Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Ava squeezed her hand. "But this is all just ’what ifs’ right now. What if the truth is the exact opposite of what you’re thinking? Don’t let yourself spiral until you actually know the facts."

Lane was about to respond when her phone buzzed on the table. She checked the screen and looked at Ava.

"Is it Ethan?"

Lane nodded.

"Answer it," Ava urged.

Lane took a deep breath and slid the bar to answer. "Hello?" She cringed internally when her voice came out shaky.

"What’s wrong with your voice, Lane?"

She bit her lip, quickly scrambling for an excuse. "Oh, Ava and I were just watching a sad movie," she lied. "Why are you calling?"

"I’m calling to see what time you’re coming home."

She glanced at her watch. "In a little bit."

"Okay. Just wait there, I’ll come pick you up," he said.

Just like that, the pain from earlier started to evaporate. Her heart began to hope again. If he didn’t care, why would he go out of his way to come get her?

"Okay," she said.

The call ended quickly.

"What did he say?" Ava asked.

"He’s coming to pick me up."

"See? It really seems like he’s got feelings for you," Ava said.

Lane managed a small, genuine smile. They chatted about other things until her phone rang again a while later. She picked up immediately.

"Hello?"

There was a long silence on the other end. She almost thought the call had dropped, but she could hear someone breathing.

"Ethan?"

She figured he might have pocket-dialed her. She was just about to hang up when he finally spoke.

"Lane."

"Are you here?" she asked.

She heard him let out a heavy sigh. "I’m sorry, Lane. Something urgent came up at work. I won’t be able to make it," he said.

"But my driver is already there to get you."

"Oh," was all she could manage. "I’ll see you at home."

"Okay."

After they hung up, Lane said her goodbyes. Ava walked her out to the curb where Ethan’s car was already waiting.

The ride back to the mansion was quick.

Once she got inside, she went straight to their room to rest and take a shower. Later, she headed downstairs to help get dinner ready. She planned on waiting for Ethan so they could eat together, but the hours started to tick by and he still wasn’t home.

She started to get restless.

"Lane." She looked up to see Clara standing there.

"Sir Ethan texted. He said you should go ahead and eat without him because he’s stuck at the office. He said he’ll be home late."

"Oh. Okay," she replied.

Lane wanted to wait up, but since she had no idea when he’d be back, she ate a quiet dinner alone and went upstairs.

She tried to relax, but she couldn’t stop worrying, especially when her calls to his cell went straight to voicemail.

Finally, at ten-thirty, the door opened. She felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw Ethan walk in, though she could tell by his face that something was definitely wrong.

"Ethan."

He jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, looking surprised. It was like he hadn’t even realized she was in the room.

"Why are you still up, Lane?"

"I was waiting for you. I was worried," she admitted. "Is everything okay?"

He let out another long sigh.

"Just had to handle some stuff at the office. I’m going to wash up, then we should get some sleep."

She just nodded. He looked completely drained, his shoulders slumped as he disappeared into the bathroom.

He didn’t stay in there long, emerging a few minutes later with just a towel around his waist before heading into the closet to change into pajamas.

When he came back out, he walked over to the bed. "Let’s get some sleep, Lane," he said, lying down.

She lay down beside him, turning to face him. "What happened at the office, Ethan?"

"Just a minor issue, Lane. Don’t worry about it," he replied. He didn’t give her a chance to press him further. Instead, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, tucking her against his chest.

"Go to sleep."

She closed her eyes and settled against him. She had intended to bring up what Ava said and ask him how he felt, but she changed her mind. He was already stressed enough with work, and she didn’t want to pile more on his plate. She decided it could wait until things settled down at the office.

Ethan tightened his grip on her and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

Waking up the next day, Lane expected to see Ethan’s face first thing.

She usually woke up to him hugging her tightly, but she felt a wave of disappointment when she opened her eyes and found his side of the bed empty. It looked like he had beaten her to the punch and headed out early again.

Lane let out a heavy sigh. She reached down to gently caress her large belly, staying like that for a few moments before slowly pushing herself up. As she went to stand, her gaze landed on the alarm clock. There was a post-it note stuck to it in Ethan’s distinct handwriting.

Lane picked it up to read.

Had to get to the office early. Don’t skip breakfast. See you later.

It seemed like Ethan still hadn’t settled whatever drama was going on at work. She really hoped it would be resolved soon so he could finally stop stressing.

She opened her nightstand drawer and tucked the note inside. She couldn’t bring herself to throw it away; his penmanship was just too beautiful to toss.

She finally got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Once she was finished, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen to...

way downstairs to the kitchen to grab breakfast and take her vitamins, just like Ethan told her to.

"Lane, are you ready to eat?" Clara asked as soon as she walked in.

"Yeah, Clara," she replied.

"Okay, I’ll get everything ready," Clara said. While Clara set the table, Lane fixed herself a glass of milk.

Once she sat down, she looked over at Clara. "What time did Ethan leave?"

"He headed out really early. He didn’t even stop for breakfast. He just told us to make sure you ate as soon as you woke up," Clara told her.

"I see," Lane murmured. "Actually, Clara, I think I’ll cook lunch later. I want to bring Ethan something to eat at the office."

Ethan was always making sure she stayed fed.

She figured it was time to return the favor. Clara nodded in agreement, and Lane finished her meal before washing her own dishes.

Since it was still early, she spent some time in the garden to soak up a little vitamin D. Once the sun started to get a bit too intense for her skin, she headed back inside.

She hung out in the living room for a while, feeling too lazy to hike back upstairs just to come back down for lunch prep later. When ten o’clock rolled around, she finally stood up and headed to the kitchen.

Clara was already there waiting for her. "What’s on the menu, Lane?"

"Lemon-Chicken soup," she replied. She figured a good home-cooked meal would give Ethan the energy boost he needed.

"Sounds good," Clara said, pulling the ingredients from the fridge.

They worked together, and it didn’t take long to get the meal finished. Lane packed a lunchbox for Ethan and even put together an extra portion for his secretary.

Once she was done, she told Clara she was going up to change. She rested for a few minutes, took a quick shower, and got dressed. She didn’t want to be late. After organizing her things, she headed back downstairs.

"Clara, I’m heading out," she called out as she grabbed the packed lunch from the kitchen.

She hopped in the car with Ethan’s driver. He had strictly forbidden her from driving herself and whenever she needed to go out. Lane didn’t mind. She felt too sluggish to get behind the wheel anyway.

When she arrived at the office building, she headed straight inside.

"Good morning, Ma’am," the guard said with a smile.

"Good morning," she replied.

As she walked through the lobby, it was clear Ethan’s employees already knew who she was. Everyone she passed greeted her warmly. She smiled back, but she couldn’t help biting her lip when she overheard some of the whispers.

They were comparing her to Olivia. She actually felt a little bad for her cousin because the talk was pretty negative. Lane had expected to be the one getting shaded, since people usually saw her as the one who stole him, but that wasn’t the case at all.

People were saying she and Ethan were a much better match and that she was way kinder than her cousin. Lane took a deep breath and stepped into the elevator.

When the doors opened on Ethan’s floor, she had a smile on her face.

"Hi," Lane said, stopping at the desk of Ethan’s secretary, Chris.

He looked up and stood up immediately. "Good morning, Mrs. Lane."

"Good morning," she replied. "Is Ethan busy?"

She noticed a slight frown cross his face. "Actually, Ma’am, Mr. Ethan isn’t here right now."

Lane’s smile faded. "Not here? But he came in early this morning," she said, her curiosity piqued.

She noticed his eyes darting around. "He might be in an off-site meeting, Ma’am," he replied, though he seemed unable to look her in the eye.

She stared at him for a second, trying to figure out if he was lying. She couldn’t see why he would, though. Maybe it really was just a meeting.

"Why don’t you wait for him in his office?" Chris suggested. "You can make yourself comfortable in there."

"What time do you think he’ll be back?"

Chris scratched his head and let out a sigh. It was obvious he had no clue when his boss would show up.

"Never mind. I’ll just wait for him at home," she said. She handed him the lunch containers. "Please give this to Ethan when he gets in. And the other one is for you."

"Thank you so much, Ma’am," he said, taking the food.

She said her goodbyes and headed back to the elevator. As she went down, she gently stroked her belly.

Her legs felt heavy as she walked out of the building, and her heart felt even heavier. She was just about to reach the car when her phone rang. It was Ethan.

She hesitated for a second before picking up. "Hello?"

"Lane," Ethan said. "Chris just called and told me you were at the office."

"Oh, yeah. I brought you some lunch."

"I’m so sorry, Lane," he apologized. "I got caught up in a meeting away from the office. I’m actually finished now and I’m on my way back. Just wait for me there. Let’s eat together."

The heaviness she felt earlier vanished instantly. She smiled and turned back around to head into the building. Chris looked surprised to see her again, but once she explained that Ethan was on his way he let her back into the office. She took a minute to reheat the food before setting it all out on the coffee table so it would be ready the moment he walked in.

Lane sat and waited. She kept checking her watch. Ten minutes passed. She figured he was just stuck in traffic.

Then ten minutes turned into thirty. The food she had carefully reheated was already getting cold again.

The door finally opened, but her heart sank when it was Chris who walked in instead of Ethan.

"Ms. Lane, Mr. Ethan just called. He said you should go ahead and eat without him. Something went wrong with the meeting and he’s going to be tied up for a while," he informed her.

Lane bit her lip, feeling a sharp pang of hurt in her chest. Once again, his promise had fallen through.

______________

Lane didn’t expect to see Ethan when she woke up the next day. She didn’t want to let her hopes up only to end up disappointed. Lately, he’d been slammed at the office.

He told her he was dealing with some major issues, which meant he was often out the door before dawn and didn’t roll back in until late at night.

Even so, he never missed a chance to call and check on her. He was always reminding her to eat on time and asking if she had any specific cravings.

"Lane..."

A moment later, her heart started racing at the sound of Ethan’s deep baritone. She slowly opened her eyes to find him looking right at her. Lane couldn’t look away. He reached out, gently brushing a few stray hairs away from her face.

"E-Ethan," she whispered. "Have you been up long?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice steady and resonant.

"Why didn’t you wake me?"

"You looked so peaceful. I didn’t have the heart to disturb you," he told her.

Had he really been awake that long? She wondered if he’d just been sitting there watching her sleep.

"Anyway, good morning, Lane," he said. He sat up and shifted away from her side of the bed.

"Time to get moving. We’re going somewhere."

"Huh?"

"Let’s go on a two-day vacation," he repeated.

"Did you fix the stuff at the office?" she asked.

He was quiet for a second. She watched him take a long, slow breath before he stood up from the edge of the bed.

"Not yet," he said softly. "But I need to give my brain a rest." She noticed a flicker of something different in his eyes, a look she couldn’t quite pin down.

Instead of pressing him, she sat up on the edge of the bed to face him. She reached out, took his hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Everything’s going to be okay, Ethan," she promised. "Whatever the problem is, I’m here for you." She guided his hand down to her growing belly.

"We’re both here."

Ethan’s expression softened instantly. He didn’t say a word, but he surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug.

She froze for a split second before melting into the embrace. He still hadn’t told her exactly what was going on at work, but she knew it had to be serious. Even if she couldn’t fix it for him, she could be his rock and pray that he figured it out.

They held onto each other for a moment before Ethan broke the embrace, telling her they should head down for breakfast and start packing. Once they were ready, they headed out. He carried her heavy bag of essentials, and they left the mansion together.

"So, where are we actually going?" she asked once they were settled in the car. He’d mentioned a trip earlier, but she’d been too stunned to ask for a destination.

"Hudson Valley," he told her.

"Oh," she said, pleased.

He glanced down at her seatbelt. Instead of telling her to put it on, he leaned over and clicked it into place for her.

"Always wear this, Lane. Even when I’m not around to nag you. It’s for your safety," he said firmly.

She just nodded. Ethan looked at her for a beat before turning back to the road. He started the engine, but before he could pull out, his phone started buzzing on the dashboard.

Ethan checked the screen. Lane watched him, curious why he wasn’t picking up. He just stared at the device, his brows furrowing and his jaw tightening.

"Is everything okay, Ethan?" she finally asked, unable to stay quiet.

He took a deep breath. "It’s nothing, Lane. Just a scam call." He declined the call and set the phone back down.

When Lane walked out of the bathroom later that evening, her eyes went straight to Ethan. He was already in bed, looking lost in thought.

She’d seen that look on him a lot lately. Whenever she asked, he’d just claim he was fine and that he was just thinking.

He seemed to sense her staring and looked up. "Come here, Lane," he said, patting the spot next to him.

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