CHAPTER THREE
1065 Words
Ethan did not get to take another sip of his drink when his door slammed open with two of his security guards rushing in. They could barely catch their breathe.
“Sir, sir! There is an urgent situation at hand downstairs!”.
Ethan’s head quickly moved to their direction as he got up from the sofa.
“What situation are you guys talking about?”. Ethan’s voice echoing in the room.
“There are so many reporters and journalists downstairs!. A lot of them sir. Someone has leaked your arrival with Mrs Cole, your new wife.” They said.
Ethan’s stomach dropped. He was already on his feet before the guards could go further.
“Move,” he ordered .
He did not wait for any explanations. He grabbed Ariana’s hand tightly with authority like someone who was used to being obeyed by people and pulled her towards the elevator.
The hall was filled with noise and questions from the reporters.
“Is she your new wife?”
“Mr Ethan Cole who is she?”
“Are the both of you officially married?”
Ethan ignored them and blocked their cameras and microphones with his arm as he told Ariana to stay behind him.
Ariana froze like an animal who has been caught by a hunter.
Ethan’s eyes became dark with warning as every flash of the cameras felt like an attack. Every question felt like a strong blow but Ethan’s commanding presence covered Ariana from the questions.
“No, not today,” he said.
Ariana’s palm drenched in sweat , her breathe shaking as she moved with Ethan. She was not ready for this world. She wasn’t even ready for him.
Ethan’s security surrounded both of them forming a circle but just as they reached the door , a woman’s voice came in , familiar , poisonous and threatening.
“Well well well”, the voice said with clapping hands.
“So this is the young lady who trapped Ethan with a signature right?”.
Everyone turned including Ariana and Ethan .
It was Ethan’s stepmother. Victoria Cole.
She stood there . Smiling and watching Ariana like a prey.
Victoria walked towards them through the crowd in the room. The noise of her heels cut through the silence in the air.
Ariana held the wall to keep herself steady as if the room was spinning. The room suddenly felt too quiet and dangerous.
She took a deep breathe and asked. “ What did I do?”
She looked cruel in a stunning way, with polished red heels and lipstick carefully painted on her lips .
“Not now”. Ethan interrupted . But his stepmother stepped closer with her hands crossing each other .
She looked up and down at Ariana , their eyes met each others for a few seconds, long , cold and one that gave Ariana a warning before she finally stepped back .
The silence gave Ariana sent chills down Ariana spine .
Instead of Ariana rushing back home her eyes landed on the near by room, the slightly opened study room. Ethan’s study space , the one he always kept locked.
Ariana hesitated then stepped inside.
The room smelled expensive with a luxurious office desk and wooden shelf filled with books . Papers scattered across the desk not in Ethan’s usual way of arranging books .
She spotted one document on top of the pile of papers .
“Marriage Contract 2”.
Ariana’s stomach dropped as she walked closer and then she saw it.
“The contract requires the spouse to live with the beneficiary for six full months. If they walk away before then, the bakery and all tied assets WILL be taken back.”
Ariana covered her mouth with her hand in shock.
Her family’s bakery, her entire family, her everything .
“Jesus!”. She whispered under her breath with her eyes wide open and hands still covering her mouth.
Ethan’s shadow suddenly appeared at the door entrance behind her .
“What are you doing her? This is my private room”. He said quietly .
“And so?! You hid this from me?” . Ariana could barely swallow her own saliva.
“I didn’t hide anything from you”, he corrected. “There is a difference between me hiding it and me delaying it”.
“It’s the same thing Ethan!”, Ariana’s voice trembled.
“My bakery is tied to this….to this marriage and to you”.
Ethan stepped closer to her . His clean smell wrapped around her. “Do you know the reason for this marriage? Ariana?”. He asked .
She lifted her head up to look at him , with her heart racing and body trembling . “This marriage is a mistake”. She answered.
Before Ethan could speak his phone vibrated and a text popped up on the screen. His eyes froze at the sight of whatever he saw in his phone . He turned it over for Ariana to take a look.
“HEADLINE:ARIANA HART STOLEN FUNDS AND CRIMINAL SUSPECT. MANY SOURCES CLAIM THAT THE BILLONAIRE’S WIFE HAS A HIDDEN PAST”.
“What?!”, Ariana yelled with tears almost filling her eyes. “It is a lie!”.
Ethan looked at her quietly with his fist tightening. “Someone is targeting us”.
Those words from Ethan shook Ariana more than the headline .
“I understand what you feel but you need to rest as well. Today has been a long day . Besides there’s nothing we can do Ariana”. He said calmly.
Ariana opened her mouth to respond but the lights suddenly went off leaving the room and Ethan’s entire mansion dark.
A strange sound came through the darkness.
Boom!
Like a door forcefully opening.
Ethan grabbed her wrist instantly.
“Stay behind me, Ariana”. Ariana’s heart stopped.
There, written in bold red marker someone had just written across the surface of the glass wall in the room they were in
“YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE SIGNED.”
Ariana felt dizzy while Ethan’s jaw tightened .
“Ariana…what is this? Someone was definitely here and may have heard all we said”, he whispered in a tense voice.
- Writer
