget bread ... you can probably buy a damn mansion."
My eyes lit up. "Woahhhh. Now we're talking."
"Money-minded rat," he muttered.
I shrugged. "Of course I need money. I need to be rich, like the great Madoc himself… only then…"
I stopped myself. My thoughts drifted somewhere they shouldn't.
"Stop dreaming, Ethan. We're running out of time," Theodore snapped.
This bastard. He never lets me dream in peace.
But fine. Today, I was technically working for him.
We left together, his obnoxious show-off nature on full display as he took out his limited edition Maserati MC20. Who even drives that in Eldoria?
"Do you really have to rub your wealth in my face?" I asked, pointing at the car.
"I'm not just showing off to you," he smirked. "I like flaunting my baby to all of Eldoria."
I rolled my eyes. "Ugh. At least I get to ride in it," I muttered to myself as I got in.
The car didn't drive. It glided. Like it was slicing through air. Within minutes, we reached our destination, and my jaw dropped.
It wasn't just a house. It was an estate ... perched on a hill, surrounded by thick, lush greenery. The European-style mansion looked like it had been pulled from a dream and dropped into the middle of this forest paradise. Minimalist, elegant, powerful.
Someone was richer than Theodore? Now that was news.
There weren't many people in Auralis or Eldoria who could compete with Madoc money… but something about this place felt oddly familiar. I couldn't quite place it. Before I could think more, the car stopped. Theodore was already out.
The butler at the entrance welcomed us and led us to the living room ... if you could call it that. It was massive. You could fit a hundred people in here without feeling cramped. And the interior? Clean, timeless, rich. The kind of place that screams new and old money blended together.
I sunk into the L-shaped cloud of a sofa. Man. Even their furniture was luxury.
As usual, Theodore started flirting with the maids like the shameless womanizer he was. He would never settle with just one woman ... I had given up on him.
That's when a sharp voice echoed through the room.
"It would be better if you stopped harassing my staff."
That voice…
I knew that voice.
No. No, no, no .... not him. He couldn't be
I turned slowly, and my face went pale.
Theron.
It's not him.. when my colours return.. WAIT... ThE..RON
I was happy it's not him ....instead it was worse than him.. the devil...
I looked at Theodore, then at the massive house, then back at Theron.
This was his place?
Confusion slammed into me like a truck.
How the hell was Theodore related to the Drakos family?
He wanted me to help Theron, of all people?
The man who broke Aurora.
I glared daggers at Theodore. That bastard. He knew what this meant. He knew exactly what I'd feel.
He went visibly pale under my gaze. And well, he should.
After I cut ties with my family, I threw myself into martial arts. I needed to protect Aurora to become strong enough so that no one could ever hurt her again the way I was hurt growing up. Theodore knew I could easily break his jaw if I lost control.
And now he brought me here. To this bastard's house.
I clenched my fists.
"How dare you ask me to help Theron," I growled under my breath. "You're dead."
"E-Ethan, listen to me first..."
"What is there to listen to?" I snapped. "He hurt her."
"It wasn't intentional—"
"Don't give me that bull—"
Before I could stand, Theodore grabbed my arm tightly.
"Just think, Ethan," he whispered. "If Aurora wanted to destroy him… she would've made it public. Gone after him with everything she had. But she didn't."
He was right. Aurora wasn't one to hesitate when someone wronged her. She acted with precision and purpose. Yet she hadn't taken action. Not yet.
"She gave him another chance," he whispered.
"Another chance? So now he'll use us to pressure her?" I hissed.
"No. He doesn't even know we're close to her."
Then he softened.
"Ethan… I didn't bring you here for Theron. I brought you here because I need your help. This company—it was my late uncle and aunt's legacy. I can't let it get destroyed by some greedy rats from inside."
That made me pause. I hadn't known that.
He looked down. "And right now… Theron is the only one holding Drakos together. Like it or not."
Damn this emotional angle.
He got me. Again.
I gritted my teeth, heart still heavy with anger and confusion. But slowly… I nodded.
"Just this once," I whispered.