Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 18: Chapter 18

The warmth from her parents’ house lingered with Lane even after she returned to Blackwood Estate. She went to grab some things she had left behind.

The drive back had been quiet, and most of the way Lane kept replaying small moments from the previous night in her mind. Her mother fixing food onto her plate. Her father trying to make her laugh during dinner. The way both of them looked at her with so much worry hidden behind their smiles.

Still, being home, even briefly, reminded Lane she was loved somewhere.

And maybe that was enough to help her keep going a little longer.

By the time she entered the mansion, the familiar silence greeted her immediately.

Cold. Large. Empty.

The maids welcomed her politely the moment she stepped inside.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Blackwood."

Lane smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

She moved upstairs first to place down her things before eventually heading toward the kitchen.

She was hungry again.

Lately, hunger arrived suddenly and intensely, almost painfully sometimes.

Today all she wanted was noodles with too much spice. Simple. Comforting.

Lane tied her hair back loosely before quietly preparing food for herself while the kitchen remained peaceful around her. The soft sound of boiling water and clinking utensils filled the silence.

For a little while, her mind finally relaxed.

Then suddenly, voices drifted faintly from outside.

Car doors. Movement. The front entrance opening.

Lane frowned slightly before turning toward the kitchen doorway.

A few seconds later one of the maids hurried inside.

"Miss. Lane..."

Lane blinked softly.

"Yes?"

"Mrs. Blackwood is here."

Lane froze briefly before quickly walking out toward the entrance hall.

Sure enough, Catherine Blackwood stood near the doorway while several drivers carried expensive luggage cases inside behind her.

Lane stared slightly in surprise.

"Aunt Catherine?"

Catherine immediately smiled warmly the moment she saw her.

"There you are."

Lane walked closer carefully.

"What happened?"

Catherine sighed dramatically while removing her sunglasses.

"Your father-in-law left this morning for another overseas business trip."

Lane nodded quietly.

"And that house feels unbearably empty when he’s away," Catherine continued. "So I decided to stay here for a while."

Several suitcases rolled farther into the mansion behind her.Clearly this wasn’t a short visit. Lane lowered her gaze briefly before nodding softly.

"Okay."

Catherine smiled afterward.

"You don’t mind, do you?"

"No."

And honestly, Lane didn’t. The mansion always felt less suffocating whenever Catherine was around. Less lonely.

Then suddenly another thought crossed her mind.

Ethan.He needed to know.

Lane instinctively reached for her phone before remembering again—blocked.

The memory still stung embarrassingly deeply.

For a second Lane simply stood there quietly before moving to the kitchen and eventually asking one of the nearby maids softly,

"Can I borrow your phone?"

The maid immediately handed it over.

Lane stared nervously at the unfamiliar screen before slowly dialing Ethan’s number from memory.

The call connected after several rings.

"Yes?"

His cold voice instantly made her chest tighten slightly.

Lane swallowed softly.

"It’s me..."

A brief silence followed.

Then:

"What happened?"

Lane glanced toward Catherine, who was now instructing the staff where to place some of her luggage.

"Your mom is here."

"I know she visited yesterday."

"She didn’t visit," Lane explained quietly. "She brought luggage and said Uncle —"

The line disconnected.

Lane stopped speaking immediately.

For a second she simply stared at the phone silently, then slowly lowered it.

He hung up before she finished.

Something small and painful twisted quietly inside her chest.

It shouldn’t hurt anymore.

At this point she should have gotten used to Ethan’s coldness.

But somehow, it still did.Especially lately.

Pregnancy had made her strangely emotional about everything. Even tiny things.

Still, Lane forced herself to smile softly before handing the maid her phone back.

"Thank you."

The maid looked slightly uncomfortable, probably realizing what happened during the call, but she only nodded politely.

Lane quietly walked back toward the living room afterward where Catherine sat comfortably on the sofa reviewing something on her tablet.

The older woman looked up immediately.

"You were cooking?"

Lane nodded lightly.

"I only made a little for myself."

Catherine smiled.

"That’s alright."

Lane hesitated briefly before speaking again.

"If you want something else, I can go buy it."

The words came naturally because despite everything happening lately, Lane still found herself caring for everyone around her before herself.

Catherine’s expression softened noticeably.

"You don’t need to do that."

Lane lowered her eyes quietly.

"It’s okay."

For a moment Catherine simply watched her silently, and somehow that gaze felt thoughtful. Observant. Like she was slowly noticing things Lane desperately tried hiding.

By evening, the sound of a familiar car entering the driveway filled the mansion. Ethan. Lane immediately stiffened slightly.

She wasn’t even sure why anymore.

Because Ethan rarely spoke to her. Rarely acknowledged her existence.

And yet somehow his presence alone still affected her completely.

A few moments later, the front door opened.

Ethan stepped inside still dressed in dark office clothes, looking tired and faintly irritated from work.

The moment his eyes landed on the luggage near the staircase, his expression hardened slightly.

Then he looked toward Catherine.

"Mom."

Catherine smiled calmly.

"Ethan."

Ethan walked farther inside while loosening his tie slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

His voice remained calm. Cold as usual.

"I already told you," Catherine replied casually. "Your father is away and I got lonely."

Ethan exhaled softly through his nose but said nothing further.

Then his eyes shifted briefly toward Lane.

Only for a second.But even that second made Lane lower her gaze immediately.

The silence between them remained painfully awkward lately, especially after the ultrasound incident.

Catherine quietly noticed everything.

Lane could tell.

The distance. The tension. The careful avoidance.

After a while, Catherine eventually stood from the couch.

"I’m going to look around upstairs."

Neither Ethan nor Lane responded.

The older woman slowly walked upstairs while the mansion fell silent again afterward.

Lane quietly moved toward the kitchen again, pretending to focus on cleaning while Ethan remained standing near the living room windows.

Neither spoke.Neither even looked properly at each other.

The silence had become normal now. Comfortable in the worst possible way.

Several minutes later, footsteps descended from upstairs again.

Catherine returned slowly before stopping near them both.

Then casually, she said, "I like the upstairs guest room."

Lane’s hands paused immediately against the kitchen counter.

Ethan glanced toward his mother slightly.

Catherine continued calmly.

"The room has nice lighting."

Lane already understood where this conversation was heading.

Her chest slowly tightened.

Then Catherine looked directly at Lane.

"You sleep there?"

Lane nodded quietly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lane lowered her eyes briefly.

"I move around too much because of the pregnancy."

The explanation sounded weak even to herself.

Still, Catherine didn’t argue.

Instead she smiled lightly afterward.

"Well then, I’ll take that room."

Silence immediately filled the space.

Lane’s fingers slowly tightened together because there was only one meaning behind those words.

Catherine turned toward the maids naturally afterward.

"Move my things into the guest room."

Then calmly:

"And move Mrs. Blackwood’s things into Mr. Blackwood’s room."

Lane froze softly.

Her heartbeat immediately became uneven.

The maids hesitated awkwardly before glancing nervously between Ethan and Lane.

But neither of them spoke.

Lane simply lowered her gaze toward the floor quietly.

And Ethan said nothing at all.

Not agreement. Not objection. Nothing.

The silence somehow made everything feel even heavier.

Because Lane suddenly realized—

Tonight she would sleep in Ethan Blackwood’s room.

Not because he wanted her there. Not because anything between them had changed.

But simply because there was nowhere else left for her to go

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