Free You Can't Choose Love by Veronica Cross Page B

each
other now. She reached up to touch his cheek. He caught her hand and kissed her
palm. She still felt tingles run down her arms at his touch. Will he ever stop
making her feel this way?
    Janet pulled her arm away gently.
“I’ll be seeing you.” And then she was gone, leaving Ethan alone on the balcony.
He longed to kiss her more, to kiss every inch of her body. But he had lost
that privilege.
    The last interaction they had was
the defining point for their relationship. There was a lot to learn from this
interaction about loyalty, love and strong will.
    It began when Jih lost his temper
over Ethan’s infuriating attitude.

Chapter
15 – The Last Interaction
     
     
    “Snap out of it already, Ethan.
You honestly expect us to believe you’re in love with such an ordinary girl?
You’re only pursuing this because it’s the best way to get back at your parents
for what they did to your previous relationship.”
    Jih and Ethan were in the middle
of a heated argument again, this time in a street in front of the pub. George
and Kan watched on but did not intervene.
    “A few months ago, the two of us
would be laughing over the thought of one of us being in love with such a plain
girl. Where’s your sense of humor gone? You’ve been wallowing over her for ages
now.”
    “Shut up, Jih,” Ethan said, his
voice deadly. “Janet isn’t ordinary. And one of us is in love with her.”
    “Oh, yes she is. And you know it
wouldn’t last with her. Instead of taking your anger out at us all the time,
please go get laid and get the hell over it. I’m done with you and that
pathetic girl till you stop this act.”
    “Pathetic?” Ethan’s voice was even
more deadly this time. “If you ever talk about her like that again, I’ll
destroy you.”
    Jih knew Ethan was capable of the
threat and more.
     With a last contemptuous
look, Jih turned away just as Ethan lunged at him. George and Kan watched with
amusement as the two of the wrestled. Ethan managed to get in three heavy blows
before Jih threw him back.
    “Really, Ethan? Is she really
worth all this?” Jih asked, his voice rough. Ethan stared at him, his
expression so intense that Jih seemed to draw back slightly.
    Janet, who was on her way back
from work, heard the commotion. When she heard Ethan’s name, she was drawn to
the voices. She observed the scene as the two brawled violently again.
    Janet turned to George and Kan.
“What are you two idiots doing just standing there? Why aren’t you stopping
them?” She was enraged. Janet threw herself between Ethan and Jih, pushing them
away from each other. It wasn’t much work since Jih, who had been on the losing
side of the battle, already lay in a hump on the floor. Ethan turned to look at
her, confused at her sudden appearance. His face was bloody but nothing
compared to what Jih looked like. Janet cradled his face in her hands.
    “Look at your face!” she cried.
“Just look at the state of you!”
    “And why should you care what
state I’m in?” Ethan shot back.
    “I don’t particularly enjoy people
injured because of their own stupidity. I’m sure your fight with Jih could have
been solved without violence.”
    Ethan didn’t respond.
    “Are you even capable of thinking
ahead of your actions?”
    She held his face tighter. “Fix
this. Fix him and yourself. You can’t get away with everything you do, Ethan. I
hate seeing you like this.”
    She pressed a kiss to his
forehead, the only part of his face that wasn’t bloody. With a last exasperated
look at him, and the two onlookers, she left.

Chapter
16 – Making Amends
     
    Janet shifted in her bed, unable
to find a comfortable spot, ready to cry from frustration and exhaustion. She
wanted to fall into a deep sleep but her body wouldn’t let her.
    A gentle knock sounded on her
door. She sat up warily, wondering who would be knocking at her door at 1 am.
Cautiously, she peered out of the peeping hole to find Ethan standing there.
She threw open the