Chapter 2 Shadows of the Past.

The faint hum of traffic drifted through the café as Ethan sipped his coffee, watching Clara sketch with her usual focus.

Her fingers danced over the page, bringing to life the outline of a tree knotted with vines, its branches reaching up toward the sky.

He marveled at how she could create something so vivid with just a few strokes of charcoal.

"You've got that look again," Clara said without looking up, her lips curving into a smile.

"What look?" Ethan asked, feigning ignorance.

"The 'I've never seen a tree before in my life' look," she teased, smudging a shadow with her thumb.

Ethan chuckled, but her words stayed with him. She had a way of pulling him out of his head and into the present a rare gift in his whirlwind life. But their worlds were starting to collide in ways he couldn't ignore.

It started subtly. A couple of photographers would loiter around the café, long lenses peeking in indiscreetly through the windows. Clara made light of it the first time, saying perhaps they thought she was the next Picasso. But Ethan knew better. His being around her life was attracting unwanted attention-the kind she didn't deserve.

Later that week, Ethan invited Clara to a charity gala, his first attempt to introduce her to his world. She arrived in a simple black dress, her hair swept up in a loose bun. Ethan couldn't take his eyes off her, but he noticed the sidelong glances and whispers from the crowd.

A woman who had worn a sparkling necklace throughout dinner leaned over to Clara as they ate. "So, what do you do?" she asked, just short of condescending.

"I'm an artist," Clara replied, smiling.

"How lovely," the woman said, turning to Ethan. "Quite the step up, then."

The comment was a dagger, but Clara's calm demeanor did not waver. Ethan clenched his jaw, determined not to cause a scene, though guilt gnawed at him. He had not anticipated how unkind his world could be.

The next morning, Clara was quiet as they strolled through the park with her sketchpad tucked under her arm. Ethan finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's not your fault," Clara said, pausing beneath a massive oak tree. "But. I'm not sure I fit into that world, Ethan. And I'm not sure I want to."

He studied her, noting the way her fingers tightened around her sketchpad. "I don't want you to change who you are."

"And I don't want you to feel like you have to shield me from it." She exhaled softly, looking up at the sky through the branches. "I just don't know how we fit together when we come from such different places."

Ethan had no answer. For the first time, he feared that love alone might not be enough.

It was a balancing act for the next few weeks. Ethan consciously kept Clara out of the public eye, but the media had already caught wind of it. Tabloids speculated about their relationship, articles dissected her background, and photographers lurked outside her apartment. Clara handled it with grace, but Ethan could see the wear in her eyes.

And one night, she comes to his apartment with her sketchbook and a bottle of wine. "I needed a break from being your mystery girlfriend," she said lightly, though her shoulders were tense.

Ethan pulled her into a hug. "I hate that they won't leave you alone."

"It's not just them," she confessed, moving back. "It's. everything. Your world feels like a stage, Ethan. Every word, every move is under inspection. I have no idea how you do that."

He stroked the nape of his neck. "It's exhausting. But I'm used to it."

"I'm not." She paused, then flipped open her sketchbook. "I sketched this today."

Ethan leaned closer. It was a portrait of him. But unlike the PR image he put out into the world, this one of him looked. raw. Tired. As if the weight of expectation was drawn into his face.

"Do you see me like this?" he asked quietly.

Clara's gaze softened. "It's how I think you see yourself sometimes."

Ethan swallowed hard. He hadn't realized that she understood him that well.

Weeks turned into months, and the pressure continued to build. The invitations to the high-profile events became inevitable, and with each appearance, Clara was dragged deeper into the spotlight.

An especially vicious article described her as "an unpolished gem in a world of diamonds," examining her looks, her past, and even her art. Ethan went after the journalist, but it was too late.

Clara, being Clara, said nothing more than, "I can't live my life proving I belong."

That night, they sat in silence on Ethan's balcony, overlooking the city skyline. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away gently.

"Ethan." She hesitated, her voice almost breaking.

"I love you. But I love myself, too. And I can't lose who I am just to fit into a world that doesn't want me there."

His chest tightened. "Are you saying"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I just know I can't keep pretending that this doesn't hurt."

The pain of losing her hurt so sharply. He had always believed love could bridge any gap, but was it enough when the world seemed bent on pulling them apart?

A week went by without much interaction. On one rainy afternoon, Ethan found himself outside Clara's studio. He had hesitated and stood still, unsure whether he was ready to hear what she would tell him.

She opened the door. Surprise danced in her eyes. "Ethan."

"I don't want to lose you," he said, rain dripping from his hair.

"But I don't want you to lose yourself either. So tell me what you need."

She gazed at him for a long time before moving aside and stepping out of his way to let him in.

Her studio smelled of charcoal and turpentine, with canvases leaning against walls, each bursting with color and life.

"I need to create without feeling like I'm under a microscope," she acknowledged. "I need to know that if I walk into a room with you, it's not as your accessory, but as myself."

Ethan nodded.

"Then we figure it out. No more galas, no more staged appearances. Just us."

Clara exhaled, something in her posture softening.

"That's a start."

Relief flooded through him. He reached for her hand, and this time, she let him hold it. The storm outside raged on, but for the first time in weeks, Ethan felt like they had found sheltertogether.