The Unwanted Bride
1227 Words
The next morning arrived with a quiet tension that Ivy could feel before she even opened her eyes. The mansion was too silent, too polished, too unreal for her to feel at home. The rules Ethan had given her last night left a chill in her bones. They weren’t just restrictions , they were warning signs.
A man who set boundaries that precise was not trying to protect himself…
He was trying to hide something.
Ivy pushed the thought away and forced herself out of the bed. Her phone buzzed for the tenth time that morning, but she didn’t need to check it to know who it was.
Her relatives.
The same people who never returned her calls when her mother was sick.
Now suddenly desperate to talk because Averton’s Golden CEO had announced her as his fiancée.
Her notifications overflowed:
“Ivy, is it true?”
“We’re so proud of you!”
“We should talk about family plans…”
Family plans.
She almost laughed.
Where were they when she needed one?
She turned her phone off again and kept walking.
When she stepped into the dining room, the housekeepers froze in place. The long table stretched out with breakfast arranged like a photoshoot: imported fruits, perfectly folded napkins, porcelain plates hand-painted in gold.
She sat down quietly.
Not even a minute passed before the entire room shifted.
Heavy steps steady, controlled.
Ethan Cole entered.
He was dressed in a black tailored suit, each line sharp enough to cut. His expression unreadable, his presence commanding. Even the staff bowed deeper.
He didn’t look at her immediately.
He walked to his seat, adjusted his cuffs, then finally lifted his gaze.
“Morning,” he said.
It wasn’t cold.
It wasn’t warm either.
Just assessing.
Ivy cleared her throat. “Morning.”
They ate in silence or rather, he did, while she moved food around her plate, trying to pretend that her stomach wasn’t tied in knots.
Halfway through the meal, Ethan finally spoke.
“You’ll have a driver today,” he said. “Your mother has been transferred to the VIP wing. I’ve instructed the hospital to give her the best attention.”
The kindness caught her off guard.
Almost.
“Is this part of the contract?” Ivy asked quietly.
Ethan’s eyes lifted again , sharp, searching.
“No,” he said. “It’s not.”
The simple answer tightened her chest in ways she didn’t understand.
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, then stood up immediately.
“I have a board meeting. Don’t wander off. And do not speak to the media.”
Without waiting for her reply, he turned and left the dining room.
The moment he stepped out, Ivy let out a long breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
But the day was only beginning.
Later that afternoon, Ivy arrived at the hospital. The new room they moved her mother into was twice the size, with soft lighting, a private nurse, and thick curtains that made everything feel peaceful.
Ivy sat by the bedside, holding her mother’s frail hand.
“Mum…” she whispered. “Please wake up. I need you.”
As if the universe heard her plea, her mother’s fingers twitched.
Ivy gasped and leaned forward.
“Mum? Mum can you hear me?”
Her mother’s eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.
“Ivy…?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Tears welled in Ivy’s eyes. She nodded rapidly and hugged her mother carefully.
But before she could begin explaining, someone knocked on the door.
A woman.
Tall, elegant, wrapped in a white coat that screamed designer luxury. Her black hair was tied in a perfect bun, and her eyes were razor-sharp.
“Miss Ivy Bennett?” the woman asked.
Ivy stood slowly. “Yes?”
The woman stepped inside, a faint smile touching her lips , but it wasn’t friendly.
“Good. I needed to see the woman stealing my place.”
Ivy blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I’m Selene Knight,” the woman said, with a confidence that filled the whole room. “The woman Ethan’s father chose for him. The woman who should be engaged to Ethan right now.”
Ivy felt her breath lodge in her throat.
Selene stepped closer.
“I saw you on the news,” she said with a cold smirk. “Everyone is talking about you. A nobody from nowhere becoming Ethan Cole’s fiancée. Quite the story.”
Ivy stiffened. “This isn’t any of your business.”
Selene gave a soft laugh cruel and airy.
“Oh, but it is. Because you’re standing in a position meant for me. Ethan’s father and my family have been discussing an alliance for months. I was practically raised for this role.”
Her voice sharpened. “And yet he picked you.”
Ivy’s hands curled at her sides.
Selene’s gaze swept over Ivy like she was examining a cheap product.
“You don’t look like his type. You don’t act like his type. And you definitely don’t belong in his world. So let me give you a little advice.”
She stepped close enough that Ivy could smell her perfume.
“Walk away.”
Ivy didn’t move.
Selene’s smile thinned.
“You think he cares about you?” she whispered. “You’re a placeholder. Temporary. Disposable. Ethan doesn’t love, Ivy. He doesn’t feel. He doesn’t even let people into his house , so what do you think you are?”
Ivy stared back at her silently, her pulse rising.
Selene continued, voice dripping with venom:
“He’s using you for something. And when he’s done, you’ll be discarded like everyone else.”
Ivy swallowed hard but refused to look away.
“I’m not walking away,” she said softly. “Whether this is temporary or not, I signed something that binds me there.”
Selene’s eyes darkened with annoyance.
“Fine,” she said coldly. “Stay. But remember this”
She leaned close.
“Ethan Cole belongs to me. And I’m not done fighting.”
With that, she turned sharply and walked out, her heels clicking like a threat.
The room was left in icy silence.
Ivy sank onto the chair, her heart pounding, her thoughts spiraling.
Her mother, still weak but conscious, reached for her hand.
“Ivy…” she murmured. “My child why did you agree to something like this?”
Tears stung Ivy’s eyes again.
“Because I had no one else,” she whispered. “Because everything fell apart. And because I was… trapped.”
Her mother squeezed her hand weakly.
“I don’t trust that man, Ivy.”
A pause.
“But I trust you. And I know you’ll survive this.”
Ivy wiped her tears. “Mum”
Her mother gave a faint smile.
“Just be careful. A man with a heart like his, he has secrets.”
Ivy froze.
Those words echoed exactly what she had begun to feel.
Secrets.
Ethan Cole wasn’t just cold.
He was hiding something.
And now she knew she wasn’t the only one fighting for her place in his world.
She had an enemy
A woman raised to be a queen in Ethan’s kingdom.
And Ivy?
She was an outsider.
But something in her hardened.
She wasn’t backing down.
Not now.
Not ever.
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