The Billionaire's Secret Quartet

"What? Hertha dumped you?" Ethan exclaimed, feeling Alaric's forehead again.

"Whoa, you're burning up. That's one nasty fever." Alaric swatted Ethan's hand away with force, visibly annoyed.

"I'm lying here dying, and you're still in the mood to make fun of me?"

"I'm not making fun of you, man. I'm worried about you," Ethan said, struggling to keep a straight face.

Alaric gave him a sidelong glance. "Since when are you so kind-hearted?"

"You're doing me dirty, man," Ethan protested. Then, leaning closer to Alaric, he whispered, "Bet you never saw this coming. You, the heartbreaker, getting your heart shattered. Well, what goes around comes around, huh?"

Ethan couldn't help but laugh, his chest heaving with each chuckle. Only a true friend could joke about something like this.

"You wouldn't understand love if it hit you in the face," Alaric muttered, turning his head away.

get love. But I do know that if you keep this up, you're gonna end up dead.

you can't help me,"

lives next door to you, right?" Ethan

go to her," he said, his voice tinged with a sadness that wasn't there before. "She made it clear yesterday that she won't

joke but stopped short at the sight

go?" Ethan

shook his

their last meeting, Hertha's irritated and disdainful

comparing him to something dirty and unwelcome: Alaric knew that his connection to Georgia was a deal-breaker for Hertha.net further would only make

the first time, Alaric felt truly

Alaric in this state, Ethan decided to drop the subject. "Alright then, get up. Let's

like a sulking child, "I don't wanna.