Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 117: Chapter 117

Lane struggled to pick a wedding theme for her and Ethan. Miss Ivy had sent over several options, and while they were all lovely, Lane found herself liking every single one.

Since she couldn’t choose them all, she had to narrow it down to one. Miss Ivy was a huge help, but the pressure was mounting. Planning a wedding was incredibly stressful.

She let out a deep sigh. Still unable to decide, she glanced at Ethan, who was sitting on the sofa, fully focused on his laptop screen.

Ethan was still helping her manage her father’s company. Even though he had his own business to run, he never stopped supporting her. From Monday through Wednesday, Ethan remained by her side.

On Thursdays and Fridays, he would head to his office to handle his own company.

Clutching her iPad, Lane stood up from her chair and stepped closer to him. Ethan seemed to sense her presence, looking away from his screen to glance up at her.

When their eyes met, he offered an automatic smile. She smiled back, and Ethan shifted over, making room for her to sit beside him.

"Yes, love?" he said in a gentle voice.

Instead of answering, she held up her iPad, and she watched his gaze drop to the screen.

"I’m having a hard time choosing, Ethan. Help me pick," she said.

Instead of looking at the options, he looked up at her. "It’s up to you. Whatever you want, I’ll want it too, love," he said.

Lane frowned, her expression darkening at his words. "But I’m having a hard time choosing," she insisted. That was exactly why she needed his help.

"They’re all beautiful. You choose," he replied.

Her expression remained tight as she spoke again.

"Am I the only one getting married, Ethan? Why am I the only one making these decisions?"

"Because whatever you want is what I want, Lane," he replied.

Lane felt a flare of annoyance. "Fine," she said coldly.

She didn’t wait for a response, standing up and heading back to her chair. Her frustration deepened when, instead of following her, he turned his attention back to his work.

It felt like his work was more important than their wedding. Hadn’t he said he wanted to get married soon?

He had claimed he couldn’t wait and that they would be married before the month was out. But with him offering no help, the preparations would definitely be delayed. And that could only mean one thing: their wedding would be pushed back, too.

Since she couldn’t rely on Ethan, she decided to text her friends. She would just ask them for their opinion on the theme. She sent the options to their group chat. Noah must have had his phone in hand, because he saw it immediately.

Lane typed, "Help me choose, guys. I can’t decide."

She hit send. Noah saw it right away, but Ava hadn’t seen it yet. She probably hadn’t checked her phone, but Lane knew Ava would reply as soon as she read it.

Instead of texting, Noah started a video call. She quickly accepted, and his face filled the screen. He seemed to be at the office, given the familiar shelves behind him.

"Lane."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Ethan look up when he heard Noah’s voice. His eyebrows furrowed instantly. Ignoring him, she focused on her screen.

"Aren’t you busy?" she asked.

"You know I’ll always have time for you and Ava," Noah replied, making her smile.

"Anyway, why are you asking us to choose?"

"I can’t decide on a theme. They’re all beautiful, but I can’t pick them all. What am I supposed to do, go with a rainbow theme?" she laughed.

Noah chuckled. "If that happens, you might be the first wedding I’ll ever attend with a rainbow theme."

She scowled, which only made him laugh harder. "Come on, which one is nice?" she asked.

"Why are you asking us? Why not ask Ethan?" he replied, sidestepping the question.

When he mentioned Ethan, she couldn’t help but look up. Their eyes locked immediately, as Ethan hadn’t stopped watching her.

His brows were furrowed even deeper now. She looked away, but she could still feel the sharpness of his gaze in response to Noah’s comment.

She turned her attention back to her phone. "He said I’m the one who should decide," she told Noah. "Come on, just help me choose."

"What’s your favorite color, Lane? Out of what you sent, which one do you like best?" Noah asked.

"You like peach, right?" He didn’t even wait for her to answer; being her friend, he already knew.

"Yes," she replied.

"Then go with peach, Lane," Noah said.

She was about to speak when Ethan’s deep voice stopped her.

"Love."

Lane looked up, surprised to find Ethan standing right in front of her. She hadn’t even noticed him move because she had been so focused on the call. His expression remained unreadable.

"Hmm?"

"I’ll help you choose," he said after a moment.

She wanted to scowl, but she held it back. She had begged for his help earlier because this was their wedding, but he had brushed it off. Why did he want to help now, especially now that she had already made up her mind with Noah’s advice?

"It’s okay, Ethan," she declined.

"Noah already helped me." She noticed his lips part slightly. "Just go back to what you were doing. I’ll take care of it," she continued.

She wasn’t sure if she had successfully hidden the sarcasm, but she didn’t care. She actually wanted him to know she was annoyed.

She didn’t wait for a response, turning back to her phone. "Okay, Noah. I’ll go with peach. Thank you."

Right after she had made her choice, Ava joined the call.

"Am I too late?"

"Yes, you are," Noah laughed.

While she chatted, she noticed Ethan was still standing there, watching her. When he realized her conversation would take a while, he walked back to the sofa. She noticed his shoulders slump.

Lane just pouted. She chatted with her friends for a few more minutes before they said their goodbyes.

Afterward, she messaged Miss Ivy to confirm her choice.

A reply came within seconds. Miss Ivy asked if she was free for lunch and suggested they meet at a coffee shop near the office to discuss the remaining wedding details. She agreed and told her she would be there.

With an hour left before the meeting, she turned her attention back to her work.

Five minutes before noon, Lane received a text from Ivy saying she was on her way. She began packing up to leave. She glanced at Ethan, who had just stepped into the bathroom.

Lane considered inviting Ethan so he could hear what Miss Ivy had to say, but when she remembered him telling her to decide on her own, she changed her mind.

She stood up, grabbed her things, and left the office to meet Miss Ivy without saying a word to Ethan.

....

Ethan furrowed his brow when he stepped out of the bathroom and found that Lane was no longer sitting in her swivel chair. She had been there just moments before he went in, but he assumed she had simply stepped out for a minute.

He took a deep breath, walked over to the sofa, and set his work aside to tidy up the documents on his desk.

It was almost noon, their usual lunchtime. Since she hadn’t returned, Ethan decided to set out the food they had brought so they could eat together the moment she walked in.

He unpacked the lunch bag, arranging everything on the coffee table. He waited, but ten minutes dragged by with no sign of Lane. When another five minutes passed, he frowned again.

"Where is she?" he muttered to himself.

Ethan stood up and headed out of his office to ask his secretary if she knew where Lane was.

His secretary was eating lunch when he emerged. She stood up quickly as soon as she saw him. "Sir, do you need something?"

"Have you seen Lane?" he asked.

"Sir, she left," the secretary replied.

Ethan frowned. "She left?"

The secretary nodded. "She said she was going out for lunch, but she mentioned she would be back afterward."

"Did she say where she was going?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. I’m sorry, I didn’t think to ask," she added, noticing his darkening expression.

He nodded curtly and retreated into his office, grabbing his phone to call her.

She didn’t answer for a while. "Where are you, Lane?" he demanded the moment she picked up.

"Outside," she replied simply.

"Where?"

"I’m meeting someone," she said, making his brow furrow again.

"Who are you meeting, and where?"

"Miss Ivy," she replied. "She wants to discuss some wedding details."

"Why didn’t you tell me? I could have gone with you," he said, his voice laced with disappointment.

"I’m the one making the decisions, right?"

Ethan flinched at the trace of sarcasm in her voice.

"So, what would you be doing there?"

It felt like a heavy hand squeezed his heart, and he felt a sharp pang of guilt. It was clear Lane was hurt by his earlier dismissal.

He had meant that whatever she wanted, he wanted too, but she had clearly misunderstood. He hadn’t meant to imply he didn’t care or that he wasn’t putting in effort.

His point was just that he trusted her taste. Even if she chose a rainbow theme, the only thing that mattered to him was that they got married.

But earlier, Ethan had changed his mind. He wanted to be part of the decision-making process.

Hearing her ask Noah for help had sparked a flash of jealousy. It was as if the two of them were the ones getting married. He had always been jealous of Noah, especially given how close he was to Lane, and now that feeling was spiking again.

"Where are you meeting Miss Ivy? I’ll come join you," he said. He needed to be there.

If she decided to call Noah again, he wouldn’t allow it. He was more than happy to help with the guest list himself, as long as Noah wasn’t on it.

"I can handle it, Ethan. I’ve got this."

"I’ll help—"

He was cut off as the line went dead. He stared at his phone, stunned, before muttering a curse under his breath.

Lane was clearly furious. He took a deep, steadying breath and tried calling her again, but the phone rang into voicemail.

Desperate, he tried calling Miss Ivy, but her line was unattended as well. He cursed again. Lacking other options, he flooded Lane’s phone with texts, apologizing and begging to know where they were.

He received nothing in return. Every minute that ticked by felt like an hour, and he was too anxious to even think about food.

What if she was so fed up that she called off the wedding? What if she didn’t want to marry him anymore?

Ethan shook the thought away. That couldn’t happen. If she backed out now, he would lose his mind.

He had to find a way to fix this, or he was going to be sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future.

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