Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 83: Chapter 83

Lane glanced at Ethan as he hopped out of the car. His driver had just pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant where she was set to meet Mr. Qui.

Before he could even reach her side, she popped the door open and stepped out. She wasn’t about to wait around for him to play the gentleman.

She noticed Ethan stop in his tracks when he realized she was already out.

"Could you maybe wait for me to open the door for you, Lane?" Ethan asked.

"I can open the door myself," she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

"But I want to do it for you," he insisted, his eyes locked onto hers.

Her lips parted but she couldn’t find the words. Stuck on what to say, she just looked away.

"Let’s just go inside. Mr. Qui might be waiting," she said. She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she started heading into the restaurant.

Ethan caught up quickly, falling into step beside her. She bit her lip when she felt his warm hand rest on her elbow.

"Good afternoon, Ma’am. Good afternoon, Sir," the staff greeted them as they walked in. "Do you have a reservation?"

She nodded and gave them the name.

"Right this way," they said, leading the pair to their reserved table.

From a distance, she spotted a man already seated. One look at his face and she knew it was Mr. Qui. She hadn’t just studied his proposal. She’d memorized his profile, just like Ethan had told her to.

He noticed them and stood up immediately.

"Mr. Blackwood," Mr. Qui said, extending his hand to Ethan. Ethan took it firmly.

"Mr. Qui," Ethan replied. It was pretty obvious the two of them were already acquainted.

Then, Mr. Qui turned his attention to her. The second he saw her, a huge smile broke across his face. He held out his hand to her, too.

She shook it with a professional smile. "Miss Lane?"

"Yes, Mr. Qui," she replied.

"Please, call me Jeric," he said.

"Jeric," she repeated.

"Much better," he said, still grinning. "Is it cool if I just call you Lane?"

"That’s fine with me, Jeric," she told him.

He was about to say something else when Ethan cut him off.

"Let’s take a seat first," Ethan said. When she peeked at him, his brow was furrowed as he glared at Jeric with an unreadable expression.

Lane cleared her throat. "Yeah, let’s sit."

Jeric started to pull out a chair for her, but he stopped when Ethan beat him to it. Ethan put a hand on her back, pulled out the chair himself, and guided her into it.

Lane sat there in silence as Ethan sat right next to her, seemingly trying to scoot their chairs as close as possible.

She pulled her iPad from her bag, opened the proposal, and handed it to Jeric. As she walked him through the details, she kept her eyes on him. He did the same, but instead of looking at the screen, he kept his eyes locked on her face.

She noticed he didn’t look away even once. He seemed to like what he was hearing, though, because he kept nodding in agreement.

Beside her, Ethan was dead quiet, but she could practically feel the tension in his jaw.

She was absolutely thrilled when she finally secured the deal. Jeric was going to invest. She couldn’t hide her joy, and a genuine smile lit up her face.

How could she not be hyped? She was just starting out and she’d already closed a major deal. She knew her father would be incredibly proud.

As the meeting wrapped up, they both stood. "We’ll send you the contract as soon as it’s ready, Jeric," she said.

"I’ll be waiting, Lane," he replied. He reached out to shake her hand one more time.

She took it without hesitation. "I look forward to doing business with you, Lane."

"Likewise," she said, letting go.

"Anyway," Jeric said after a beat. "If you’re cool with it, can I get your personal number?"

She was just about to answer when Ethan’s ice-cold voice cut through the air.

"What for?" Ethan asked. "Why do you need her personal number?"

"What? Is that a crime?" Jeric shot back, looking at Ethan.

"I want to get to know her as a woman, not just a business partner."

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. Jeric turned back to her. "I’m interested in you, Lane," he said, totally blunt and honest.

Lane was floored. Before she could even get a word out, her eyes went wide as she felt Ethan’s hand slide onto her waist.

In a total possessive move, Ethan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her flush against his side.

"She’s off-limits, Jeric," Ethan said, his voice hard as nails. "The woman you’re so interested in is my wife." He paused, letting the word sink in. "She is Lane Blackwood."

AVA

"Ma’am Ava, here are Calvin’s things," Mae said, handing over a bag with a few changes of clothes.

Ava really wanted to take him out. She needed to make it up to her godson after being apart for so long.

It had been almost five years since she’d seen him in the flesh. Because Ethan had his guys tailing them, she’d been stuck seeing him over video calls.

It seemed like Ethan suspected they knew exactly where Lane had been hiding all this time.

Ava had already called Lane to tell her she was taking the little guy out, and Lane had given her the green light. She’d made Ava promise to keep a sharp eye on him so he wouldn’t get lost.

Honestly, even if Lane hadn’t said a word, Ava wouldn’t have let him out of her sight for a second.

This wasn’t just a simple walk in the park, either. Ava was planning a full-on shopping spree for clothes and toys.

"Thanks, Mae," she said. Then, she looked down at Calvin.

She smiled as their eyes met and held out her hand. "Ready to go, Calvin?"

Calvin grabbed her hand instantly. "Yes, Auntie!"

"We’re heading out, Mae," Ava called out as they left.

"Bye, Miss Mae!" Calvin added.

Mae beamed at them as Ava gently led him away.

They reached the car, and Ava opened the passenger door. Since she didn’t have a car seat, she made sure he was buckled in tight and planned on driving extra carefully.

Once he was settled, she hopped into the driver’s seat, cranked the engine, and pulled out.

"Where are we going, Auntie?" Calvin asked once they hit the road.

"To the mall," Ava told him.

"What are we doing there?"

"I’m buying you some gifts," she said.

"Gifts?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"But it’s not my birthday, Auntie. Why are you getting me a gift?" he asked, looking totally curious.

"Because your Auntie owes you big time, Calvin," she said, glancing over at him.

"I missed your birthdays and I wasn’t there to celebrate with you, so today is all about making it up to you."

"Okay, Auntie. Thank you," he said sweetly.

Ava couldn’t help but grin. This kid was just so good. He’s polite and kind.

Thank God he took after Lane and not his jerk of a father. Ethan would be lucky if Calvin inherited even a bit of his personality, because looks-wise, the kid was Ethan’s twin.

Ava often wondered how Lane managed to move on when she had to look at that face every day. If Ava were in her shoes, she’d find it impossible to forget someone when his literal mini-me was running around the house.

It didn’t take long to get to the mall. After finding a spot and parking, Ava went around to get Calvin. She unbuckled him and carried him out of the car.

She held his hand tight, deciding to leave the heavy bag in the car. She just grabbed a small towel in case he got sweaty from playing.

"Let’s go, Calvin!"

Hand in hand, they walked into the mall and headed straight for the toy store. Ava loved seeing his face light up the second they stepped inside.

"Auntie, look at all the toys!" he shouted, tugging on her arm.

"Pick out whatever you want, Calvin. Anything at all," she promised.

"For real?"

She nodded with a smile. "Okay! I’m gonna go look now!"

She let him wander and browse until he pointed at a cool toy car. "Auntie, I want that one," he said, looking up at her.

"This one?" she asked, picking it up.

"Yes, please," he said politely.

"What else? Pick something else."

"That’s enough for me, Auntie," he replied.

"Wait, really? You don’t want more toys?"

"I’m gonna grow up, Auntie, and then I won’t be able to play with them anyway," he explained. Ava couldn’t help but laugh at his logic.

"Just get me a coloring book and some crayons. Mine are all broken, and Mommy hasn’t gotten me new ones yet."

"If that’s what you want, you got it."

Ava ruffled his hair.

"Okay, let’s pay for the car first, then we’ll go find the art supplies."

She led him to the counter, giving his hand a little squeeze when he thanked her again. Once they were done, she pointed toward the exit.

"Let’s go get that coloring book."

They started walking toward the bookstore, still holding hands.

"Auntie?"

Ava looked down. Calvin was staring straight ahead at something in the distance.

"What is it, buddy?"

He looked up at her for a split second before facing forward again.

"Auntie, look! It’s Mommy!" he said, pointing.

Ava followed his finger. Her heart nearly stopped and her eyes went wide when she spotted Lane. But the real reason she panicked was the man standing right next to her.

"It’s my Mommy, Auntie!" Calvin said, sounding so happy.

"T-that’s not her, Calvin," Ava stammered, her voice shaking. She was starting to sweat.

"Yes it is! That’s my Mommy!"

Before Ava could even open her mouth to argue, Calvin yanked his hand free.

Ava’s heart hit the floor as she watched Calvin bolt across the mall toward his mother.

"Mommy!"

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