Chapter 6: Tied by the Past
388 Words
Ethan slammed his phone onto the desk, his heartbeat thudding like a war drum.
“Childhood engagement? This must be a joke.”
He opened an old drawer, digging through family photo albums and letters—things he hadn't touched in years. Sure enough, tucked between a birthday card and a photo of him in oversized glasses… was the letter.
Two signatures.
One promise.
A photo of a young Chloe smiling brightly beside him, a white ribbon in her hair.
He remembered that day.
She stole his dessert.
He kicked her.
She bit him.
Romantic beginnings? Not quite.
---
Back in the hospital, Chloe stared at her reflection in the window. The script Mr. Grant sent lay unopened in her lap, but her mind wasn’t on it.
Her fingers lightly grazed her lower lip, still tingling from Ethan’s rejection.
“How dare he?” she whispered. “Doesn’t he know I always get what I want?”
Her phone buzzed again.
> From: Mom
You should come home this weekend. Ethan’s mother is arranging dinner. The family expects your engagement to be publicly announced soon.
Chloe’s lips curved into a wicked grin.
“Oh, Doctor. You can treat wounds, but let’s see how you handle fate.”
---
At the Walker estate that weekend, the atmosphere was sharp with tension.
Ethan arrived first, greeting his parents. Then—
Click.
The door opened, and in walked Chloe Reed. Not in hospital gowns or hiding behind sunglasses—no. She wore a crimson dress, bold lips, and walked like she owned the world.
His jaw clenched.
She stopped in front of him. “Hello, fiancé.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? You’re mine, Ethan. It’s practically legally binding.”
He pulled her aside, gripping her wrist—not tight, but firm.
“I don’t care what our parents arranged. You and I? We’re not happening.”
She tilted her head. “You may not want me now, Doctor… but you will.”
And she meant it.
---
Later that night, as Chloe drove back to the city, she answered a call from her agent.
“They just confirmed. The Fall of Angels—you're the lead. Mila signed too.”
“Perfect,” she said. “Let the cameras roll, and let the drama begin.”
- Writer
