Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Lane’s fists clenched tight when she saw who walked into the private hospital room where Noah had taken her. It was Ethan.

He must have followed them immediately because he was still completely soaking wet.

"Lane," Ethan called out to her.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she looked away and bit her lower lip as a fresh wave of tears threatened to fall. She heard Ethan let out a heavy sigh as his footsteps moved closer to the bed. When he reached out to touch her, she jerked her hand away.

She closed her eyes, and the conversation she’d had with Olivia came flooding back. Lane knew she had lost. She didn’t feel like fighting anymore because she already knew the outcome.

He would choose Olivia and their future child. She didn’t want to stay in a loveless marriage that would only end up hurting her and her baby. It was better to just break free now.

When Lane opened her eyes, the tears finally spilled over. She quickly wiped them away and looked up at Ethan. Even through her blurry vision, she could see the worry and pain etched across his face.

"Let’s stop this, Ethan," she said. She saw his brow furrow, but when he didn’t speak, she kept going. "I’m setting you free."

His eyes widened in total alarm.

"Didn’t you say that when Olivia comes back, you’d leave me? Well, she’s back now, Ethan. You can let me go now. I’m giving you back to the woman you actually love. And don’t worry, I won’t get in the way of you and your baby. My child and I will go far away and you’ll never have to see us again."

Lane couldn’t stop the sobbing anymore. Ethan shook his head, looking like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

"Just work with my lawyer on the divorce documents, Ethan," she added.

"No, Lane. I’m not signing any divorce documents," he said firmly.

"Why?" she shot back. "Isn’t the punishment of being forced to marry me enough? Do you want us to stay married just to make my life more miserable?"

He started to move toward her, but she held up a hand to stop him. "Don’t come any closer."

The pain in his eyes was obvious, but it was nothing compared to the hole in her heart.

"Are you not satisfied yet? Do you want to make me even more miserable? Is that why you won’t let me go?"

"I don’t want to let you go because I don’t want to lose you, Lane. I love you," he burst out.

"These past few months we’ve been together, I’ve truly fallen for you."

Lane let out a hollow, bitter laugh. If she had heard those words any other time, she would have been jumping for joy. But now, they just hurt worse.

"Love? You love me?"

He nodded frantically. "Yes, Lane. I do."

"Why is it so hard to believe you, Ethan? Why is it so hard?" Her eyes filled with tears again.

"Because if you loved me, you wouldn’t keep lying to me. You don’t really have issues at the office, do you? All those nights you stayed out late, you were with Olivia, weren’t you?"

She didn’t even need him to answer. The look on his face told her everything she needed to know. She’d suspected it, but hearing the truth still felt like a physical blow.

"If you had to choose between me and her, I know you’d pick her. You’ll always pick Olivia."

"I choose you, Lane," he said quickly.

"Liar!" she snapped. "You will never choose me. If you truly chose me, why did you save her first when we both fell into the pool? If you love me so much, why was she the priority? Why her, Ethan?" She was screaming through her tears now.

"Because I’m just your damn second choice!"

"I’m sorry," he whispered.

"I’m done with this. I want this to be over," she told him.

"Lane, please, no," he pleaded.

He moved toward her again, but the door swung open.

Noah walked in, his jaw clenching the second he saw Ethan.

"What are you doing here?" Noah asked, his voice cold.

"This is a family matter. Stay out of it," Ethan snapped back.

Noah let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Family? Really? Is that how you treat family? Is that how you treat a wife?"

Ethan ignored him, keeping his focus entirely on Lane. He tried to step toward her again, but Noah stepped in the way, blocking him. Ethan’s eyes turned sharp and angry.

Without warning, Ethan swung and punched Noah right in the face.

Once Noah shook off the shock, he threw a punch right back.

Lane was frozen for a second before she snapped into action. She reached down and ripped the IV out of her hand, ignoring the sting, and scrambled out of bed.

She rushed over to the two men and used every bit of strength she had to shove Ethan away.

"Get out, Ethan!" she screamed.

He looked completely taken aback. The pain in his eyes was deeper than ever.

"Get out! I don’t ever want to see your face again!" She pointed toward the door, her hand and her entire body shaking uncontrollably.

Noah noticed her trembling and immediately pulled her into an embrace. As soon as her friend’s arms were around her, Lane broke down. She sobbed into his chest, the tears flowing non-stop. She didn’t care if Ethan was watching or if he could hear her. She just let all the pain out.

__________

Ethan massaged his temples when they suddenly started throbbing after his talk with his secretary, Chris. Chris had just told him that Uncle Lucas finally left the office. Ethan had given Chris strict orders to tell anyone who came by that he was out or way too busy to see visitors.

Ethan was dodging Uncle Lucas because he already knew the drill. The man wanted him to dump Lane and man up on his promise to marry his daughter, Olivia, especially since she was carrying his kid. To be honest, Ethan was floored when he found out Olivia was pregnant. It was even more of a gut punch when she claimed she was six months along and that he was the father.

He asked her how she even got pregnant since she was on the pill. Olivia told him she’d stopped taking them the second she became his fiancée.

When he heard that, he couldn’t explain the ache in his chest. It wasn’t pain for himself, but for Lane.

He knew she would be devastated when she found out about the situation with Olivia. He admitted he’d messed up with Lane more times than he could count on his fingers. He felt like a total idiot for how he’d treated her and for the hateful things he’d said in

the heat of the moment.

He deeply regretted his actions and knew he’d be kicking himself for the rest of his life.

He was wrong about every single thing he’d accused her of.

Whenever he remembered how he’d treated Lane, he felt like banging his head against the wall just to feel a fraction of the pain he’d caused her.

In all honesty, he never thought he’d fall for her. He’d always told himself Olivia was "the one." He had that idea burned into his brain. But being with Lane changed

everything. Once he got to know her and saw how pure her heart was, she slowly won him over. Before he knew it, she already owned his heart and his mind.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He didn’t just want her around. He wanted her by his side forever.

That’s why Ethan was trying so hard to make up for his past mistakes. He wanted to show her the love he couldn’t quite put into words. For him, actions spoke louder anyway. He chose to show her how he felt, and he was pretty sure she could feel it.

He vowed to himself that he’d

never hurt her again. So when the news about Olivia broke, he tried to hide it from Lane to spare her feelings. He didn’t plan on keeping it a secret forever because he knew the truth always comes out.

He just wanted to hold off until he figured out a game plan. He thought about confessing his feelings first to reassure her that she was his only choice. He hoped that would soften the blow when she finally heard about Olivia.

But he never got the chance. Uncle Lucas kept blowing up his phone saying Olivia’s stomach

hurt and that the pregnancy was high-risk. Just when he thought he had an opening to come clean, everything hit the fan. It turned out Lane already knew everything. She knew Olivia was back and she knew about the baby.

That explained why she’d been acting so off. He remembered seeing her eyes all swollen and red when he went to her friend’s condo. She’d gone there after saying goodbye and hadn’t come home for hours. He tried calling her a dozen times but couldn’t get through. He didn’t know if her phone was dead or if she was just

ghosting him. Not being able to reach her made his anxiety skyrocket.

Since he didn’t have her friend’s number, he actually had to call his mother to see if she had it. His mom knew Lane’s two friends because of the orphanage. Once he got the number, he called immediately, but the friend didn’t pick up. He had to ask his mom for the address instead.

Luckily, his mom knew where the friend lived, so he sped over there. Lane was there, but it was clear that was the day she’d found out about Olivia.

Even then, she didn’t say a word to him about it.

Ethan let out a long sigh and leaned his head back against the headrest of his swivel chair. Closing his eyes, he could still see the pain etched on Lane’s face and every tear she shed. What hurt the most was the look of pure determination in her eyes when she told him she wanted to end things. She wanted a separation.

Ethan wasn’t about to let that happen. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He hadn’t even finished making up for his past mistakes yet.

He was still planning on winning her over for good.

He wasn’t even sure if Lane loved him. She never said the words. He used to think she was only sticking around for the sake of the baby because she wanted a complete family. But now, he had a feeling she might actually have feelings for him too.

Maybe she was just like him and didn’t know how to say it.

He promised himself that even if she didn’t love him yet, he would do whatever it took to make her fall for him. If she gave him that chance, he’d pour all his love into her. He’d make sure she never regretted giving him a second shot.

A moment later, Ethan opened his eyes to the sound of the phone ringing. It was Chris.

"Yes?"

"Sir Ethan, Attorney Cruz is outside and wants a word with you," Chris said.

Ethan frowned at the name. "Fine. Let him in."

He hung up and stared at the door with a stone-cold expression, waiting for the lawyer to walk in. A few seconds later, the door opened.

"Good morning, Mr. Blackwood," the

man said. Ethan just gave him a stiff nod.

"Yes? What is it?"

"My client sent me here to hand over these divorce papers," the lawyer said.

Ethan felt his fist clench as a sharp pain stabbed at his heart. Before he could even get a word out, the lawyer walked up and handed him the folder.

"You just need to sign. My client has already signed them," he added.

Ethan opened the folder to check for Lane’s signature. Seeing her name there felt like a giant hand was squeezing the life out of his heart. Instead of signing, he crumpled the papers into a ball.

"I’m not signing this trash. Tell her I refuse to sign these damn papers," he said firmly. "She can send a hundred copies and I still won’t do it."

After the lawyer left, Ethan tried calling Lane. It just kept ringing until it stopped, like she was hitting the ignore button. He tried again, but this time it didn’t even ring. It looked like Lane had blocked his number, just like he’d done to her in the past.

The pain in his heart was

unbearable. It felt like every crappy thing he’d ever done to Lane was coming back to haunt him. It was karma, and it hurt three times as bad.

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