Chapter 71. Beneath the Surface

Victoria’s POV

Ethan’s words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. I’ve been so stupid. His sudden, pitiful attempt at self-awareness should have made me laugh, but instead, I felt a wave of something far stronger—disgust.

I shifted uncomfortably, tightening my grip on the towel draped over my shoulders as I looked at the man who had once consumed my every thought. Ethan had always been polished, charming, and undeniably magnetic. But now, stripped of his usual bravado, he looked… pathetic.

How dare he? After all the lies, the neglect, the betrayal, how dare he look at me like I could somehow be his savior?

“I can’t stand being with Lily anymore,” he had said, as though that was supposed to mean something to me. As if his unhappiness with her absolved him of everything he had done to me.

I should have walked away right then. I should have turned on my heel, left him standing there, and erased every trace of him from my mind. But instead, someth