Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Lane sat in silence, laser-focused on the stack of papers Michael had dropped off. She was trying her hardest to make sense of the document, but it was rough going.

She understood the basics, but the technical jargon was totally throwing her for a loop.

Every time she hit a confusing patch, her eyebrows would knit together and she’d let out a frustrated sigh. Her eyes were actually starting to throb from staring at the fine print for so long, and the information just wasn’t sticking. She’d barely even started, but she already felt like throwing in the towel.

She started taking deep breaths, one after another, trying to stay calm. She read the same paragraph over and over, but it was like her brain was full. It just wouldn’t sink in.

"Lane."

She jumped slightly at the sound of Ethan’s deep voice. When she looked up, she realized he was standing right next to her. She’d been so buried in those documents that she hadn’t even heard him move.

"Do you need something?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Do you need a hand? Is there something in there that isn’t making sense?"

Lane bit her lip, embarrassed that he’d caught her struggling. She couldn’t help but notice the way his Adam’s apple moved when he spoke and the intense look in his dark eyes. She quickly looked back down at the desk.

"I-I just don’t get it," she admitted softly.

"What part’s giving you trouble?" he asked, leaning in to see the page.

"This whole section," she said, pointing to the text.

"Let me see," Ethan said.

Before she could hand it over, he made his move. He placed one hand on the back of her swivel chair and the other on the edge of the desk, leaning down until he was hovering right over the document.

Ethan skimmed the page at lightning speed. He seemed to get it instantly and started breaking it down for her. But instead of actually listening, Lane found herself staring at his profile.

It had been five years since she’d seen him this close. His face hadn’t changed a bit. He was still as handsome as ever.

"Does that make sense?" he asked, glancing over at her. She was caught red-handed. There was no time to look away.

She quickly averted her eyes, feeling her face go hot with embarrassment. She bit her lip again, knowing he was still watching her.

"C-could you say that one more time?"

She turned even redder when he let out a soft laugh. She didn’t know why, but she actually liked the sound of it. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Okay," Ethan said, and he went through the explanation again.

This time, she actually focused. She grabbed a pen and a notebook to jot down the key points he was making.

"Got it now?" he asked.

Lane nodded. She finally understood. Ethan was actually a really good teacher. He made the complicated stuff seem easy.

"Okay. If you hit another wall, don’t be shy about asking."

She nodded again, keeping her eyes glued to her notebook to avoid locking eyes with him. She was afraid that if they made eye contact again, she wouldn’t be able to look away.

Ethan lingered for a second before straightening up and heading back to the sofa. She peeked over and saw him pull his laptop back onto his lap.

She let out a quiet sigh and tried to get back into the zone. But a moment later, he called her name again.

"Problem?" he asked when she looked up.

She shook her head.

"Oh, I thought maybe you were stuck again. I heard you sigh," he said.

She was totally floored. "I noticed that when you’re confused, your eyebrows bunch up or you take a big breath," he added.

Lane blinked, stunned that he was paying that much attention. He was way more observant than she’d realized. Not knowing how to respond, she just looked back down and tried to focus on her work.

Soon, they were both buried in their own tasks. A soft knock at the door broke the silence.

"Come in," she said.

Michael walked in, and Lane’s heart sank when she saw what he was carrying. He was lugging a stack of folders... at least ten of them.

"Ma’am Lane, here are the other files you need to review and sign," he told her.

Her mouth hung open. She wasn’t even halfway through the first pile, and now there was a mountain.

"Just put them there, Michael," she said, staring at the stack like it was an enemy. Could she even finish all of this? She seriously doubted it.

Stop staring and start working, Lane, she told herself. She tried to dive back in, knowing that the only way out was through.

But she hadn’t even made a dent in the new pile when a massive headache started setting in. She felt totally drained.

She decided to lean back in her chair for a second and close her eyes to give them a rest. She didn’t mean to actually nap, but the second her eyes closed, she was out like a light.

She woke briefly with a weird sensation of floating through the air, but she was too exhausted to care. She just drifted right back into a deep sleep.

When she finally woke up for real, she realized she was lying comfortably on the sofa with a pillow under her head. She looked down and saw Ethan’s black suit coat draped over her like a blanket. The scent of his cologne was all over it.

She didn’t have to guess how she got there. Ethan must have carried her.

She looked around and saw him sitting in her swivel chair at the executive desk. He was hunched over the work she’d left behind. She sat up quickly, clutching his coat so it wouldn’t slide off.

Ethan must have heard her move because he looked up immediately.

"S-sorry. I didn’t mean to crash," she said.

"It’s fine, Lane," he replied.

She got up and walked over to the desk. "I-I’ll take back over. You should get some rest, too."

"I’m actually almost finished," he said.

"Wait, already?" she asked, totally shocked. She figured she’d only been out for maybe thirty minutes. How could he have finished that mountain of paperwork?

Then she glanced at the clock on the wall and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She hadn’t been asleep for thirty minutes; she’d been out for four hours.

"Why didn’t you wake me up?" she asked.

It was like he read her mind. "I couldn’t bring myself to do it, Lane," he said, his voice dropping to a gentle whisper.

__________

Lane let out a heavy sigh after she finished prepping the food she was taking to the office. She’d made extra because she planned to swing by the hospital to visit her parents first. She figured they were probably getting sick of hospital food and could use a home-cooked meal.

Her dad was still admitted but was finally getting discharged tomorrow.

She also planned to give some to Ethan as a "thank you" for helping her take over the company. Like she’d thought before, saying the words was easy in her head, but face-to-face with him, she just froze up.

She couldn’t even look him in the eye without things getting awkward. Whenever their eyes met, she saw a look in his she couldn’t quite place, and it threw her off. She was used to him being a total ice king—completely unreadable and emotionless.

She couldn’t even manage a conversation because every time she tried, he would just stare at her, and she’d lose her train of thought. Staying quiet was just easier. She only spoke when he asked her something directly.

Once she finished cooking, she packed everything into lunch boxes: one for her, one for Ethan, and one for her parents.

She put them in separate paper bags. She didn’t want to mix hers with Ethan’s even though they were headed to the same place. She was just going to hand it to him. She had zero intention of actually eating with him.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to swallow a bite if she did.

When she was done, she headed upstairs to get ready. She didn’t want to be late, even if she was the owner’s daughter and the new boss. She made it quick, drying her hair and pulling it back into a tie.

Lane checked her reflection. She was wearing a red knee-length dress. She wasn’t really a makeup person, but she put on a little so she wouldn’t look totally washed out. Once she was set, she grabbed the food from the kitchen and headed out.

She was shocked to see Ethan out there again.

He was leaning against his car, but this time he wasn’t staring at the ground. His eyes were locked right on her.

Lane’s heart started thumping. Ethan straightened up, and before he could walk over, she hurried toward him.

He waited for her to get close, his eyes never leaving her face.

"You don’t need to keep picking me up. I... I can get there on my own," she said as she reached him.

"I know," Ethan said, his gaze intense. "But I still want to."

She looked away, uncomfortable with the way he was watching her.

"I want to be with you all the time," he added softly, but loud enough that she caught every word.

Lane’s heart raced even faster, and she was terrified he’d actually hear it.

"L-let’s go," she stammered. She didn’t wait for him to respond and reached for the car door, but Ethan beat her to it. Their hands brushed, and she felt a jolt of warmth from the contact.

She pulled her hand back fast. "Hop in," he said.

She got into the car without a word, and Ethan followed suit. Before they pulled away, Lane asked if they could stop at the hospital so she could drop off her mother’s food.

When they arrived, she told him she’d be quick and he should just wait in the car, but he insisted on coming in. Since she couldn’t stop him, she just let it go. He even beat her out of the car to open her door.

They didn’t stay long. She handed over the food, chatted with her mom for a minute, and they were back on the road.

As they drove to the office, Ethan’s phone started ringing. He checked the screen but didn’t pick up. Lane couldn’t help but peek at the caller ID.

She immediately wished she hadn’t. The name on the screen was Olivia.

She bit her lip and looked out the front windshield, feeling a sharp pang in her chest. From the corner of her eye, she could feel Ethan staring at her.

She pointedly looked out the side window. She heard him take a deep breath before shoving the phone back in his pocket. She wondered why he didn’t answer her.

Lane shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

The rest of the drive was silent, but she could feel the tension. It felt like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to start.

She let out a sigh of relief when they finally reached the office.

The second the car stopped, Ethan hopped out to open her door, but she was too fast for him. She was out of the car before he could even get close.

She didn’t look back at him, but she knew he had stopped in his tracks just to watch her.

She pressed her lips together and headed inside. He called her name, but she played dumb and kept walking.

A second later, he was right there, walking alongside her. He kept glancing at her, but he didn’t say a word.

"Good morning, Ma’am Lane. Good morning, Sir Ethan," Michael said as they passed his desk.

"Morning," she replied. Michael went to open the door for them, but Ethan beat him to the punch again.

She saw her father’s secretary scratching his head, looking a bit confused.

She walked in and went straight to her desk. She could feel Ethan watching her from the corner of her eye, but she ignored him. She set her stuff down and hopped on the computer to get to work.

She had a mountain of paperwork today. She’d pushed her dad’s appointments to next week on Ethan’s advice. He’d told her she needed to study the profiles of the people she’d be meeting with first.

She saw Ethan take off his coat and toss it on the sofa. She forced herself to focus on the screen, but her concentration broke when his phone started buzzing again.

Again, he didn’t answer. It stopped ringing, and she felt him look up at her. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was Olivia again. And if it was, why was he blowing her off?

For the second time, she shook the thought away and got back to work. She got so sucked into what she was reading that she completely lost track of time. It wasn’t until she heard Ethan’s voice ordering food that she realized it was almost lunch.

Lane looked at the bag sitting on her desk. She bit her lip, grabbed one of the bags, and walked over to him.

Ethan noticed her approaching and told the person on the phone to hold on. He covered the mouthpiece and looked up. "Yeah, Lane?"

"D-don’t order anything. I brought food," she said. "And... this one’s yours." She set the bag on the coffee table and hurried back to her desk before he could say anything.

Since it was noon, she figured she might as well eat.

She unpacked her lunch and prepared to eat at her desk. She closed her eyes for a quick silent prayer, but when she opened them, Ethan was standing right there, holding his food.

Her eyes went wide as he pulled up a visitor’s chair and sat right across from her.

"I want to eat with you, Lane. I’ve waited five long years for this, and I’m not letting this chance slip away," Ethan said, his voice firm and full of intent.

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