Chapter 97

Ethan’s POV

I dropped the spoon on my plate with a soft clink, the sound sharp against the otherwise quiet dining room. The taste of the last bite of dinner still lingered faintly on my tongue, though I had hardly paid attention to the food as I ate. My mind had been elsewhere, circling around the night ahead. My tie, a black piece, hung loosely around my neck, waiting to be knotted. My white shirt, still unbuttoned halfway, exposed the firm line of my chest. I leaned back slightly, allowing my meal to settle as I reached for the napkin beside my plate.

Behind me, like shadows, the maids stood in silence, hands clasped in front of them, their gazes fixed downward. They had been trained to wait, not to move until I gave a sign. And as soon as I dropped that spoon, their reaction was immediate. Several of them rushed forward, clearing the table with a kind of nervous urgency. The china barely rattled as they moved, but I could see the way their hands tremb