Emma couldn’t move.

Lucas stood beneath the old oak tree, his hands in the pockets of his jacket, wearing the same calm expression she remembered.

The expression that had once made her feel safe.

Now it terrified her.

Ethan stepped forward.

“Stay behind me.”

Lucas smiled.

“So this is Ethan.”

Emma’s heart sank.

“How do you know his name?”

Lucas looked at her.

“I know everything about you.”

Ethan’s voice became cold.

“Leave.”

Lucas laughed.

“This doesn’t concern you.”

“It concerns me now.”

Lucas took another step.

Emma finally found her voice.

“Why are you here?”

“I came to talk.”

“We have nothing to say.”

Lucas looked at her.

“You disappeared without giving me a chance.”

Emma almost laughed.

“A chance?”

“You left.”

“You betrayed me.”

“I made a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

Her voice shook.

“You lied to me for months.”

Lucas’s expression hardened.

“I said I was sorry.”

“You weren’t.”

Silence filled the night.

Ethan looked at Emma.

“You don’t have to talk to him.”

Lucas noticed.

“You really trust him?”

Emma answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

Something changed in Lucas’s face.

“You’ve known him for days.”

“Sometimes days are enough.”

Ethan looked at her.

Their eyes met.

Lucas smiled bitterly.

“So that’s it?”

Emma shook her head.

“No.”

She stepped forward.

“It’s not about Ethan.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s about me.”

Lucas stared at her.

“I finally realized I don’t need you.”

For the first time, Lucas looked genuinely angry.

He turned toward Ethan.

“You have no idea what she’s like.”

Ethan didn’t move.

“I know enough.”

Lucas laughed.

“She runs when things become difficult.”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears.

Ethan looked at her.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Lucas frowned.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not afraid of her running.”

Ethan took Emma’s hand.

“I’m afraid of what happens if she believes she has to run.”

Emma’s heart broke open.

She had never heard anyone defend her like that.

Lucas stared at them.

Then he turned away.

“This isn’t over.”

He walked back toward his car.

Ethan watched until the headlights disappeared.

Then he turned toward Emma.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded.

But the moment he touched her face, she began crying.

Ethan pulled her close.

“I’ve got you.”

She held him tightly.

“I don’t want him to ruin this.”

“He won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m not giving him the chance.”

---

The next morning, Ethan received a call from the police.

Lucas had been seen near the city.

There was evidence that he had been following Emma for weeks.

The police advised her to stay somewhere secure.

Ethan immediately offered his apartment.

Emma hesitated.

“Won’t that be too much?”

“No.”

“I don’t want to become your problem.”

“You aren’t.”

She looked at him.

“Then what am I?”

He smiled.

“The person I love.”

Her eyes softened.

She nodded.

“Okay.”

---

Ethan’s apartment was on the top floor of a modern building overlooking the city.

Emma stood by the window.

“You live here alone?”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

“Sometimes.”

“Why?”

He looked at her.

“Because I was waiting.”

“For what?”

He smiled.

“I didn’t know.”

She laughed.

“That’s not an answer.”

“Maybe I was waiting for you.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re staying.”

“For now.”

“That’s enough.”

---

That evening, Ethan cooked dinner again.

Emma watched him from the kitchen counter.

“You really can’t cook.”

“I can.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“The pasta was terrible.”

“You’re still talking about that?”

“Absolutely.”

He laughed.

Then the lights suddenly went out.

Emma froze.

“Ethan?”

“I’m here.”

He reached for her hand.

The entire apartment was dark.

Then his phone buzzed.

One message.

You can’t protect her forever.

Ethan’s expression became serious.

Emma looked at him.

“Lucas?”

He showed her the message.

She whispered:

“He’s close.”

A loud sound came from the hallway.

Someone had knocked over something outside.

Ethan moved toward the door.

“Don’t.”

Emma grabbed his arm.

He stopped.

They stood silently.

Another sound.

Then footsteps.

Slow.

Heavy.

Approaching their apartment.

Ethan quietly called security.

The footsteps stopped outside.

Someone stood behind the door.

Emma held her breath.

Then the door handle moved.

Once.

Twice.

The security alarm suddenly sounded.

The footsteps disappeared.

Minutes later, security officers searched the hallway.

Nobody was there.

But on the floor outside the apartment was a small envelope.

Emma picked it up.

Her hands trembled.

Inside was a photograph.

It showed her and Ethan kissing beside the lake.

On the back, someone had written:

You chose him. Now I’ll make you regret it.

Emma’s face went pale.

Ethan took the photograph from her.

“I promise you…”

He looked into her eyes.

“No matter what happens, I won’t leave.”

---

Three days passed.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, Emma began to relax.

She returned to work.

She laughed again.

She and Ethan spent evenings together.

Their relationship grew stronger.

One afternoon, Ethan surprised her with a picnic.

They sat beneath a large tree.

Emma looked at him.

“Do you ever think this happened too quickly?”

“What?”

“Us.”

He smiled.

“Yes.”

“And?”

“I don’t regret it.”

She leaned against him.

“Neither do I.”

He kissed her forehead.

Then he pulled something from his pocket.

A small key.

Emma looked confused.

“What’s this?”

“The key to my grandfather’s house.”

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because I want you to have a place that feels like yours.”

She looked at him.

“You trust me that much?”

“I love you that much.”

Emma smiled.

She hugged him.

“I love you too.”

Neither of them noticed the black car parked on the road.

Inside, Lucas watched them.

His phone rang.

He answered.

“Yes?”

A voice on the other end spoke quietly.

“You have the documents?”

Lucas looked at Ethan.

“Not yet.”

“Then get them.”

Lucas’s expression changed.

“This was never about Emma, was it?”

“No.”

“What do you want?”

“The company.”

Lucas stared at the man in the distance.

“You’re using me.”

“Everyone uses someone.”

The call ended.

Lucas slowly smiled.

For the first time, Emma’s danger had nothing to do with heartbreak.

It had become something much bigger.

Something involving Ethan’s family.

Something Ethan himself didn’t know.

---

That night, Emma found Ethan standing alone in his study.

He was holding an old photograph.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked at her.

“Nothing.”

She walked closer.

“You’re lying.”

He smiled sadly.

“My father disappeared when I was young.”

Emma froze.

“Disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“Like… he left?”

“We were told that.”

He stared at the photograph.

“But I recently discovered something.”

“What?”

“My father didn’t leave.”

Emma’s heart began racing.

“What happened to him?”

Ethan looked at her.

“I think the people who took him…”

He paused.

“…are connected to Lucas.”

Emma’s blood ran cold.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Lucas hadn’t returned because he wanted her back.

He had returned because he needed something.

And whatever that something was…

Ethan’s family had been hiding it for years.

To be continued…