Ethan's POV
For the first time in years, Ethan Moretti found himself doing something completely irrational.
He was watching a girl sleep.
Not from a screen.
Not from a report.
Not from a file compiled by one of his analysts.
But in person.
From the shadows.
The window of her dorm room glowed softly against the night sky, pale yellow light spilling across the courtyard. The rest of the campus was quiet, the late hour pushing most students indoors.
Ethan stood across the courtyard where the trees cast heavy shadows over the walkway.
Hidden.
Invisible.
Observing.
His eyes were fixed on the window.
On her.
Meera Narayanan.
His little star.
Two weeks earlier she had simply been a stranger leaving a grocery store with a bag of basmati rice.
Now she occupied more of Ethan's thoughts than anything else in his life.
That realization should have bothered him.
But strangely, it didn't.
Instead, it intrigued him.
Because Ethan Moretti was not a man easily distracted.
His life was filled with complex operations, business deals worth millions, alliances stretching across borders, and the quiet management of an empire most people didn't even know existed.
Yet here he was.
Watching a college dorm window.
He had learned a lot about her in the past few days.
Tamil.
From Chennai.
Top engineering student.
International admission.
Education loan.
A disciplined girl from a middle-class family chasing a dream.
Every piece of information painted the same picture.
Quiet.
Focused.
Innocent in ways the world he lived in had long forgotten.
He had also learned something else.
Something that made him smile faintly when Marco reported it earlier.
"She reported someone following her."
Ethan had leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Did she?"
"Yes."
Marco had glanced at his tablet.
"She went to campus security yesterday morning. Asked them to check the cameras."
"And?"
"They found nothing."
Of course they didn't.
Ethan knew every blind spot around that dorm building.
He had spent an entire evening studying the campus security layout before stepping anywhere near her.
Still, the thought of her worrying about the shadow watching her stirred something strange in him.
Not irritation.
Not guilt.
Something closer to amusement mixed with a strange kind of tenderness.
"You're getting nervous, little star," he murmured quietly now as he watched her through the window.
"You don't have to."
His voice was soft enough that even the night wind could barely carry it.
"Just a few more days."
Inside the dorm room, Meera sat cross-legged on her bed with a laptop resting on her knees.
The glow of the screen illuminated her face.
Ethan watched the changing expressions carefully.
Curiosity.
Laughter.
Concentration.
Every tiny reaction fascinated him.
"What are you watching?" he murmured.
He adjusted slightly in the shadows, angling himself to see the laptop screen through the window.
It took him a moment to recognize the show.
Never Have I Ever.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
He had heard of it before.
Something about an Indian American girl navigating high school life.
On the screen, two characters appeared.
One tall and confident.
The other awkward but intelligent.
He remembered their names from something he had read.
Devi and Paxton.
And another one.
Ben.
Ethan leaned slightly against the tree behind him.
"So that's what you watch when you're alone."
He observed her closely as she watched the characters interact.
Every time a romantic scene appeared, Meera reacted subtly.
Sometimes embarrassed.
Sometimes thoughtful.
Sometimes curious.
Ethan studied those reactions carefully.
Her mind was processing something.
Something about relationships.
About romance.
About possibilities.
The thought made a quiet smile appear on his face.
"You're thinking about boys," he said softly.
"About who you'd like."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"You should be careful with thoughts like that."
Because if there was one thing Ethan Moretti understood clearly, it was possession.
And something inside him had already begun claiming her.
The wind shifted slightly across the courtyard.
Meera reached up unconsciously and brushed her hair away from her neck.
Ethan's gaze followed the movement.
For a moment he simply watched.
Her neck was slender.
Elegant.
A delicate curve disappearing beneath the collar of her loose shirt.
His mind betrayed him briefly.
A single image flashed across his thoughts.
What it would feel like to lean down.
To press his lips gently against that skin.
To feel her breath catch in surprise.
Ethan exhaled slowly.
"Dangerous thoughts," he muttered under his breath.
He rarely allowed imagination to wander like that.
But something about her presence seemed to dissolve the usual barriers in his mind.
The bindi.
The earrings.
The quiet innocence.
Every detail created a strange contrast against the violent world he belonged to.
She was softness.
He was shadow.
And somehow that difference made her presence even more captivating.
Inside the room, Meera yawned softly.
She closed the laptop and placed it beside her pillow.
Ethan's attention sharpened.
He knew her routine now.
She would read something briefly.
Then sleep.
He should leave.
That had been the plan tonight.
Observe.
Confirm her routine again.
Then disappear before she even suspected someone nearby.
But instead he stayed.
Watching.
Waiting.
As she turned off the lamp and settled under the blanket.
Within minutes her breathing slowed.
Sleep came quickly.
Ethan checked his watch.
12:17 AM.
He should go.
His responsibilities demanded it.
Meetings tomorrow.
Operations to review.
Decisions to make.
Yet his feet remained rooted in place.
Because for some reason the quiet image of her sleeping peacefully felt… important.
Like guarding something fragile.
"You shouldn't be afraid of me," he whispered softly toward the window.
"You just don't know me yet."
His voice carried a strange calm certainty.
Because in his mind the outcome was already decided.
Sooner or later she would become part of his world.
Not because he forced it.
But because he would make sure every path eventually led her toward him.
Carefully.
Patiently.
Strategically.
Like every other operation in his life.
Minutes passed.
Then something unexpected happened.
Meera stirred slightly.
Ethan's instincts reacted immediately.
He stepped backward into deeper shadow.
Inside the room she shifted in her sleep.
Then suddenly her eyes opened.
For one terrifying second, they looked directly toward the window.
Toward him.
Ethan froze.
His body moved before his thoughts even formed.
He slid behind the tree trunk just as she sat up in bed.
The curtain shifted slightly.
From his position he could see her silhouette moving closer to the window.
Damn.
He had stayed too long.
Careless.
A mistake he rarely made.
Meera pulled the curtain aside slightly and peered into the courtyard.
Ethan held his breath.
His heartbeat remained steady, but a flicker of something unusual passed through his mind.
Annoyance.
Not at her.
At himself.
A man trained in survival and shadow work should never risk exposure like this.
Yet somehow, watching her had distracted him.
For the first time in years.
Meera looked around the courtyard for several seconds.
The darkness revealed nothing.
Ethan remained perfectly still behind the tree.
Finally she closed the curtain again.
Her silhouette disappeared from the window.
Only then did Ethan allow himself to move.
He stepped backward silently.
Crossing the courtyard in a fluid motion.
Within seconds he reached the parking area.
A black SUV waited there with dark tinted windows.
His driver looked up in surprise as Ethan approached.
"Sir?"
"Drive."
The man nodded immediately.
As the vehicle pulled away from campus, Ethan leaned back in the seat.
His mind replayed the moment again.
She had almost seen him.
Almost.
A small smirk appeared on his face.
"You're getting sharper, little star."
He liked that.
It meant she was paying attention.
It meant she wasn't completely naive.
Still…
Next time he would be more careful.
Because the game had only just begun.
And Ethan Moretti never lost control of a situation for long.
Especially not when the prize was something he had already decided would eventually belong to him.
His little star.