Married by Force

Aurora POV

I can't do this," Ethan whispered

I blinked, confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked softly

For a second, in just a second;I wondered if this was part of his elaborate plan to surprise me. Ethan was dramatic like that. The musicians might start playing our song. The lights could dim. Our families could stand up and cheer. He would drop to one knee and laugh at how gullible I was.

He couldn't look at me. His jaw clenched. His eyes were darting everywhere else; the chandelier hanging above us, the glass of champagne he hadn't touched. His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. His fingers curled around the velvet tablecloth as he muttered the words from his mouth.

"I can't go through with it. He said, slowly The proposal. Us."

My entire body went cold. My breath froze halfway into my lungs. The sound suddenly blurred. The orchestra at the far end of the restaurant faded into a distorted hum. Every pair of eyes from the other tables glued themselves to us.

"Wait...what?" My voice cracked

Ethan stood. The chair's legs scraped loudly against the polished marble floor, as everyone stared at us from other tables

He reached into his coat pocket, My heart leaped.

There. The box. Finally. He's nervous. He panicked. He didn't mean it.

But instead, he pulled out his hand.

"Aurora..." he said quietly,

"I need the key to my apartment back."

The words sliced through me. My breath hitched

"Is this a joke?" My voice trembled. "Ethan, tell me this is a joke," I whispered

He didn't answer.

Two nights ago, I had snooped through his laptop two nights ago and found an open tab for "2-carat oval engagement rings." My heart had skipped. I had even practiced saying yes in front of the bathroom mirror, hands over my mouth, fake tears in my eyes.

Tonight, everything was supposed to fall into place.

Except he didn't pull out a ring box. Everyone was here. Everyone saw it.; my father, my stepmother, and my stepsisters, Ethan's older brother, and even my nosy aunt who lived in the UK. They watched from their table at the back, wide-eyed and surprised.

"Why... why?" I whispered. The question managed to come out of my throat, barely formed.

"Say something!" I yelled suddenly, the sharpness of my voice cutting through the entire room.

Ethan flinched. His lips parted, his eyes filled with guilt

"I'm sorry, Aurora. I love you. But I've made a mistake."

The air shifted.

I didn't see her at first.

My sister, my stepsister;Camilla. She stood from a nearby table where I hadn't even noticed she was seated. Tonight wasn't about her. Except, apparently, it always had been.

She moved faster than I ever imagined she could. Her heels clicked against the marble floor, and before I could piece together what was happening, she was standing beside Ethan.

And then-

She grabbed him by the collar of his perfectly ironed white shirt. With her fingers tangled in his hair, she kissed him. Their mouths moved like they had been starving for each other

I froze.

Ethan didn't push Camilla away.

No, He pulled her closer.

It took a full five seconds to draw me back to reality

"What... what is this?" I whispered, my voice splintering like cracked glass.

Camilla pulled back from the kiss slowly and flipped her hair with a smirk on her face

Oh, sis," she purred, linking her fingers with his. "It's exactly what it looks like."

"I didn't plan for it to happen like this." Ethan wiped his mouth, eyes filled with guilt.

"Yes, you did," I snapped. The words scraped out of my throat,

"You planned every detail of tonight. The restaurant. The people. The music. You invited my entire family!!." For what.., so they could watch me break?"

His jaw tightened. The shame on his face shifted into something harder to read.

"I invited them because I thought I could go through with it ."

I froze , what he had just said hurt me even more. The idea that he wanted to marry me, right until the moment he didn't.

Camilla slid her hand across his chest "Baby," she murmured, "don't feel bad. She'll get over it."

Ethan swallowed hard. "I'm choosing her, Aurora."

Camilla laughed, the sound soft but cruel.

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't see this coming sis. He came to me. I didn't even have to try. He was already slipping from you, darling."

"You're my sister," I whispered.

"Step-sister," she corrected with a faint smile. "Let's not be dramatic."

" You should've known better."

"Ethan..." I said, trying to steady myself. "Look at me." My gaze turned towards the man I loved

He did.

That single look hurt more than any kiss they'd shared.

"Do you love her?" I whispered.

He didn't answer, and that was my answer.

My chest tightened painfully.

The next thing I knew, my chair scraped back, screeching across the marble floor. I couldn't breathe in that room for another second.

I ran like something was chasing me. Three years!! Three years of believing I was building a life with a man who held my heart with careful hands. But it was all a lie. People turned their heads as I rushed past, I didn't care that people stared or whispered as I flew past them like a ghost.

The night air hit me, cold and sharp, making everything real. My chest heaved. My mascara burned my cheeks as it mixed with tears.

The pavement glistened from the earlier rain. My heels skidded slightly but I didn't stop. I wanted to go away from the restaurant, from the eyes, from the betrayal, from the part of me who still believed in Ethan's love. Camilla had taken him the same way she had taken everything that had ever mattered to me.

I stumbled into the road, not looking, not thinking.

And, Then-

A flash of lights hit me, bright, blinding, too fast.

A horn blared.

"No!!"