Chapter 51
#Chapter 51: The Dinner
Moana
Friday evening came much more quickly than I expected. I was nervous for my dinner with Ethan, more
so because of the constant looming threat of Edrick finding out and getting upset than anything.
I found Selina in the kitchen that morning and decided to tell her about my ns, since we had an
understanding between us now and I knew I could trust her.
“Selina,” I said, walking up to her. “I hope it’s alright if I go out for dinner tonight. Will you be able to
check on E while I’m gone?”
“That’s fine,” Selina said, not prying about who I would be dining with. She had been much more open
toward me since she had learned about the pregnancy, and it was afort. “I’ll make sure E gets to
bed, but just be back by ten o’clock. Don’t forget that E has training in the morning.”
I nodded, just relieved to have an uing dinner that could possibly take my mind off of the baby for
a little while and help me rx. The support of a good friend was all I really needed — I was sure of it.
As I emerged from my room wearing my new blue dress with my hair curled and styled and a bit of
minimal makeup on, however, I could tell from the wide eyed look on Edrick’s face that he was a bit
shocked by my appearance. He was still holding his briefcase with his suit jacket slung over his
forearm, having juste home from work.
For a moment, I stared at him with wide eyes, too. His tie was loosened, and the first few buttons of his
shirt were undone. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his veiny forearms, and his
hair was a bit tousled. He must have taken a pit stop at his bar beforeing home. Admittedly, seeing
him like this made me feel aroused, although I couldn’t be sure if it was because of the pregnancy
hormones or not.
“You look…” His voice faltered, and he quickly looked away. I knew that he wanted to say more, but he
decided not to. “Where are you going?”
I felt my face get a little red and my heart skipped a beat. I had been hoping to leave without seeing
him, but I couldn’t not tell him anything, and I certainly couldn’t tell him that I was having dinner with his
brother.
“I’m having dinner with a friend,” I said.
The look on Edrick’s face seemed to imply that he thought I was going on a date, not just dinner with a
friend — but I was just having dinner with a friend. I had decided weeks ago that being anything more
than friends with Ethan was not the best idea.
“Oh,” he said, clearing his throat and brushing past me, returning to his cold and indifferent demeanor
once more. “Well… Try not to be back toote. Don’t forget that E has training in the morning.”
I nodded, averting my gaze, and gathered my purse before taking a deep breath and stepping onto the
elevator.
Even though Ethan offered to pick me up in front of the penthouse, I decided that it wasn’t the best idea
for Edrick to know who exactly I was going out with, so I walked a few blocks away toward the nearest
subway station where Ethan was pulled over, waiting for me.
A wide grin spread across Ethan’s face as he got out of the car and came around to open my door for
me. “You look stunning,” he said. “That dress…”
“E actually picked it out,” I said with a chuckle as I climbed into the car. His smile widening, Ethan
closed the door and climbed back into the driver’s seat.
The next thing I knew, we were pulling up to a fancy restaurant down by the waterfront. Ethan held his
arm out for me to take as we entered. I felt my face get hot and red as I hooked my arm with his, but
that shyness turned to astonishment when I saw how beautiful the inside of the restaurant was. And it
was empty, too.
“Did you…” I began, looking around at the empty restaurant with its high ceilings andrge windows
overlooking the ocean below.
Ethan nodded. “I rented the whole ce out. For privacy, of course.”
A waiter came up to us then and showed us to a table. It was located not inside the restaurant, but
rather on an intimate, covered balcony on the second floor.
N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.
“We’ll have a bottle of wine to start,” Ethan said to the waiter, who nodded and scurried away before I
had a chance to protest. How was I supposed to exin to Ethan that I couldn’t drink alcohol because I
was pregnant with his brother’s baby?
“So…” Ethan said, leaning on the railing of the balcony and looking out over the ocean. “How is
everything going? With… you-know-who. If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
I shrugged. “Edrick is Edrick,” I replied, not wanting to get into too much detail. “I can’t tell sometimes if
he hates me or not.”
“He’s always been like that.” Ethan lifted his gaze from the ocean to look at me. “Don’t let it get to you,
though. You’re lovely. Whatever issues he has are issues with himself, not you.”
His kind words made me smile a bit, but also made me feel a bit curious. Ethan and Edrick had grown
up together, after all. “If you don’t mind me asking,” I said, “what was it like growing up in the Morgan
household?”
Ethan chuckled. “Not as painless as one would expect, despite all of the luxuries provided for me,” he
replied. “You’re aware that my mother isn’t Verona, correct? Edrick is my half brother.”
I nodded, averting my gaze. “I’ve gathered that.”
Ethan shrugged nonchntly. “Yeah. I know it seems a bit inappropriate for the offspring of a mistress
to be raised in the home, but Verona was a good mother and treated me like her own. She always
made sure to tell me that it wasn’t my fault that her husband was unfaithful. Edrick, on the other
hand…”
“He never epted it, did he?” I asked.
Ethan shook his head.
There was a moment of silence, followed by the waiter returning with a bottle of wine and two sses.
Ethan gestured for me to sit as the waiter poured our wine and prattled off his spiel about where the
wine was from, how long it had been aged, and the vor notes. When he was finished, he left us alone
once more.
I was about to mention that I would only be having water to drink when Ethan picked up his ss and
raised it for a toast. “A toast to the lovely Moana,” he said. “I’m d to have met you. Here’s to not
getting scolded by Edrick.”
I chuckled nervously, trying my best to hide the fact that my heart quickened its pace and my nerves
raised as I picked up my own ss of water instead, raising that for a toast.
“I hope you don’t mind if I don’t drink tonight, actually,” I said.
“Oh.” Ethan c****d his head. “Is everything alright?” Then, jokingly: “You’re not pregnant, are yo