Forced To Marry Mr Billionaire Was A Good Idea After All

I Have To Get Lilian Back No Matter What

~Ethan~

I barely heard the sound of my own footsteps as I walked down the dimly lit corridor. The storm outside rattled the windows, but the storm inside me was worse.

Ava was my wife now.

I had spoken the vows. I had signed the agreement. But the only woman I had ever wanted stood before me, her dark red dress clinging to her curves like a whisper of the past I couldn’t erase.

Lillian leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, watching me with an unreadable expression. But I knew her too well. Behind that cool façade, she was burning.

“Tell me, Ethan,” she murmured, tilting her head, “do you regret it?”

I said nothing.

I couldn’t answer.

Because regret was too simple a word for what I felt.

I didn’t want to marry Ava. That much was clear. But what wasn’t clear, what I refused to acknowledge was whether or not I still wanted Lillian. I was just so confused.

She stepped closer, close enough that I could smell the familiar scent of her perfume; jasmine and something dark beneath it, something that used to drive me mad.

"Say the word," she whispered, voice low. "Say you want me, and I’ll burn this entire deal to the ground."

Her fingers grazed my jaw, a touch that once would have unraveled me.

But now… now it only reminded me of what I had lost.

What my father had taken from me.

Three months ago***

The chapel had been filled with white roses. The candles flickered as I stood at the altar, waiting for the woman I had chosen. My Lillian.

She had walked down the aisle toward me, her dark eyes locked on mine, a secret smile playing on her lips.

We were supposed to be together.

We were supposed to say, "I do."

But then the doors slammed open.

And my father walked in.

I still remembered the way the entire room went silent. The way Lillian’s hand tightened around mine. The way my chest filled with dread.

"Stop this wedding," my father’s voice boomed, echoing through the cathedral.

A murmur spread through the guests, but I didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. "You don’t control me anymore," I said through clenched teeth.

He smiled. A slow, knowing smile that sent ice through my veins. "Oh, but I do. And if you don’t walk away from this woman right now, Ethan, I’ll make sure you lose everything. The company. The estate. The fortune. It will all vanish.”

I stiffened. "You wouldn’t dare."

He smiled. "I already have. And there’s only one way to stop it."

I knew then that I had already lost.

"Who?" I asked, my voice hollow.

He leaned in. "Ava Sinclair."

I pulled away, eyes narrowing. "That’s insane. I don’t even know her."

"You don’t need to. You just need to marry her."

Lillian’s grip on me tightened. "Ethan, don’t listen to him," she whispered. "We can fight him together."

But she didn’t understand.

My father wasn’t bluffing. He was a man who never made empty threats. If I said no, he would do it. He would destroy everything.

And I couldn’t let that happen.

I turned to Lillian, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"I’m sorry."

Her lips parted in disbelief. "No, Ethan. Don’t you dare—"

I let go of her hand.

And just like that, my wedding to Lillian, the life we had planned, was ripped away.

Present day***

"You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?" Lillian’s voice pulled me back to the present.

I blinked, finding myself back in the dim hallway, staring at the woman I had once sworn I would spend my life with.

Her lips curled. "I was the one you wanted. I was the one you loved. But you let him take everything from us."

I exhaled sharply. "It’s not that simple."

Her smile faded. "No, Ethan. It’s exactly that simple."

She stepped closer again, and for a second, just a second, I almost reached for her.

Almost.

Then I thought of Ava.

Of her wide, wounded eyes back in the ballroom. The way she had looked at me as I walked away.

I had ruined her tonight. Torn her apart the same way I had been torn apart three months ago.

And despite everything, despite this entire damned situation; I felt it.

I felt the weight of what I had done.

Lillian studied me, waiting for something; an answer, a confession, a moment of weakness. But I couldn’t give her one.

Not anymore.

Not when I had just signed away my future to another woman.

"I have to go," I muttered, stepping away.

Lillian scoffed. "Of course, you do."

But as I turned my back on her, my eyes locked immediately with Ava. I didn't know how to feel at this point but after remembering the reason I'm doing this I decided not to give a damn about anything.

"Don’t you have somewhere to be?" I asked her, in a harsh manner.

"This wedding was just business. You should’ve known that by now."

She bit her lip, swallowing the knot in her throat.

"Then why did you marry me?" She demanded, her voice shaking despite her best efforts.

I didn’t answer, just turned my back on her and walked away.

The moment I entered my suite, the door clicked shut behind me, and I finally allowed myself to exhale. The weight of the night was suffocating, but it wasn’t the marriage that bothered me. It wasn’t Ava. It was Lilian.

I stripped off my jacket and tie, pacing the room. There had to be a way out of this.

A way to fix everything.

I couldn’t live like this. I couldn’t just let my life slip through my fingers like this, my chance with Lillian, the woman I had loved for years, the one I had promised myself I would spend forever with.

But now?

I was shackled. Trapped in this marriage to Ava Sinclair, a woman I barely knew, forced into a deal that tied me to her, and to a future I never wanted.

The thought of it made my stomach turn.

But no matter how much I hated it, I couldn’t deny the truth; I was stuck.

Ava would never understand. She’d never be the one I chose. She was just a business arrangement.

A pawn in a game I had no choice but to play.

But Lillian… Lillian was my future.

And I would get her back.

I had to.

I couldn’t let my father win.

I ran my hand over my face, trying to gather my thoughts.

I had to fix this. But how?

A thought flickered in my mind. It wasn’t the most pleasant one, but it was all I had. If I could make this marriage look solid, make it seem real enough to appease my father and the board, maybe then… maybe I could get back to Lillian.

Maybe I could get out of this nightmare and convince her that I had never stopped loving her.

But I needed time. Time to untangle this mess. Time to figure out how to play this game.

I stared at the door, as if Lillian was just on the other side.

But she wasn’t.

I know she's not happy with my decision but I just didn't have a choice.

The silence of the room was suffocating, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was running out of time.

I needed to act fast. If I didn’t, I would lose Lillian forever.