Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Lane looked up from her book when her phone started buzzing on the coffee table. She checked the screen and saw it was Ava.

She picked up right away. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lane," Ava said.

"Oh, hey, Ava. What’s up?"

"Are you busy right now?"

"Not really," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Let’s hang out. It’s been forever since Noah and I have grabbed a bite with you. We miss you," Ava told her. "Plus, Noah brought back souvenirs for us from his business trip."

It had been two weeks since she’d last seen them. Their lunch plans had fallen through last time because she had to stay and look after Ethan when he came home with a killer headache.

She still kept in touch with them over the phone, but it wasn’t the same as seeing them in person.

"Is this happening now?" Lane asked.

"Not until three," Ava said.

Lane pulled the phone away from her ear to check the time. It was only one o’clock, which gave her two hours to get ready.

"Okay, Ava. Just text me the address," she said.

"Will do," Ava replied. They didn’t drag out the conversation and agreed to see each other later.

Lane set her phone back on the nightstand. Since she still had plenty of time, she went back to her book on pregnancy.

When it got close to two, she finally got up from the sofa to get ready.

Since she’d already showered earlier, she just needed to pick out an outfit. She grabbed her phone and headed upstairs to the walk-in closet.

Lane decided on a yellow maternity dress. She looked down at her belly and couldn’t help but smile.

It wasn’t just a little bump anymore; it was a full-on round belly, and she knew it would only get bigger next month. It was proof her baby was growing perfectly.

She was dying to find out the gender next month so she could really start shopping. Even though she and Ethan had already picked out some things, she wanted to go all out.

She was also excited to finish the nursery Ethan was building right next to his room. Like he promised, he was renovating the guestroom, and it was almost done.

Once she finished getting ready, she checked her phone for a message from Ava. There it was. After checking the location, she headed out.

As usual, she stopped by the kitchen to check in with Clara. "Clara, I’m heading out," she said.

She noticed Clara scratching her head nervously. "Ma’am Lane, could you give Sir Ethan a call first?"

"Huh?" Lane asked, confused.

"Sir Ethan left instructions that if you leave the mansion, you have to call him," Clara explained.

"Oh," she said. "Okay, I’ll give him a call." She wasn’t sure why Ethan was being so protective all of a sudden, but she didn’t mind following the rules.

"Please don’t forget, Ma’am," Clara reminded her.

Lane nodded, said goodbye again, and walked out.

Before leaving the house, she pulled out her phone. Instead of calling, she just shot Ethan a text. She didn’t want to bug him in case he was stuck in a big meeting.

She was halfway out the door when her phone started ringing. Her eyes went wide when she saw it was Ethan.

She stared at the screen for a second before answering. "Hello?"

"Where are you going, Lane?" Ethan asked immediately.

She told him the plan. "And who are you going with?" he pressed.

"Ava," she said.

"And who else?"

"Noah."

When she mentioned Noah, the line went quiet. All she could hear was a heavy sigh on the other end. She waited for him to say something. After a few beats, he finally spoke.

"Fine," he said. "But don’t drive yourself. I’ll have Arnold take you." Arnold was one of the house drivers.

"Okay," she replied, knowing there was no point in arguing once he made up his mind.

Ethan said goodbye so he could call the driver. A few minutes later, he called her back, proving he wasn’t too busy to check on her.

"I talked to Arnold. He’s waiting for you out front," Ethan said.

"Okay, thanks."

"Take care of yourself, Lane," he said before hanging up.

Lane couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Back in the day, Ethan couldn’t have cared less what she was doing, but now, she could really feel how much he cared.

__________

Lane glanced around as she walked into the trendy coffee shop where they were supposed to meet. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw Ava waving her over from across the room.

She also noticed Noah turning to look at her. As she got closer, Noah stood up to pull out a chair for her.

"Thanks, Noah," she said as she took her seat.

"Your belly is growing fast, Lane," Ava noted after a few minutes.

Smiling, Lane touched her stomach. "I know, right?"

"Do you know the gender yet?" Ava asked.

"Not yet. But I’ll know by next month," she answered. She was almost five months along, and her OB-GYN said they’d finally be able to find out at her next check-up.

"I hope it’s a girl," Ava said. "I want to dress her up."

"It should be a boy," Noah cut in. Lane saw Ava raise an eyebrow at him.

"That way, when he grows up, he can protect Lane if anyone ever tries to hurt her," he added.

Lane bit her lip. She knew Noah’s words were loaded, and she knew he was talking about her father. She wanted to tell them that Ethan had changed and that he wasn’t hurting her anymore, but the words wouldn’t come.

"You want a boy? What if he looks just like his father?" Ava asked, making a face like the thought of a mini-Ethan was the worst thing ever.

Noah paused for a second before backtracking. "Okay, a girl then."

Lane just shook her head with a smile. Boy or girl, it didn’t matter to her as long as the baby was healthy.

"I’ll go order," Noah said. "What do you two want?"

Ava told him her order. "What about you, Lane?"

"Blueberry cheesecake," she said. "And for the drink, anything is fine as long as it’s decaf."

"Got it," Noah replied, heading to the counter.

Once he was gone, Lane turned back to Ava, but her friend was looking over Lane’s shoulder with a deep frown.

"Why is your husband here, Lane?" Ava asked, looking annoyed.

Lane’s eyes went wide. "What did you say?"

"Your husband is right there," Ava repeated, nodding behind her.

Lane spun around, and sure enough, Ethan was there. What is he doing here? she wondered. She saw him scanning the room until his eyes locked onto theirs. Her heart started racing as he started walking toward her. He stopped right in front of her, his gaze intense.

"What are you doing here, Ethan?" she asked.

"I had a meeting nearby," he explained. "I remembered you were here with your friends, so I figured I’d drop by."

"Are you going back to the office?"

"No," he said.

"Oh. Well... do you want to join us?" she invited.

Lane glanced at Ava and saw her friend practically burning a hole in the table with a look of pure disapproval. Ava eventually cleared her throat and looked up. "Have a seat, Ethan," she said flatly.

Ethan sat down right next to her in Noah’s empty chair. A moment later, Noah came back with the tray, and his face dropped the second he saw their unexpected guest. He set the tray down without a word and sat next to Ava.

"Here’s your food, Lane," Noah said coldly, sliding her plate over. He looked at Ethan.

"I didn’t know you were coming. I only ordered for the three of us. You’ll have to go get your own."

"It’s fine," Ethan replied in that deep baritone.

"I’ll just share with my wife."

Lane’s heart skipped a beat. Wife?Did he really just call her his wife again?

Noah didn’t say a word, and the table went awkwardly silent. Ethan didn’t seem to mind the tension as he shared her cheesecake.

Finally, Lane couldn’t take the silence anymore and suggested they head out.

"Lane," Noah called out as she and Ethan stood up.

"Yeah?"

She felt Ethan’s hand slide around her waist, pulling her flush against him.

She looked up at him, then back at Noah, who was glaring at Ethan’s hand with his brows knit together.

Noah cleared his throat to get her attention. "Here’s your gift," he said, handing her a paper bag.

"Thank you," she said, taking it.

After saying their goodbyes, they walked out. Ethan didn’t let go of her waist once.

"Where’s Arnold?" she asked when she realized her car was gone.

"I sent him home," Ethan said.

"What?"

"I told him you were coming with me," he explained as he led her to his car. The driver immediately opened the back door for them. Ethan ushered her in first before sliding in beside her.

On the way home, Lane got curious about Noah’s gift. She peeked inside the bag and pulled out a long jewelry box. Inside was a beautiful necklace with a heart-shaped pendant.

She smiled, staring at it. It was really sweet.

After a moment, she felt Ethan’s quiet presence beside her.

She glanced over and saw him staring at the necklace with a look that could only be described as sharp and icy.

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