Forced to Marry My Enemy’s Son

The first thing I noticed was the silence. Not the calm kind,the kind that creeps in slowly, stretching across a room until it suffocates everything in it. I stopped just inside the grand hall, my fingers tightening slightly around the small gift bag in my hand. A moment ago, there had been music, laughter, conversations blending into something warm and familiar. Now, Nothing. Just eyes. All of them on me. “Liana.” I turned at the sound of his voice, relief flickering briefly in my chest. Daniel stood a few steps away, his posture relaxed, his expression unreadable. If I didn’t know him, I would have thought nothing was wrong. But I did know him. And something was off. “You’re late,” he said. “Only by a few minutes,” I replied lightly, forcing a small smile as I walked closer. “I brought you something” “Don’t.” The word cut through me. I slowed, confusion creeping in.. “What’s going on?” I asked quietly. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he lifted his phone slightly, tilting his head as if studying me. “Tell me something, Liana,” he said, his voice just loud enough to carry. “How long were you planning to lie to me?” My stomach dropped. “I’m not lying,” I said. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” A few people shifted closer. Watching. Waiting. Of course they were. Daniel let out a soft, humorless laugh. “That’s the problem,” he said. “You think you can get away with anything.” “Daniel” “Should I show them?” he interrupted. My breath caught. “Show them what?” But he didn’t wait for an answer. He turned the screen outward. And just like that, Everything fell apart. Gasps broke through the silence first. Then whispers. Then the looks. Those looks. Judgment. Disgust. Something almost satisfied. I shook my head quickly. “No,that’s not what it looks like. It’s taken out of context” “Is it?” Daniel asked, his tone sharp now. “Yes,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “You’re twisting it.” “Am I?” The doubt in the room grew heavier. I could feel it. Like something closing in. “I trusted you,” he continued. “I defended you.” Each word felt like a knife. “And this is what you’ve been doing behind my back?” “I didn’t do anything,” I insisted, my voice cracking despite myself. But it didn’t matter. Nothing I said mattered. Because they had already decided. “I always thought she was hiding something,” someone murmured. “Quiet girls are the worst.” A low laugh followed. “I knew it.” The room felt smaller. The air heavier. Every whisper, every glance,it all pressed in until it was hard to breathe. This wasn’t just embarrassment. This was ruin. “Why are you doing this?” I asked, looking at Daniel. He met my gaze without hesitation. “Because you deserve it.” Something in my chest broke. Clean. Sharp. Final. I should have left. I should have walked away and never looked back. But I didn’t move. Because some part of me still couldn’t accept that this was real. That everything I thought I had, Was gone. Then the doors opened. The sound cut through everything. Sharp. Deliberate. The whispers didn’t stop,but they shifted. Attention moved. I turned slightly. And saw him. Adrian Hale. He didn’t rush. Didn’t hesitate. He walked in like the room already belonged to him,like everyone in it was just background noise. People moved without being told. Making space. Making way. His gaze swept across the room once. Cold. Calculated. Then it landed on me. And stayed there. Something changed. I felt it. The tension. The weight. The atmosphere itself. “What’s going on?” he asked. His voice wasn’t loud. But it carried. Daniel scoffed. “This doesn’t concern you.” Adrian didn’t look at him. Not immediately. “It does now,” he said calmly. The room seemed to tighten around those words. Daniel took a step forward. “Stay out of it.” That’s when Adrian looked at him. And just like that, Daniel hesitated. Only for a second. But it was enough. “You’ve said enough,” Adrian said. No anger. No raised voice. Just certainty. And somehow… that was worse. I didn’t understand what was happening. Why he was here. Why he was stepping in. Why, out of everyone, he was the one standing between me and this disaster. He moved closer. Slow. Controlled. Until he was standing in front of me. Close enough that I could feel the shift in the air around him. “You shouldn’t be here,” I whispered. His expression didn’t change. “Maybe,” he said quietly. Then, “But you shouldn’t be standing here alone.” My breath caught. Before I could respond, he spoke again. Calm. Final. “Marry me.” Everything stopped. The whispers. The tension. Even my thoughts. I stared at him, my heart pounding hard enough to drown out everything else. “What?” I whispered. But he didn’t repeat himself. He didn’t need to. Because everyone had heard. And suddenly, My life wasn’t just ruined. It had changed completely. And I had no idea if what he was offering was a way out… Or something far worse.