Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Ethan’s POV

A dull pounding throbbed painfully behind Ethan’s eyes the moment consciousness returned.

He frowned slightly before slowly opening his eyes to the pale morning light filtering through the curtains of his bedroom. For several seconds he remained completely still, staring blankly at the ceiling while the effects of alcohol settled heavily inside his head.

Then memory returned in fragments.The club.Drinking far more than usual. Coming home late. After that—Nothing.

Ethan shut his eyes briefly again before exhaling slowly through his nose.

His head felt awful.

Carefully, he pushed himself upright against the bed, one hand rubbing tiredly against his temple before his gaze shifted around the room automatically.

That was when he noticed it.His shoes.

Placed neatly beside the bed. His tie folded carefully nearby. The blankets tucked properly around him. Ethan’s brows furrowed slightly.

He definitely hadn’t done any of that himself.

He looked down briefly at the partially unbuttoned shirt he still wore from last night.

A strange feeling settled uneasily inside his chest. Because there was only one person inside the mansion who would quietly take care of him like this.

Lane.

The realization made him still for a moment.

Then slowly, Ethan stood from the bed and walked toward the small security monitor installed discreetly along the side wall of his room.

Blackwood Estate had cameras in several common areas downstairs for security purposes.

Not inside bedrooms.But enough to show entrances, hallways, and the living room.

Ethan hesitated briefly before replaying the footage from last night.The screen flickered softly.Then there she was.Lane.

Coming downstairs quietly in oversized sleep clothes, clearly startled after hearing him arrive.

Ethan watched silently as she stood near the stairs observing him for several moments while he sat heavily against the sofa downstairs completely drunk.

Then he watched her approach carefully.

Gentle.Patient. Soft.

The footage showed Lane helping him upstairs slowly despite clearly struggling under his weight.

Ethan’s jaw tightened faintly. She could have left him downstairs.Could have ignored him completely. Yet she didn’t.

The footage ended once they disappeared upstairs toward the bedrooms.

But somehow that alone already unsettled him enough.Because Ethan remembered flashes afterward now. Warm hands against him.Softness.A kiss.His expression darkened instantly.

Without thinking further, Ethan walked quickly toward the bathroom afterward.

Cold water hit his skin beneath the shower while his thoughts spiraled restlessly beneath the steady sound.

Fragments continued surfacing slowly now.

Lane beneath him.Her hands against his chest.The way she trembled slightly when he kissed her.And then—Olivia.

Ethan cursed quietly under his breath.

"Fuck!"

He leaned one hand against the shower wall while shutting his eyes tightly.

"Damn it."

The realization sat heavily inside his chest in a way he didn’t want to examine too closely.

For two months everything between them had remained cold, distant, emotionally restrained.He barely spoke to her.Barely looked at her properly.

And yet Lane still helped him last night without hesitation.Still tucked him into bed.

Still took care of him.

Why?

That question irritated him most. Why was she still trying? Ethan dragged a hand slowly down his face afterward.

Two months. Only two months since everything collapsed. Since Olivia disappeared from his life without explanation. Since Lane became his wife.

Since the mansion stopped feeling entirely like his own.

Sometimes it felt longer. Sometimes shorter.

But lately Ethan had begun noticing uncomfortable things. The house was quieter now. Lane no longer prepared breakfast constantly.

No longer followed him nervously with hopeful eyes. No longer tried speaking unless necessary.

It should have made things easier. Instead, strangely— The silence had become harder to ignore. Ethan finished showering afterward and dressed quietly for work.

Dark suit.Silver watch.Perfectly composed again. From the outside, nobody would guess his thoughts felt anything but controlled.That was how Ethan Blackwood survived life.

Yet even as he adjusted his cufflinks before the mirror, Lane’s face from last night continued replaying inside his mind.

Especially the look in her eyes before he kissed her.

By the time he finally left his room, the mansion had already fully awakened. Sunlight spilled softly across the upstairs hallways while distant sounds drifted faintly from downstairs.

Ethan headed toward the kitchen automatically.

Normally he left earlier than this, but today the hangover had delayed everything.

As he approached the kitchen area, he suddenly heard a soft voice.

Lane’s voice.

Ethan slowed instinctively.At first he thought she was speaking on the phone. But as he stepped slightly closer, he realized she was alone.

Lane stood near the kitchen counter wearing one of her oversized sweaters again, her slightly rounded stomach visible now beneath the soft fabric.

One hand rested gently over her belly while she spoke quietly. To the baby.

Ethan stopped moving completely.

"Baby," Lane whispered softly, "don’t give mommy such a hard time today."

Her voice carried warmth Ethan had never heard directed toward him.Soft.Patient.

Loving. Lane sighed quietly afterward before continuing.

"Mommy’s trying to stay strong for you."

Something about the sentence made Ethan’s chest tighten faintly. Lane smiled slightly afterward while rubbing her stomach gently.

"It’s just the two of us, okay?"

The words hit harder than they should have.

Ethan’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly. Because she sounded so certain of it.

So resigned.Like she had already accepted he would never truly be part of this.

Lane sighed again before murmuring softly,

"And today you suddenly want sweet things again?"

A tiny laugh escaped her lips afterward.

"You’re troubling mommy already."

Ethan stayed frozen near the hallway entrance listening quietly.Something strange settled heavily inside him.

Lane moved toward the refrigerator afterward, still speaking softly under her breath.

"You should at least let mommy eat proper food first before demanding sweets."

Then she turned—And froze immediately.

Shock crossed her face the moment she saw him standing there silently.

For a second neither of them moved.

Lane’s hand instinctively lowered from her stomach immediately.Like she suddenly felt embarrassed being caught.

Ethan didn’t speak.Didn’t explain why he had been standing there listening.

Instead, he simply walked farther into the kitchen calmly.

Lane stepped slightly aside automatically to make room for him.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

The softness from moments earlier disappeared beneath awkward tension.

Ethan’s gaze shifted briefly toward the counter.

A cup of coffee waited there beside breakfast.

His usual breakfast.He hesitated faintly.

Lane noticed immediately.

And before he could say anything, she spoke quietly.

"I didn’t make it."

Ethan looked at her.Lane forced a small polite smile.

"The maids prepared it," she added softly. "You can drink it."

Something inside Ethan tightened again unexpectedly.

Because the explanation came too quickly.

Too carefully.

Like she genuinely believed he would refuse it if she had made it herself.

And the worst part—She was probably right.

For several silent seconds, Ethan simply stared at the coffee.

Then finally, without speaking, he reached for it.

Lane looked surprised.Only slightly.

But enough for Ethan to notice.

He ignored the strange feeling that followed afterward and sat quietly at the counter while Lane remained near the refrigerator pretending to organize things that clearly didn’t need organizing.

Neither spoke again.But the silence felt different today.Heavier somehow.Ethan drank the coffee slowly.And despite himself—

He noticed immediately it tasted exactly the way he preferred.

His gaze lowered faintly toward the cup.

Maybe the maids really had made it.

Or maybe Lane still remembered small things about him despite everything.

The thought unsettled him enough that he finished breakfast quickly afterward.

As Ethan finally stood to leave, Lane quietly stepped aside again to let him pass.

Still avoiding his eyes.Still careful around him.Still treating him like someone emotionally dangerous.Ethan paused briefly near the doorway.

For one second it almost felt like he should say something.But the words never came.

They rarely did with Lane.So instead, he simply left.

The sound of the front door closing echoed softly through the mansion moments later.

And even as Ethan entered the backseat of his car outside, one sentence continued replaying relentlessly inside his mind.

"It’s just the two of us, okay?"

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