?Chapter 968:


    Gracie, holding a ss of lemon water in her hands, had managed to pull herself together. Her polished demeanor had returned.


    “Now I understand the whole picture,” Ethan said. “Brewster’s already making moves to sort this out. We’ll work on getting back what’s rightfully yours and make sure your father’s protected, too.”


    “Thank you, Ethan. I owe you so much. I really do,” Gracie said, emotion filling her eyes as she stood and wrapped her arms around him in a grateful embrace. The closeness made him ufortable, so he gently broke free, seriousness marking his tone. “Gracie, I’m in a rtionship. It’s best we avoid hugs like this, or people might get the wrong idea.”


    Gracie’s arms dropped, and a hint of embarrassment flickered across her face. She tried tough it off. “Oh, sorry. I actually ran into Miss Harper earlier when I delivered an invitation. She mentioned you two had broken up. I didn’t know you still wanted to fix things with her.”


    Despite the apology, she studied his face intently, searching for any sign of feelings for her. But Ethan’s expression remained steady, cool, and polite. The realization left her feeling bitter, but she kept her thoughts to herself.


    “If your rtionship with Miss Harper ended because of me, you should tell me. I’ll exin everything to her if it helps.” Gracie tried to appearposed, but her expression betrayed her bitterness and unwillingness to ept the situation.


    “That won’t be necessary,” Ethan replied, his voice resolute. “I’ll take care of it myself. Your focus needs to be on the uing banquet. Strengthen your connections here in Vand before Hector can interfere. Make sure you’re in charge of both finances and operations here.”


    Determination red in Gracie’s expression as she replied, “You’re right. I have no doubt that once Hector is done in Norview, he’ll make his way here. I’ll be ready for him this time. He won’t take another thing from me.”


    Apanying Gracie to the elevator, Ethan waited as she stepped inside. Just before the doors slid shut, her voice carried back to him, hopeful and sincere. “Promise me you’ll be at the banquet Saturday night, Ethan?”


    After work, Thiago headed upstairs to find Brenna so they could leave together. Tommy and Joe had stayed behind, working overtime as the staff hustled to meet the surge in orders. But Thiago and Brenna, unaffected by the chaos, walked out without a second thought.


    Inside the elevator, Thiago smiled faintly and said, “I heard some interesting gossip.”


    Brenna turned to look at him. Seeing his smug expression, she figured that whatever he had heard had something to do with her.


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    “I knew you had something to say when you came looking for me today. Go on,” she said.


    Thiago’s smile widened. “You made the right call breaking up with Ethan. Gracie came by earlier to hand out invitations. She gave one to him, too. And guess what happened after that? Hot stuff. Real spicy.”


    Brenna remained impassive and stared at his amused face, clearly unimpressed. “Are you trying to mock me for having terrible taste in men?”


    Thiago’s grin faded. He straightened up, and his tone turned serious. “I would never mock you. I mean it. You saw something in Ethan that didn’t sit right with you, and you walked away from him before things got worse.”


    He paused for a moment, then added in a softer voice, “Gracie and Ethan were alone in his office today. The door was open, but they were standing really close. She cried for a while.”


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