Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Chris, no visitors," Ethan told his secretary, glancing his way as they walked. He’d just wrapped up a grueling meeting with the board of directors.

"Yes, sir," he replied, stepping ahead to hold the door to his office open for him.

Ethan entered the room in silence. Once the door clicked shut, he shed his coat and hung it up, loosening his tie before sinking into his swivel chair. He pulled his phone from his pocket and set it on the desk. Leaning back, he let his eyes drift shut.

He was exhausted. It wasn’t just the meeting. Exhaustion had become his default state. To be honest, he’d lost interest in just about everything.

He only got out of bed because he had to. He did it for the company and for the employees who relied on him to keep the lights on.

It all started five years ago, the day Lane walked out of his life.

It had been five years since she left him because she’d finally had enough.

She couldn’t take the pain of being with him anymore. Ethan was the first to admit he was a total fool for hurting her the way he did. Back then, he had no clue she actually had feelings for him.

He never realized she’d been secretly in love with him all along.

Even now, Ava’s words played on a loop in his head. They cut through him like a knife, leaving a wound that no medicine could touch. The pain only got worse whenever he remembered his own behavior or the toxic things he’d said to her.

They say regret always comes last, and for Ethan, that was the literal truth. It wasn’t until Lane was gone that he realized how much he’d lost. He wanted to make it up to her. He wanted to fix every mistake.

He planned to apologize and finally confess that she was the one who owned his heart. He knew words wouldn’t be enough to earn her forgiveness, but he was willing to wait forever for a second chance to be the husband she deserved.

He promised himself she would never regret taking him back. He’d make sure she was happy and that she never felt like a second choice again.

That was the real reason he refused to sign the divorce papers. Even after her lawyer sent copy after copy, he wouldn’t budge. His name on her ID was the only thing he had left to hold onto.

As long as they were legally married, he felt like he still had a shot. He’d even torn up the papers right in front of the lawyer more than once. Lane was his wife for life, whether she liked it or not.

But before he could win her back, he had to find her. He’d gone to her parents’ house countless times, but they wouldn’t say a word. He even begged his own parents to talk to them, but his mother struck out too. It seemed like nobody knew where she’d vanished to.

He hounded her friends next. Ava clearly didn’t have any answers, but he had a gut feeling that Noah knew exactly where she was. Still, he knew that no matter how much he pleaded, Noah would never crack.

So, Ethan decided to play the long game. He followed Noah everywhere, convinced the guy would eventually lead him to Lane. He basically turned into a stalker, neglecting his business because he was so obsessed with the hunt. Nothing mattered more than finding her and their baby.

But after a month of tailing him, Ethan came up empty. It was like Noah knew he was being followed and played him.

Ethan eventually leveled up and hired a team of private investigators, but even the pros couldn’t track her down.

He knew she was still in the country. He owned a major airline and had connections at every other one in the United States. No one by the name of Lane Blackwood had boarded an international flight.

It was as if she had vanished into thin air. He started to feel like the universe was working against him, intentionally keeping them apart. But Ethan didn’t care about destiny.

He refused to give up. Even if fate itself was trying to block him, he wasn’t stopping.

If it took five years or a whole lifetime, he was staying the course. He ached to be with his family. He longed to see his child. He wanted to hold them, kiss them, and hear their voice. He’d been starving for that connection for five long years.

He missed Lane and he missed his son. He didn’t even know who the kid looked like, but he knew he’d love them with everything he had.

A sudden ringtone snapped him out of his thoughts. He sat up and grabbed his phone from the desk, his jaw tightening when he saw the caller ID.

Olivia.

Years ago, he’d prayed she would call after she ran off upon hearing about Lane’s pregnancy. Now, he wished she’d stay gone. Ever since he fell for Lane, Olivia had been evicted from his heart and mind especially after he caught her in her lies.

He eventually figured out she wasn’t actually the one cooking those meals she used to bring him. When she finally came back, he’d tested her by asking her to cook for him.

She’d agree to keep up the act, but then she’d conveniently "feel dizzy" or get sick right when it was time to hit the kitchen.

He saw right through her. He realized she was just a pretender, someone he’d never truly known despite their history. There was no comparison between her and Lane. Lane was the real deal.

Honestly, he wanted to cut Olivia off completely when he realized he loved Lane. He didn’t want any drama or for Lane to feel jealous. But he couldn’t just walk away because of the child. Despite Uncle Lucas breathing down his neck to marry her, Ethan stood his ground.

He gave the kid his last name, but that was it. No wedding, no "happily ever after."

Nothing more, nothing less.

Ethan took a breath and answered. Immediately, he heard the voice of Tyler, his son with Olivia.

"Dad!" Tyler’s voice was bright and happy.

"Hey... yeah?"

"Dad, don’t you want to see me?" the boy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Mama and I are outside, but your secretary won’t let us in," he complained.

Ethan sighed for the second time. "You think I don’t want to see you, Tyler?"

"Dad’s just busy," Ethan explained, his voice softening. "I told my secretary I didn’t want any visitors."

"But Dad, I’m not a visitor. I’m your son," Tyler said. "I want to see you."

"Okay. Come on in," Ethan finally conceded.

He hung up and buzzed the intercom. "Chris, let them in."

He waited for the door to open. After a soft knock, Tyler came running in, followed by a smiling Olivia.

"Dad Ethan!" Tyler yelled, sprinting toward him. Ethan adjusted his chair as the boy approached.

"I miss you, Dad," Tyler said, grinning up at him.

Ethan looked at his son, taking in every detail of the boy’s face. As he stared at him, all he saw was Olivia. Tyler was the spitting image of his mother. It seemed he hadn’t inherited a single thing from Ethan.

______________________

"Grandpa!"

Lucas snapped his gaze from Olivia to his grandson, Tyler. The boy’s shout cut right through the serious conversation he was having with his daughter. Lucas couldn’t help but scowl as Tyler ran up to him.

"What did I tell you?" Lucas asked, his face a mask of cold stone.

Tyler bit his lip and went quiet. When the boy didn’t answer, Lucas kept going.

"Didn’t I tell you not to interrupt when the adults are talking?"

"S-sorry, Grandpa," Tyler mumbled.

"Lucas, stop," his wife Rebecca scolded. "He’s just a kid."

"He needs to learn how the world works while he’s young," Lucas shot back.

Olivia sighed and looked at her son. "Tyler, go to your room for a minute."

The boy nodded at his mom and bolted down the hall.

"Olivia, you really need to work on his manners if you want the Blackwoods to actually like him," Lucas told her.

"Dad, the Blackwoods already love Tyler," Olivia countered. "He’s Ethan’s son. He’s the Blackwood heir."

Lucas didn’t say anything. He just stared at her. Olivia shifted uncomfortably and looked away like she was sitting on a secret. She cleared her throat to break the tension.

"So, what are you guys even doing here?"

"We’re here for an update," Lucas said.

"What’s the status with you and Ethan?"

Olivia took a slow breath. "Still just co-parenting, Dad," she said softly.

Lucas gritted his teeth. That was the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Still co-parenting? It’s been five years, Olivia. Five years and you’re still just the baby mama?" His voice rose with his frustration.

"Are you even trying to make him fall for you again? Because if you were actually following my lead, you’d have a ring on your finger by now."

He was constantly giving her advice on how to play Ethan. He told her to go back to the basics and bring him food.

Since Olivia couldn’t cook to save her life, he told her to just hire a private chef to prep the meals. It was the same scam she pulled years ago, claiming she made the food when it was actually Lane doing all the work in the kitchen.

"What am I supposed to do, Dad? Ethan is still head-over-heels for Lane."

Hearing that name made Lucas’s blood boil. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He couldn’t wrap his head around what Lane had done to cast such a spell on Ethan.

They were only together for five months, yet Ethan treated her like she was some kind of goddess. Meanwhile, he’d completely tossed Olivia aside, even though they were the ones who almost got married.

Even with Tyler in the picture, Ethan was cold. Lucas had tried to pressure him to man up and marry Olivia, but Ethan just hid behind his marriage to Lane.

He refused to sign the divorce, claiming he’d acknowledge Tyler but would only ever be "married" to Lane.

Lucas’s hatred for Lane grew every day. She had single-handedly trashed his grand plans.

If Ethan had become his son-in-law, Lucas would have swallowed up Richard’s company by now. He would have crushed that man.

Instead, Richard was the one winning. Richard’s company was booming with investors while Lucas was barely keeping his head above water. Between his massive debts and his casino addiction, his business was a sinking ship.

Lane was gone, but she was still his biggest problem.

Lucas had spent the last five years making sure Ethan never found her. He knew exactly where she was hiding because he’d intercepted the private investigator Ethan hired.

He’d doubled the guy’s fee to keep him quiet and feed Ethan fake reports. He’d done the same thing with every other investigator Ethan tried to hire.

It was a black hole for his money. He was paying off sources close to Ethan and keeping private investigators on the payroll just to keep the lie alive. He’d mortgaged every property he owned just to keep Lane in the dark.

He was running out of time and cash. His only ace left was Olivia and Tyler. Ethan had to marry Olivia so she could get her hands on his assets. And Tyler was the key to inheriting the whole Blackwood empire.

If this worked, all his debts would vanish. But they had to move fast before Ethan stumbled onto the truth.

OLIVIA

Olivia pulled into the parking lot at Ethan’s office and hopped out. She went to the back door, unbuckled Tyler from his car seat, and looked him in the eye before pulling him out.

"Tyler, what are you going to say when we see Daddy?"

"I’ll tell Dad Ethan I missed him," the boy said perfectly.

Olivia nodded. "And then?"

"I’ll tell him I want to hang out and go on an outing."

"And what else?" she prodded.

"That I want you to come with us, Mama."

"And if he says no?"

"Then I’ll cry. I’ll tell him he doesn’t love me because he won’t give me what I want," Tyler recited.

Olivia smirked. She had coached him well. It was Ethan’s turn for his scheduled visit, part of the co-parenting deal Olivia absolutely hated. She didn’t want a schedule.

She wanted a wedding. She’d been way too confident that Ethan would still love her after she left. She thought she was the only woman in his heart, but she’d been dead wrong.

In the short time she was gone, Lane had totally moved in on her territory. Ethan had even figured out that Lane was the real cook behind the meals Olivia used to bring him. Olivia still denied it, of course.

If she admitted she was a fraud, she’d lose her last shred of leverage.

For five years, she’d been trying to get back in his good graces, using Tyler as a human shield to get close to him. But nothing worked. Ethan was always distant.

If she got too close, he backed off. If she tried to get him alone, he found an excuse to leave. When they were all together, he only had eyes for Tyler. He treated her like she was invisible.

It drove her crazy. She hated Ethan for being so stubborn, and she hated her cousin, Lane, even more for ruining her life. But Olivia wasn’t a quitter. She was going to make Ethan forget Lane if it was the last thing she did.

By hook or by crook, she was going to make him hers again.

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