Chapter 79 Burned and Reborn

Katelyn’s POV I hadn’t expected Ethan to react the way he did that night. The way he threw himself at that man, fists flying, fury etched into every line of his body, it shocked me. Not because of the violence. But because, for the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t afraid. I was… moved. He’d protected me. Without hesitation, without thinking of appearances or consequences, he chose me. I hated how touched I was. Hated how I couldn’t forget the way he looked when he stepped between me and that stranger, bleeding but defiant. When he pulled me into the car afterward, still breathless, bruised, but looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered. I hated how a part of me ached to reach for him again. When he kissed me, it was overwhelming. Familiar. Dangerous. Part of me wanted to lean into it, to fall again. But just as quickly, something sharp pierced through the haze, memories of nights he didn’t come home, of lies, of how easily he’d chosen Scarlett over and over ag