Wasted Times

Part 11 - No Tears Left To Cry

Warning: This chapter contains harassment and much more inappropriate content.

You didn't manage to sleep all night, not for long at least. You couldn't stop crying, until you ran out of tears of course. Then your panic got the worst out of you and had your heart beating like crazy. Looking at the clock all the time didn't help at all with taking a decision. What is even the best option?

Wait to see Ethan at work and face him there? He'll definitely be calmer around the other employees rather than somewhere else. But it will be awkward around all the other employees.

Don't show up at all to work and wait for him to reach out to you? That way maybe his anger will run out and he'll be more reasonable. Or maybe it will get even worse because you avoided him.

You decided to go for option number 3. Instead of waiting for more hours until it's time for work, you thought that facing Ethan in private is what you should do.

You're not going to sleep anyway and you'd rather if things don't go ugly at work so a couple of hours before work you show up to Ethan's front door.

You took your time before ringing the bell, knowing that this is when the whole deal will start. You just hoped for the best outcome out of all the possible scenarios.

"Alice?" he asks when he opens the door.

He seems like he was sleeping, which is normal since it's very early in the morning, and it's also good because it means that no one got to him and told him the news.

"I'm sorry" you say.

"For what?" he's confused.

"Can we talk in private? There's something I need you to hear from me" you gulp nervously.

"Come in" you can hear the worry in his voice.

He knows that it's something bad, especially at this time of the day. You nervously walk into his house and stand on your feet in the middle of his living room, since you don't feel comfortable enough to take a seat yet.

"Is this about Stark?" he asks seriously.

"Yes, but not what you think" you reply.

"Did you sleep with him at that party?" he breathes faster.

"No, nothing like that. I told you, nothing happened between me and Tony" you shake your head.

"What is it then?" he looks at you.

You look back at him for a few seconds, while he's waiting for you to say what you need to say. He's giving you time and it's clear that you're trying to find the courage to speak.

"Something happened when I was with Tony, something that affected all of us. I didn't even know it happened until I figured it out months later" you fold your arms anxiously.

"What happened?" he's focused.

"Tony-He... he somehow managed to access my files" you admit.

"What kind of files?" you can tell he's starting to lose his calm.

"It was before the conference" you gulp.

"What files, Alice?" he takes a step closer to you.

"The investors. He stole all the information from me, who they were, what our deals were. This is how he knew who to approach and why many of them left us right before the conference to support Stark Industries" you say everything.

His eyes start trembling. The anger is taking over him as he processes everything he just heard. His chest is moving faster as his breathing gets heavier and he exhales deeper each time.