My sister took my fiancé, a cardiologist with his own hospital, from me. Unexpectedly, I ran into her at the shopping mall one day. She said, “Congratulations on settling for someone as much of a loser as you.” I smiled, introduced my husband,..

“Misunderstood?” I repeated. “You and my sister cheated on me, got engaged like I was supposed to be grateful for the honesty, and now she insults my husband in a shopping mall. What exactly is the misunderstood part?”

People around us were beginning to notice. Not a full crowd, but enough passersby slowing down to make Vanessa visibly uneasy.

Ethan shifted a little closer to me—not possessive, just protective.

“We should go.”

He would have let it end there. That was Ethan’s way. He never required humiliation to feel that justice had been done.

But Adrian stopped him.

“Mr. Reed—”

Ethan turned.
“It’s Ethan.”

Adrian’s jaw clenched.
“Ethan. I’d appreciate it if personal history here didn’t affect business matters.”

There it was.

Not regret.
Not embarrassment.
Damage control.

Ethan regarded him quietly for a moment.

“If your business standing can be threatened by a conversation in a mall, then your problem isn’t personal history.”

Vanessa stared at him.
“Wait. What does that mean?”