The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 129: Unconditional Surrender
Ethan Caldwell lost in his own silent contemplation for a long while. It was as if he had finally navigated through the fog to identify the core issue of today’s conflict. In truth, it could barely even be called an argument. It was a profound clash of wills and a breakdown of the unspoken boundaries they had established.
He let out a weary sigh, reaching up to massage the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Ethan realized that they truly needed to have an open and honest conversation. Although they hadn’t been together for an exceptionally long time, the emotions simmering between them had already evolved far beyond the cold constraints of a mere "commercial marriage."
While it might not yet be a sweeping, cinematic romance, it was undoubtedly the destination they were approaching in the near future.
However, these petty obstacles and misunderstandings needed to be eradicated early on. Silence and suppressed endurance were poisonous; they would only serve to drive the two of them down a path toward becoming bitter enemies. Ethan was wise enough to know that resentment, once rooted, was nearly impossible to pull out.
Well, the more immediate and pressing problem was how to actually coax this person out of his shell. He had to figure out how to get the ruffled kitten to retract its sharp claws and actually listen to what he had to say.
Ethan decided to reflect for a moment before shifting his strategy. Male ego and pride were things meant to be displayed to the outside world, to competitors and subordinates. Inside the home, however, placing one’s spouse on a pedestal, treating them with the utmost reverence, was not something that would kill a man. In fact, it was the mark of a truly strong one.
A real man must be able to recognize his faults and admit when he is wrong.
With that resolve, Ethan stood up, took a deliberate step back, and then knelt straight down on the floor beside the bed. By doing so, if Julian Sterling were to turn around now, he would find himself at the exact same eye level as the man who usually loomed so large over everyone else.
The floor was covered with a plush, soft sheepskin rug, so kneeling wasn’t physically painful in the slightest. It was simply a symbolic act, a strike against the carefully cultivated image of a powerful man. After all, Ethan Caldwell was a titan of industry, a man who commanded storms in the business world. Aside from the elders in his own family, this man had likely never bowed his head to anyone in his entire life.
Stripping away every layer of his authoritative armor, Ethan became just an ordinary man within the walls of his home, surrendering unconditionally to his partner.
"Jules..." Ethan called out softly. He used the intimate nickname directly, eschewing the playful terms like "baby" or "sweetheart" that usually carried a hint of teasing or flirtation: "I know you’re still listening. Please, turn around and look at me. I have something I need to say. We need to talk seriously."
The mound of blankets on the bed remained motionless for a long time. Eventually, the duvet began to shift. Julian slowly pulled the covers down, revealing half of his face. His eyes were puffy and swollen from the excessive crying of the previous night, and they were still tinged with a raw redness, likely from a fresh bout of silent tears shed just moments ago. Julian instinctively scanned the level of the mattress, only to be jolted by the realization that Ethan was kneeling on the floor. Julian’s pupils contracted in sheer shock.
He reflexively tried to sit up, but the sharp, stabbing pain in his waist and hips forced him back down.
"What on earth are you doing?" Julian demanded. His voice was raised, sounding like a sharp scolding, but to Ethan’s ears, the killing intent that had been present in his earlier words had significantly dissipated.
"What’s this? Are you trying to play the ’bitter self-punishment’ card to get sympathy?"
"I’m not acting, Jules." Ethan looked directly into Julian’s eyes, his gaze filled with a steady, unwavering sincerity. The man reached out his hand, gently grasping Julian’s hand and giving it a soft, reassuring squeeze: "I am simply re-evaluating my position."
"And what position is that?"
"The position of the person who is in the wrong." Ethan said slowly, enunciating every word with gravity: "Last night was my fault. I crossed the line. I know you’re angry, and it’s not just because of the physical pain. It’s because I forced you. I was wrong to ignore your feelings, and I made you feel disrespected. I allowed my own goddamn possessiveness to take over and completely lost sight of you."
Julian bit his lip hard. Hearing the man admit to these things caused the rims of his eyes to heat up instantly. Of course, it wasn’t because he was suddenly moved to tears by the gesture. It was because that deep sense of grievance came rushing back. This bastard clearly understood, he understood every single part of the problem.
What Julian didn’t know was whether this man was actually willing to take action and change his ways.
"Ethan Caldwell, I absolutely loathe that feeling." Julian said, his voice beginning to tremble under the weight of his suppressed emotions: "I have lived a life of being forced and manipulated for far too long. I hate the feeling of helplessness, of lying on a chopping block like a piece of meat while others decide my fate. I am your partner. We might not have started this journey based on mutual love, but once you chose to treat me as an equal, you had to remember that. I am your spouse, the person whose name stands alongside yours on a marriage certificate, not your prisoner of war, Ethan. I accept the games in the bedroom because I enjoy them too, but that does not give you the right to force me into whatever you want. It certainly doesn’t mean you can use your authority to dominate me in bed! Do you love power that much? Do you enjoy seeing me so miserable?"
"Hasn’t my life been miserable enough already?"
The tears streaming down Julian’s cheeks made Ethan’s heart tighten painfully. His mouth felt dry and bitter. The man had to swallow several times before he could find his voice again.
"I don’t." Ethan denied hurriedly. He reached up to brush away a stray tear from Julian’s cheek and then leaned down to press a soft kiss onto the back of Julian’s cold hand: "I don’t enjoy it. I was just... I was a little afraid."
"For God’s sake, what could a man like you possibly be afraid of?" Was there truly anything in this world that could strike fear into the heart of someone like Ethan Caldwell?
"I’m afraid of losing you, Jules. I’ve told you before, if anything ever happens to you, I won’t be able to stay calm." Ethan gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh: "I know we didn’t start with love, and saying things like this might sound fake or manipulative. But after being together for all this time, is it really possible that no feelings have developed between us, Jules?"
Julian went silent, the anger in his eyes flickering as he processed Ethan’s words. The raw vulnerability in Ethan’s voice was something he had never heard before. He looked down at the man kneeling before him, the powerful CEO of the Caldwell Empire, reduced to a state of humble supplication.
"Perhaps compared to the rest of the Sterling family, I understand more clearly just how capable you truly are, and I recognize how fiercely independent you can be. You are strong, autonomous, radiant, and filled with pride. Sometimes, I feel as though you are like the wind, something I cannot fully grasp or hold onto. That is why I... I stupidly resorted to the most negative way possible to mark my territory, to make myself feel that you completely belong to me, that you are within my palm. I was truly terrified by that fleeting sensation of losing control over our dynamic."
Ethan Caldwell looked up at him, his voice dropping to a low, gravelly frequency, baring his innermost soul without reservation: "Both of us are accustomed to being leaders. We are both used to giving orders. I do not know why I thought this way, but I can sense your authoritative nature very clearly. It made me feel threatened. But I forgot that coming home is for love, not for a power struggle. I brought my own autocracy into our bed, and I hurt you in the process. That is entirely my fault."
