< Chapter 31: Encounter at t…


    40 <b>Points </b>


    Chapter <b>31</b><b>: </b><b>Encounter </b><b>at </b><b>the </b><b>Gate</b>–2


    “I have to go now,” I said hurriedly into the phone before hanging up.


    I approached Ethan cautiously, maintaining a safe distance of about a meter. “How did you find me here?”


    His lips curled into a sneer, his eyes glinting with menace. “Hiding from me?”


    I frowned, irritation recing my initial shock. “Why should I hide? I told <i>you </i>I was going home.”


    He took two aggressive steps forward, forcing me to retreat instinctively. This only seemed to deepen his irritation.


    “You said you would go back to Riverdale for a while, but you never mentioned you wouldn’t return to Harbor City,” he snapped. “How long do you intend to throw this


    tantrum?”


    My patience, already thin from my long workday, evaporatedpletely. “I’m not


    making a scene. Ethan, we’re over. Don’t bother me again.”


    He scoffed coldly. “We’re over? Don’t even think about it. This rtionship only ends


    when I say it ends.”


    I stared at him in disbelief, my expression darkening. “Are you crazy? Don’t you like


    Cassandra? Go find her. Why pester me?”


    His face rxed slightly, one eyebrow arching upward. “Are you jealous?”


    Internally, I rolled my eyes, exasperated by his narcissism.


    “Cassandra and I are just friends,” he insisted. “Stop making trouble.”


    My lips curved into a mocking smile. “Friends you sleep with?”


    His confident facade cracked momentarily, guilt flickering across his face. “You’re


    talking nonsense.”


    “Didn’t you sleep with her more than once since she returned?” I retorted sharply. “I


    didn’t say anything because 1 don’t care anymore.”


    The words “I don’t <b>care </b>anymore” seemed to stab him unexpectedly. His chest visibly


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    < Chapter 31: Encounter at t…


    tightened, a strange hurt crossing his features.


    +8 Points >


    “You don’t care?” he asked, his voice almost pitiful. “But I do. I’ve been thinking about


    you these days. Let’s reconcile, Liv.”


    I regarded him coldly, full of disdain. His erratic mood swings–one moment furious, the next pitiful–baffled mepletely.


    “Impossible,” I stated, my tone frosty.


    Suddenly, Ethan’s fragile calm snapped. “Why!” he roared, his <i>voice </i><i>echoing </i>in the


    quiet street.


    Passing strangers turned to stare, their curious looks making me feel deeply


    embarrassed.


    “Can you stop shouting at the gate like a madman?” I hissed. “If you don’t mind humiliating yourself, I do.”


    Without warning, Ethan grabbed my wrist, his grip painfully tight. “Come back with


    me, Liv!”


    I tried to wrench free. “Let me go!”


    But his grip was too strong, his fingers digging into my skin. My eyes narrowed


    dangerously.


    “If you don’t let go, I won’t be polite,” I warned, preparing to use the self–defense


    techniques I’d learned years ago.


    Ethan stubbornly refused, clutching my wrist with one hand while his other moved to grasp my nape. “I miss you so much,” he muttered, trying to force his lips toward


    mine.


    I braced myself to counterattack, muscles tensing for the strike I was about to deliver.


    “Let her go!”


    The fierce shout pierced the night air. In the blink of an eye, Ethan was sent flying


    through the air as if hit by a sudden gust of wind.


    I stood utterly stunned, unable to process what had just happened.


    Standing protectively before me, still holding a thermal container in one hand, was


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    < Chapter 31: Encounter at t


    Connor Rivers. His ice–blue eyes were sharp with concern as they scanned my face.


    “Livvy, are you okay?” he asked, his voice gentle yet urgent.


    I swallowed nervously, still in shock. “Con, how did you do that?”