Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 69: Chapter 69

She was drowning in regret for all the time she had wasted away from her parents.

After a while, she felt a gentle hand on her back.

"You haven’t failed us, Lane," her mother said softly, stroking her hair. Lane didn’t look up, keeping her face pressed against her father’s hand.

"You were never a burden to us. Even when we found out you were pregnant, we weren’t angry with you."

That only made Lane cry harder. She had spent years convinced her parents resented her for what happened.

She stayed like that for a few more seconds before finally sitting up and wiping her face. She turned to her mother and saw the exhaustion and pain etched into her features.

Her mother reached out and wiped away a stray tear Lane had missed.

"Even if your father and I don’t always say it, we are so proud of you, Lane. If we had to do it all over again, we’d still choose you to be our daughter," her mother said gently.

Lane bit her lip again to keep from losing it. Then, she remembered Ethan. She glanced around the room, wondering if he had been hiding in a corner watching her breakdown.

But Ethan was gone. Where did he go? Her mother seemed to read her mind.

"Ethan left," her mother noted.

Lane looked away, and her mother, sensing she didn’t want to talk about him, quickly changed the subject.

"Where’s Calvin?"

"He’s back in Richmond, Ma."

"Who’s watching him?"

"Mae is."

Her mother sighed deeply. She looked like she wanted to say something else but decided to keep it to herself.

"Ma, please go get some rest. I’ll stay with Dad," Lane insisted.

"You should rest too. You’ve been traveling all day."

"I’m fine, Ma." Lane took her mother’s arm and guided her toward the small sofa in the room. "Please, just lie down."

Her mother finally nodded, looking completely drained. Once she was settled, Lane went back to her father’s side.

She sat in a plastic chair and pulled out her phone to call Mae. Mae picked up on the first ring.

"Ma’am Lane," Mae greeted her.

"How are things going with Calvin?"

"We’re doing okay," Mae replied.

"And Calvin? What’s he up to?"

"He just fell asleep, Ma’am. He was crying earlier because he was looking for you."

Hearing that felt like a physical blow to the chest. She could perfectly picture her son crying for her. Now she understood the look in her mother’s eyes earlier; it’s the same pain a mother feels when her child is hurting.

"I see," Lane said quietly. "I’ll call back tomorrow when he’s awake. Please look after him. If anything happens, call me immediately."

"Don’t worry, Ma’am. I’ve got him," Mae assured her.

Lane trusted Mae completely. Mae had been with them for five years and treated Calvin like her own son. She was the one person Lane could always rely on.

She kept the call short so Mae could get some sleep. Even though Calvin was usually a good kid, she knew how exhausting toddlers could be.

After hanging up, she moved her chair closer to the bed and took her father’s hand again. She wanted him to know she was there.

"Dad, please wake up. You have to wake up because you haven’t even met your grandson yet," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"Calvin wants to see you. He wants to play with you. So please, don’t give up. Fight for Mom, for me, and for Calvin. We’re all fighting for you."

The tears started again, and she closed her eyes, praying harder than she ever had before.

By midnight, exhaustion finally took over. She moved to the small sofa, leaned her head back, and drifted off.

When she woke up the next morning, her neck was stiff. She rubbed the soreness out as she stood up.

"You’re awake."

Lane turned to see her mother wiping her father’s face with a cloth. She realized someone had draped a blanket over her while she slept.

"Good morning, Mom," Lane said.

"There’s breakfast over there. Eat something if you’re hungry."

Lane nodded and headed into the bathroom to freshen up. She washed her face, rinsed her mouth, and patted her skin dry with a paper towel.

When she stepped back out into the room, there was a soft knock at the door. Her mother started to get up, but Lane beat her to it.

"I’ll get it, Ma."

Lane opened the door, but her heart nearly stopped when she saw who was standing there, staring right back at her.

"Lane..."

____________

If Lane had been mentally bracing herself to see a man she never wanted to see again last night, she felt like a total deer in the headlights now that he was actually standing right there. In that split second, every instinct she had told her to bolt and find a place to hide.

She wasn’t expecting her heart to react this way to the man who had broken it, the man who hadn’t chosen her. Along with her racing pulse, a familiar sharp sting of pain returned. It was the hurt of remembering how he’d made her feel like a backup plan over and over again.

The man standing in front of her was none other than Ethan.

He barely blinked as he stared at her. Five years later, and it felt like Ethan hadn’t changed one bit.

Everything was exactly the same: the face, the vibe, those devilish eyes, and that solid build. The only difference was that he carried himself with a more mature air now.

Lane wanted nothing more than to run, but her feet felt like they were made of lead, pinning her to the floor. She bit her lip as her eyes started to well up.

Her eyes widened when Ethan made his move. He closed the gap between them in an instant, pulling her into a tight, crushing hug.

"Lane," he breathed. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but there was a definite hint of longing in his voice.

She blinked rapidly, fighting back the tears that were ready to spill over at any second.

Once the initial shock wore off, she pressed her hands against his chest to push him away. She hesitated for a heartbeat when she felt how fast his heart was thudding against her palm, but she quickly regained her composure and shoved him back with everything she had.

"L-let go of me," she snapped, mentally cursing the tremor in her voice.

He wasn’t expecting the push and stumbled back. She caught a flash of genuine hurt in his eyes, but she had to look away because her own heart was aching again. She wasn’t ready for the wave of emotion hitting her.

"Lane—"

"Lane!"

A voice cut Ethan off before he could finish. Lane looked past him. Instead of turning to see who was calling, Ethan kept his eyes glued to her, as if he was terrified she’d vanish into thin air if he so much as blinked.

She felt a massive wave of relief when she saw two old friends she hadn’t seen in forever.

Noah and Eva.

Eva’s face was a blur of joy and worry. She was clearly happy to see Lane but concerned because her friend looked like she was about to have a breakdown after seeing Ethan. Meanwhile, Noah stood behind Ethan with his eyebrows furrowed into a single line. He clearly wasn’t thrilled to see Ethan there.

"Lane!" Eva called out again as she walked up, completely ignoring Ethan like he was a ghost. She grabbed Lane’s arm and gently steered her into the room, clearly trying to get her away from him.

Lane didn’t miss the look of alarm and fear on Ethan’s face, as if he was watching her slip through his fingers all over again. But why did he even care?

"Are you okay, Lane?" Eva whispered once they were inside.

Lane bit her lip and shook her head. She didn’t want to lie. Between her father’s condition and fate forcing her to face Ethan, she was carrying way too much.

Eva rubbed her back comfortingly. "We’re right here, Lane," she whispered.

"Oh, Eva. Is that you?" Lane’s mother spoke up from behind them.

"Yes, Auntie," Eva replied with a polite smile.

"Are you alone?"

Eva shook her head. "I’m with Noah," she said.

"Where is he?"

Lane bit her lip and glanced toward the door, where Ethan and Noah were still standing. It looked like they were locked in a conversation, neither of them making a move to come inside yet.

She wondered what they could possibly have to say to each other.

A moment later, Noah walked in, his expression unreadable. But when Lane’s mother called out to him, his face softened. He walked over and gave her a hug.

"Stay strong, Aunt," Noah told her.

Her mother smiled. "Thank you, Noah," she replied. She was about to say something else but stopped when Ethan finally entered the room.

Lane felt Eva’s grip on her arm tighten. Her mother gave her a quick look before turning her attention to Ethan.

"E-Ethan."

"Aunt," Ethan said. "I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back last night."

"It’s okay, Ethan," her mother replied. "Lane arrived, so I had company."

Lane noticed Ethan’s brow twitch as he watched Noah step closer to her.

"We missed you, Lane."

She wasn’t expecting what Noah did next. He stepped right up to her and pulled her into a hug.

Even with Noah’s arms around her, Lane couldn’t take her eyes off Ethan.

His eyebrows were practically knitted together, and for a second, it looked like he was about to storm over and rip her out of Noah’s embrace.

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