Betrothed to the Billionaire

Chapter 15

Lisa’s POV

The phone stopped ringing.

For a second… everything went quiet.

Too quiet.

My fingers tightened slightly around the phone, my pulse still uneven from everything that had already happened.

Then…

It rang again… immediately.

Like whoever it was… wasn’t going to stop.

Ethan didn’t move.

Didn’t look away.

“Answer it,” he said.

“Speaker.”

Chris tilted his head toward him, surprised.

I inhaled slowly.

Then tapped the screen.

“…Hello.”

“Lisa?!”

Ken.

My grip tightened slightly.

Not from shock.

Not from pain.

Just… recognition.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks,” he continued quickly. “Your number wasn’t going through, what is going on? And what the hell is all this I’m seeing online?”

I didn’t respond immediately.

Let him talk.

Let him fill the silence.

Because people like Ken always did.

“You got married?” he went on. “Just like that? No explanation? No conversation? Lisa, what is this?”

I tilted my head slightly.

Calm.

Detached.

“You saw it,” I said.

A pause.

“…Saw what?”

“The wedding.”

Silence.

Then…

“That’s not the point…”

“It is the point,” I cut in.

Flat.

Clean.

Another pause.

This one longer.

Because my tone…

Wasn’t what he expected.

“Lisa… what’s going on?” he asked again, slower now. “You just disappeared.”

“I didn’t disappear,” I said.

“You blocked me.”

“Yes.”

That landed.

Hard.

“…Why?” he asked.

Simple question.

Carefully asked.

Like he was testing the ground.

I didn’t hesitate.

“I didn’t feel the need to keep you.”

Silence.

Sharp.

Immediate.

“What does that mean?” he asked, voice tightening slightly.

I leaned back against the car.

Relaxed.

Unaffected.

“It means exactly what it sounds like.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “We were fine…”

“We weren’t.”

“…Since when?”

“Since I realized I was wasting my time.”

Another silence.

This one heavier.

Because now…

He was thinking.

Trying to catch up.

Trying to understand what he missed.

“What changed?” he asked.

I smiled slightly.

Cold.

“Me.”

Silence again.

Then a scoff.

Disbelief creeping in.

“So that’s it?” he said. “You just wake up one day, block me, marry someone else, and that’s supposed to be normal?”

“I never said it was normal.”

“Then explain it.”

I exhaled slowly.

Like I was already bored.

“I don’t owe you that.”

That did it.

“Lisa,” he snapped, frustration rising now, “you don’t just walk away like that…”

“I just did.”

Silence.

And this time…

It stretched.

Because there was nothing he could say to that.

“You’re being cold,” he muttered.

“I’m being clear.”

A pause.

Then…

“Who is he?” Ken asked.

There it was.

Finally.

Not concern.

Not confusion.

Curiosity.

Possession.

I glanced at Ethan and Chris briefly.

Then back ahead.

“My husband.”

The word felt strange.

Heavy.

Deliberate.

Ken let out a short laugh.

“Yeah, I saw that part,” he said. “I mean who is he really?”

I didn’t answer.

Didn’t explain.

Didn’t soften.

“…That’s what I thought,” he said after a second. “You don’t even know him, do you?”

My expression didn’t change.

And that silence…

Told him nothing.

Which was exactly the point.

“Lisa,” he said again, quieter now. “This isn’t like you.”

I tilted my head slightly.

“You don’t know what I’m like.”

That shut him up.

For a second.

Then…

“We should talk,” he said. “In person.”

No.

Absolutely not.

“I’m busy.”

“With what?” he asked.

I didn’t hesitate.

“Everything that doesn’t involve you.”

Silence.

Then a sharp breath.

“You’re really doing this,” he muttered.

“I already did.”

And then… I ended the call.

No warning.

No goodbye.

Just…

Done.

The silence that followed felt… controlled.

Not empty.

Not heavy.

Just… mine.

But it didn’t last.

The phone rang again.

Same number.

Of course.

Persistent.

Desperate.

Predictable.

I stared at it for a second longer this time.

Then…

Before I could move… Ethan reached over.

Took the phone from my hand.

Effortlessly.

Like it was already his to take.

My eyes snapped to him, but he didn’t look at me.

He answered the call.

There was something different about him.

Not loud

Not aggression

Just…

Cold

“Listen…” Ken started immediately.

Ethan didn’t let him finish.

“You’re done.”

The words were quiet.

Sharp.

Final.

There was a pause on the other end.

“…Who is this?” Ken demanded.

Ethan’s expression didn’t change.

His voice didn’t rise.

But something in it…

Shifted.

“This is her husband.”

Silence.

Then…

“You think you can just…”

The call ended.

Ethan didn’t wait.

Didn’t entertain it.

Didn’t care.

He handed the phone back to me like it was nothing.

Like Ken was nothing.

“Block the number,” he said.

I blinked once.

“…I already blocked his previous number, but he still managed to call.”

“Then change yours.”

My brows pulled together slightly.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

His gaze finally met mine, cold, unyielding.

“Change your number.”

“That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?” I asked.

“It’s efficient.”

“He won’t stop,” Ethan continued calmly. “People like him don’t understand silence. They understand removal.”

My jaw tightened slightly.

“And this is you removing him?”

“No,” he said.

“This is me preventing inconvenience.”

Of course.

Not for me.

Not for my peace.

For efficiency.

For order.

For control.

“Fine,” I said flatly.

In all of these back and forth, Chris was observing.

He gave a single nod.

“Good. Let’s go.”

And just like that…

It was over.

Or at least…

That part of it was.

The drive to the company was quiet.

Not awkward.

Not tense.

Just… silent.

Like everything else with him.

I watched the city pass by through the window, my thoughts running faster than I could organize them.

Ken calling.

Accusing.

Demanding.

Like I owed him something.

Like I hadn’t seen exactly who he was.

Like I hadn’t heard everything.

My fingers curled slightly in my lap.

Not anymore.

That version of me…

Was gone.

“Focus.”

Ethan’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I turned my head slightly.

“What?”

“You’re distracted.”

“I just got harassed five minutes ago.”

“And now you’re going to work,” he replied simply.

Of course.

No transition.

No adjustment.

Just… moving forward.

The car stopped in front of a building, Chris excused himself to attend to personal matters.

And for a moment…

I forgot how to breathe.

George Holdings wasn’t just a company, It was a statement.

The building rose into the sky like it had no intention of ever stopping, a seamless structure of glass and obsidian steel that reflected the entire city back at itself. Every surface was polished to precision, every angle sharp, deliberate, intimidating.

This wasn’t just architecture.

It was dominance.

The entrance alone stretched wide enough to swallow luxury cars whole, framed by towering pillars that looked carved rather than constructed. The company’s name… GEORGE HOLDINGS… was embedded in brushed platinum across the front, catching sunlight like a warning.

Power lives here.

Inside… It was worse.

Or better.

Depending on how you saw it.

The lobby opened into a massive expanse of marble flooring so flawless, it mirrored every step. The ceiling soared high above, layered with geometric lighting that cast a soft but calculated glow… nothing too warm, nothing too cold.

Controlled.

Everything here was controlled.

Reception desks weren’t just desks… they were curved installations of glass and metal, staffed by people who looked like they had been trained to breathe in synchronization. Security wasn’t visible in an obvious way, but you could feel it… quiet, present, everywhere.

People moved fast.

Not rushed.

Not chaotic.

Just… precise.

Like time here was measured differently.

Like mistakes weren’t tolerated.

And then…

They noticed me.

Eyes lingered.

Brief.

Curious.

Assessing.

Of course, some knew who I was.

Or at least… what I was.

The wife.

The story.

“Stay close,” Ethan said still with the mask on.

“I’m not planning on getting lost,” I replied.

But the truth?

I already felt like I had.

The elevator didn’t have buttons.

Just a panel.

Fingerprint access.

Private.

When it opened…

The air changed.

Quieter.

Colder.

Executive floor.

Fewer people.

More space.

More power.

Ethan’s office sat at the end of the corridor.

And when I stepped inside…

I understood everything about him.

Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across the entire wall, overlooking the city like it belonged to him. The desk was massive… dark wood, polished to perfection, completely clear except for a single laptop and a stack of documents aligned with surgical precision.

No clutter.

No personal items.

No distractions.

Just function.

Just control.

Behind him, shelves lined the wall… awards, contracts, framed documents, each one placed with intention. Not for decoration.

For statement.

This wasn’t an office.

It was a command center.

“Your office is here.”

I blinked.

“…My office?”

He didn’t answer.

Just kept walking.

Then he stopped at a set of double doors slightly to the right of his.

Not behind.

Not hidden.

Positioned deliberately.

Visible.

Important.

He pushed the doors open.

And for a second…

I didn’t move.

Because this…

This wasn’t what I expected.