No soft, invisible presence moving around him, holding his life together in ways he had never bothered to notice.
He frowned.
“Sophie?” he called out.
No answer.
He checked the kitchen.
Empty.
The bedroom.
Still empty.
His irritation grew.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered. “She’s just being dramatic.”
He grabbed his phone.
No messages.
No missed calls.
Nothing.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
“She’ll calm down.”
At exactly ten in the morning, his assistant called.
“Mr. Daniel… there’s an urgent meeting scheduled.”
“I didn’t schedule anything,” he snapped. “Who set it up?”
There was a brief pause.
“Mr. Ethan Brooks.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does he want?”
“He said it’s not optional… and that you’ll want to hear it.”
Daniel hesitated.
Then scoffed.
“Fine. I’ll be there in an hour.”
When he arrived at the office, something felt… off.
The air.
The silence.
The way people avoided eye contact.
Employees who usually greeted him quickly looked away.
Others whispered behind his back.
A strange tension filled the space.
“What is this?” he muttered under his breath.
He walked into the conference room.
And froze.
Ethan sat at the head of the table.
Calm.
Composed.
As if he belonged there.
As if he had always belonged there.