He Watched Me Shine Without Him novel Chapter 117

Did Houston asking her to buy those things mean he really did want her after all?

Rose let out an annoyed “meow,” irritated that her mood could be so easily swayed by Houston. She hated this feeling—being tethered to someone else, losing herself.

In the corner, a shadowy figure was curled up, watching Rose like a precious artifact. Her ever-changing expressions stirred up a storm of frustration in his chest.

“Rose!” he finally called out.

Rose jumped, startled by the sudden sound of Ethan’s voice behind her.

She spun around and saw him—unkempt, a mess, with dark stubble creeping along his jawline. She was stunned.

“You slept here last night?” she asked in disbelief.

Ethan nodded.

Rose instinctively wanted to show concern—ask if he was struggling at work, or maybe, as her mother said, feeling low because the Walker family only valued sons and Vivian had given birth to a daughter?

But every kind thought dried up the second she remembered how he’d refused to defend her, left her to be ambushed by the press, standing aside like a silent, indifferent lamb.

She took a deep breath, her face returning to calm indifference. She stepped past him, ready to leave, when Ethan suddenly called out, full of sorrow.

“Rose, I need to talk to you.”

She froze. “There’s nothing left to say between us.” Then turned to go again.

But Ethan lunged forward and blocked her path. He looked utterly defeated, hair disheveled, more broken than she’d ever seen him.

“Rose, I’m done for,” he said, blinking at her with pitiful eyes.

It was just like before—every time he messed up, he’d look at her with those same desperate eyes, and she’d always shoulder his burdens, somehow getting him out of every mess.

But this time was different.

Rose stared at him coldly. “Ethan, what does that have to do with me?”

His eyes reddened, and he let out a crazed laugh. “Heh… Rose, you’re really not going to help me? You once said that no matter what trouble I got into, you’d help me through it. But now you’re breaking that promise.”

Fury surged up from her toes. She practically roared, “And you said you’d never leave me! You said even if you died, you’d never let go of my hand. But while you were making promises to me, you were flirting with my best friend. While you were enjoying all my love and devotion, you were busy betraying me. Ethan, how do you have the nerve?”

Rose was visibly shaken, her rage bursting like fireworks—brief, bright, and then gone, leaving only exhaustion behind.

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