Chapter 3

In the car, Ethan finally spoke.

"My mother is hosting a small charity luncheon today at the club. After your recovery, of course."

I said nothing.

"People have been... speculating. About us. Since you fainted last time, rumors started."

He glanced at me, his expression tight.

"You will tell them we are happily married. That the stress of the wedding plans and your dedication to Chloe's health caused your brief episode. Understand?"

A shield for Chloe. A narrative for public consumption.

I was still just a tool.

"Understood," I said, a small, ironic smile playing on my lips.

Because the truth was, I wasn't the one he was married to. Not really. Not yet, in his mind.

The country club was buzzing. Old money, new money, all mingling.

Eleanor Cole, Ethan's mother, greeted me with a cool but polite nod. She never approved of my obvious adoration for Ethan, but I sensed she disliked Chloe's manipulative sweetness even more.

A group of women I vaguely knew from college, all now well-connected socialites, descended on me.

"Ava! We heard the news! Congratulations!" piped up Tiffany, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"You and Ethan! Finally! We always knew you were destined."

I tried to stick to Ethan's script. "Thank you. It was all a bit sudden. We wanted to keep it quiet, focus on Chloe's health."

They weren't buying it.

"Quiet? Ava Chen, quiet about landing Ethan Cole?" another one, Brittany, scoffed. "You chased him for, what, seven years? Everyone at Columbia knew you were obsessed."

"Remember that awful poetry you wrote for him in creative writing?"

"And how you'd 'accidentally' show up wherever he was?"

Their laughter was light, but the undertones were sharp.

My past, laid bare. My desperate, unrequited pursuit.

I felt a flush creep up my neck, but then I remembered.

That Ava was gone.

I was twenty-five, not eighteen. I had a new path. This was just a scene I had to get through.

"Actually," I said, pulling out my new driver's license from my purse – I'd updated it the day before. "I'm still Ava Chen. Single."

I showed them the license. Ava Chen. No "Mrs. Cole."

Their jaws dropped. The chatter stopped.

Relief. Surprise.

"But... the rumors? Ethan said..." Tiffany stammered.

The group, convinced, now shifted their focus.

"So, if it's not Ava... then it must be Chloe Vance, right?"

"They've been together forever."

"Her family isn't exactly prominent, though. The Coles are practically royalty in New York real estate."

"But she's sick. Maybe Ethan feels obligated?"

The gossip swirled, a familiar New York tune.

Just then, the doors to the private dining room opened.

Ethan walked in, Chloe Vance clinging delicately to his arm.

She looked radiant, despite her supposed illness. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on the group of women.

She overheard snippets of their conversation. "Marriage... Ethan... Chloe..."

A hopeful, excited flush spread across her cheeks.

"Oh, Ethan," she whispered, loud enough for us to hear. "Are they talking about us? Are you finally going to propose properly?"

Ethan froze. His eyes darted towards me, a flicker of annoyance, then back to Chloe's expectant face.

He was trapped. His real marriage certificate – the one with Chloe's name on it, thanks to me – was probably already processed by the city. He just didn't know it yet.

He forced a smile. "Soon, Chloe. Very soon. I promise."

He shot me a look. A warning. Play along.

Or else.