Chapter 196

Keeping it from Lyla, Antoine agreed. Half an hour later, he pushed the door open and stepped into the private room. Ethan was nursing a drink, and half a bottle of red wine sat empty on the table. He had a cigarette dangling from his left hand and was fiddling with his phone when he finally looked up at the sound. As Ethan's friend, Antoine had watched him change bit by bit over the past six months. Smoking, drinking, and growing increasingly withdrawn—ever since that knife wound landed him in the hospital, he hadn't fully recovered, and he looked like a shell of his former self. Antoine sighed and walked over, "How's the wound healing? You're still smoking?" "Anything happening with Evelyn lately?" Ethan asked, extinguishing the cigarette in the ashtray. Antoine hesitated, staring at Ethan for a long moment without saying anything. Ethan held his gaze. "Lyla told you not to say anything? If that's the case, then don't." He forced a smile and poured Antoine a drink. "Want to