Chapter 145

Ethan Roscente had been drowning in work lately.

Files piled high on his desk like a mountain range. Dark circles shadowed his eyes after consecutive all-nighters. The scratch of his fountain pen echoed sharply in the silent office.

"Mr. Roscente, everything is arranged for Young Master Jason."

Zachary Evans entered with enrollment documents fresh from Seattle University.

Ethan didn't look up. His slender fingers turned a contract page. "Hmm."

"Jason seems thrilled with the theater program. Says it's more exciting than studying abroad." Zachary chose his words carefully.

Jason Roscente was the family's notorious troublemaker. Since his father's death, the boy had wreaked havoc overseas—bar fights, drunken antics, school complaints flooding Ethan's private line.

Bringing him back and enrolling him in theater...

Zachary stole a glance at his boss.

The man's chiseled profile looked especially severe under the desk lamp. Even his eyelashes cast intimidating shadows.

"Did you see Sophia?" Ethan's question sliced the air.

Zachary's pulse jumped.

"Y-yes. She ran into Jason after class. They chatted briefly—"

The pen tip paused, bleeding ink across the page.

Ethan lifted his gaze slowly. Dark pupils swallowed all light.

"Too much free time?"

Three words turned Zachary's spine to ice.

"None at all! I'll get back to work!" He spun toward the door.

"Wait."

Zachary froze.

"No bonus this month."

Thunderstruck.

The assistant retreated miserably. As the door clicked shut, he glimpsed Ethan already bent over paperwork again—a marble statue with shadows carving his sharp nose bridge.

Something was off.

Very off.

Ethan always protected Sophia fiercely beneath his cold exterior. This reaction...

Zachary scratched his head.

A lovers' quarrel?