?Chapter 982:


    The more he tried toe up with a solution, the more tangled his thoughts became. Only a few scraps of advice from the secretarial department came to mind.


    The first bit of wisdom called for an immediate and unconditional apology.


    Second, Ethan was supposed to shower Brenna with gifts.


    The third was to make a show of future promises.


    Ethan figured he had nothing to lose by giving them a try.


    He nudged the box closer to Brenna, forcing a gentle sincerity into his words. His gaze never wavered, searching her features for a sign—was she just upset, or was she truly finished with him?


    Brenna wouldn’t budge. Her cold demeanor deepened, and a trace of annoyance crept onto her face. She ignored the box and slid it right back to him. Unwilling to give up, Ethan gave it another shot.


    “Hey, Brenna. I bought you a rare, limited-edition handbag. Had it flown in from Valport just for you.”


    Brenna had already noticed the box. Her eyes gave it a quick scan, but her face held no trace of excitement. Instead, her lips curled in faint scorn.


    “Bags aren’t exactly rare in my closet. I don’t need another.”


    Now, Ethan felt like he’d wandered into uncharted territory. Why had the secretaries’ advice failed?


    He could not figure out what had gone wrong.


    Panic rushed him to the next move. “Brenna, please, don’t do this. I know I made a mistake. I’m sorry. Just give me another chance.”


    Ethan thought he was being as humble as possible, taking full responsibility for everything. Not once had he apologized to anyone before, not even when Emmett and Elsa had ganged up on him as a kid. Now, for the first time, he admitted fault—all for Brenna.


    Brenna answered with a sharp, bitterugh, her sarcasm impossible to miss.


    “You made a mistake? Hah. You did nothing wrong. It’s all my fault. How could you possibly be wrong?”


    Ethan understood the real reason for her anger and why she refused to forgive him.


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    “Brenna, I crossed a line with Gracie. She’s just a business partner. She helped me a lot when I started thepany, but I shouldn’t have picked her up at the airport with the team. I know I shouldn’t have hosted that dinner for her. Letting her stay at my ce? That was too much.”


    He tried toe clean, hoping honesty would earn him forgiveness.


    But Brenna had spent her life dodging veiled barbs and hidden jabs in the Barrett family. She believed Ethan’s tone was insincere.


    To her ears, Ethan’s apology sounded less like remorse and more like an usation that she couldn’t understand his actions.


    “If you want to apologize, then do it. But don’t sit there trying to make me feel guilty at the same time,” Brenna snapped, turning away with visible anger.


    Ethan realized toote that he had only made things worse.


    He quickly said, “That’s not what I was doing, Brenna. I’m trying to say I’ve realized my mistake. Tell me how to make this right, and I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever you say.”


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