Chapter 2

Ethan remembered the first time he saw Olivia Hayes. It was at a crowded LA legal conference five years ago. He was Rex then, at the height of his power, a name that made opponents tremble. She was a fiery young prosecutor from New York, a guest speaker on a panel. Her passion for justice, her sharp intellect, it had cut through his cynicism. For a moment, she' d made him remember why he' d become a lawyer in the first place.

He' d tried to talk to her after the panel, a rare move for him. Rex didn' t mingle. But she was surrounded, already a rising star. He' d watched her from a distance, intrigued. He' d even had his then-assistant do a discreet background check. Olivia Hayes. Brilliant, ambitious, with a string of high-profile wins. And a long-term, recently ended relationship with a musician named Julian Vance.

A few months later, their paths crossed again. He was in New York for a complex merger case. He found himself at a small, upscale bar after a grueling day. And there she was, alone, staring into a glass of whiskey, looking utterly dejected.

He sat down a few stools away, observing. He hadn' t planned to speak.

She was visibly drunk. She started talking to the bartender, her voice thick with emotion, lamenting a love lost, a man who' d chosen his art over her. Julian, of course.

Then, she' d turned, her eyes unfocused, and locked onto him.

"You look like you understand heartbreak," she' d slurred, mistaking his quiet observation for shared sorrow.

One drink led to another. She talked. He listened. He found himself drawn to her vulnerability, a stark contrast to the confident woman he' d seen on stage.

That night, a line was crossed. A mistake fueled by alcohol and loneliness on her part, and a complex mix of fascination and a desire for something real on his.

The next morning, she was mortified. He was surprisingly calm.

He didn't tell her he was Rex, the legal shark. He was just Ethan Miller, a lawyer from LA, in town for a case.

The encounter should have ended there. But it didn' t.

She' d called him a week later, apologetic, suggesting coffee as a peace offering. He agreed.

One coffee led to dinners. He found himself extending his stay in New York.

Then, a few months into their tentative, confusing relationship, she got a career-defining case. The pressure was immense. She was overwhelmed.

He, Ethan Miller, the quiet LA lawyer, offered to help her organize, to be a sounding board. He put his own burgeoning case on the back burner, then eventually handed it off to Sarah.

He proposed a few months after that, on a whim, a desperate bid to hold onto this fragile connection. He told her he would move to New York, support her career. He would be her rock.

She' d hesitated, then accepted. He knew, even then, it wasn't entirely about love for her. It was partly obligation, partly the appeal of unwavering support.

He formally quit Apex Legal Group, telling Sarah he needed a break, a change. He told no one else the full truth. Rex vanished. Ethan Miller, stay-at-home husband, was born. He' d made a colossal sacrifice, believing it was for love, for a future.

For three years, Olivia was rarely home. When she was, her mind was on her cases, or on calls with colleagues, or, increasingly, with Julian, who had drifted back into her orbit as a "friend."

There was no real intimacy, no deep conversations about their lives, their feelings. He was a fixture, a reliable appliance.

He remembered finding an old photo album tucked away in her closet. It was filled with pictures of her and Julian. Laughing, kissing, looking deeply in love. On the back of one, in her handwriting: "Julian, my soulmate, forever and always." It was dated just a few months before they' d met.

His heart had constricted. Soulmate. A word she' d never used for him.

He' d later learned, through a casual remark from one of her less discreet friends, the reason for her drunken despair the night they met. Julian had just broken up with her, choosing a prestigious European tour over their relationship. She had been devastated.

Ethan was the rebound. The safe harbor. The man who asked for nothing.

The instances piled up. Her rushing off to comfort Julian after a bad review, leaving Ethan alone on his birthday. Her spending hours on the phone advising Julian on his "artistic struggles," while Ethan' s own attempts at conversation were met with distracted nods. Her glowing descriptions of Julian' s talent, his sensitivity, his charisma.

She' d once had a terrible flu. Ethan had nursed her, barely sleeping. A week later, Julian had a minor cold. Olivia had rushed to Julian' s apartment with soup and remedies, spending the entire day fussing over him. Ethan had watched her go, a cold knot in his stomach.

The breaking point had been slow in coming, an accumulation of a thousand small cuts. He' d looked in the mirror one day and hadn' t recognized the man staring back. The fire in his eyes, the sharp intellect that had defined Rex, was banked, almost extinguished.

He was tired. Tired of being invisible. Tired of being second best.

He' d decided then. He would leave. He would reclaim himself. He would become Rex again.

He started making quiet preparations, reconnecting with Sarah, setting things in motion.

Then Julian Vance himself reappeared in their lives, not just as a voice on the phone, but in person. He' d called Olivia, sounding distressed. He was in New York and needed her legal help urgently. A contract dispute with his orchestra.

Ethan had been in the kitchen when Julian arrived at their apartment.

Olivia' s face, usually professionally composed or coolly distant with Ethan, lit up with a warmth he hadn' t seen in years.

"Julian! Oh, it' s so good to see you!" she' d exclaimed, her voice full of genuine pleasure.

Julian, all charm and artistic sorrow, embraced her. "Olivia, darling, you' re a lifesaver. I' m in such a mess."

He then noticed Ethan. "Oh, and this must be Ethan. Olivia' s told me... so little about you, actually." A small, patronizing smile.

Ethan just nodded, his expression unreadable.

Julian laid out his problem. A complex contract, clauses he hadn' t understood, an orchestra management he claimed was trying to ruin him.

Olivia listened, completely absorbed.

Her senior partner, when Olivia later mentioned taking the case, had strongly advised against it. "Olivia, this isn't your area. It' s a civil matter, a messy one. Stick to criminal law, where you shine. And frankly, helping your ex-boyfriend? It' s unprofessional."

Olivia had dismissed the advice. "It' s Julian. I can' t say no. I' ll reassign some of my other cases. This is important."

Ethan, observing from the periphery, saw it all. Olivia, the brilliant defense attorney, was acting purely on emotion, her judgment clouded. He analyzed the snippets of the contract Julian had shown. It was a standard performance agreement, slightly aggressive on the orchestra' s side, but nothing Julian couldn' t have navigated with competent civil counsel. Julian was either incompetent or exaggerating for sympathy. Or both.

Ethan saw Olivia fussing over Julian, bringing him coffee, her brow furrowed with concern as Julian dramatically described his "artistic suffering" at the hands of "philistine management." She touched Julian' s arm reassuringly, her voice soft and soothing.

A voice Ethan hadn' t heard directed at him in three years.

He felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He turned and walked quietly to his office, continuing to pack the few remaining personal items he hadn' t already shipped to LA. There was nothing left to say.