His Strategic Bride

As Ainsworth Global's heir, my father demanded I marry and secure our legacy. He'd handpicked three women-Chloe, Maya, and Ava-groomed to become my wife and a firm co-leader. This was the "Ainsworth Imperative."

But their smiles masked disdain. They saw me as a weak, bookish placeholder, easily swayed by Julian Vance, our estate manager's charming, opportunistic son.

Then, the truth shattered everything: I overheard Chloe tell Jules, "Marrying Ethan is just business. Once I have the Ainsworth heir... we'll push him out."

My infatuation curdled into profound disgust. They consistently sided with Jules, letting him make me look foolish publicly.

My passion project, a tech incubator, was secretly gutted-its funds diverted to Jules's dubious 'charities' under Chloe's deceptive management. They dismissed my accusations as mere jealousy.

Their blatant betrayal and willful ignorance were sickening. I was a pawn, expected to be a stepping stone for their ambition. Their "loyalty" was a cruel joke.

Trapped by my father's expectations, I felt my entire life being stolen, molded by their greedy hands.

But I refused to be their fool. Days before the high-profile Ainsworth Foundation Gala, I announced my engagement. Not to one of them, but to Sophia Valeriano-the West Coast tech heiress, rumored to be crippled and infertile. It was my strategic strike, poised to upend their carefully laid plans.

Ainsworth Global was a titan, its name a whisper of power on Wall Street. My father, Charles Ainsworth, built it, and now he worried about who came next. He wanted me, Ethan Ainsworth, his only son, to marry, to have an heir.

This heir would get the main share of the family trust, would one day lead the firm. It was the Ainsworth Imperative.

He'd brought three young women into our lives, Chloe, Maya, and Ava. They came from a foundation our family supported. One of them was supposed to be my wife, a future co-leader. That was the plan.

But the plan had a flaw. They all looked down on me. To them, I was just a quiet, bookish guy, not like my father. They thought I was weak, a placeholder.

And all three of them were taken in by Julian Vance, Jules, the son of our estate manager. He was charming, played the victim, and they ate it up.

I was a piece in their game, a stepping stone or a fool to be pushed aside. My father had his expectations, a heavy weight. I just wanted some control over my own life.

I used to like Chloe, thought her ambition was something. But that faded.

I saw them, really saw them, always taking Jules's side. He'd set up these little plays, make me look bad or stupid. One time, Jules gave me this cheap trinket, said it was a family heirloom. Sentimental, he called it.

Later, I gave him a serious investment tip, something that made him real money. Chloe and Maya jumped on me. Said I was trying to buy loyalty, showing off. Jules just looked humble, like he was above it all.

Then I heard Chloe talking to Jules. It wasn't meant for my ears.

"Marrying Ethan is just business," she said, her voice cold. "Once I have the Ainsworth heir, the assets, we'll push him out. It'll be for us, Jules."

The words hit me, but not with surprise, more like a final, dull confirmation. My mild infatuation with Chloe curdled into something else. Disgust. Weariness.

The Ainsworth Foundation Gala was coming up. Everyone expected me to announce my choice of a bride there. My father cornered me a week before.

"Ethan, it's time. You need to secure the succession."

His voice was firm, the usual command in it.

I looked at him. The faces of Chloe, Maya, and Ava flashed in my mind, their polite smiles, their hidden contempt. Jules, always lurking, always a victim.

"I will marry," I told my father. "But not one of them."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm choosing Sophia Valeriano."

My father was silent for a long moment. Sophia Valeriano. Heiress to the West Coast tech giant. Rumored to be in a wheelchair since a skiing accident. Rumored to be unable to have children. A strategic alliance, yes, a massive one. But a risk to the direct Ainsworth line he craved.

"She's... an unconventional choice for succession, Ethan."

"They are disloyal," I said, my voice flat. "They don't deserve the Ainsworth legacy. An alliance with Valeriano Industries is strength. Real strength."

He studied me, a flicker of something new in his eyes. Maybe respect.

"The Valeriano name carries weight," he finally conceded. "And you're right about their disloyalty. It disqualifies them. Very well, Ethan. You have my consent."

He saw the strategy. He always saw the strategy. The Ainsworth legacy, for him, was also about dominance. This was a new way to ensure it.

The news of my decision, or rather, my father's consent to my choice, reached Chloe, Maya, and Ava quickly. They didn't wait for a formal announcement. They found me in the library, my supposed sanctuary.

"What do you think you're doing, Ethan?" Maya started, her voice sharp. She was always the confrontational one. "Trying to ruin us with your father?"

Chloe stood beside her, arms crossed, a look of betrayal carefully arranged on her face. "After everything the family has done for us? You'd choose an outsider, someone broken?"

Ava, quiet Ava, just looked disappointed, a silent accusation that was sometimes worse.

"Ruin you?" I asked, keeping my voice even. "Or am I just making a choice for my own life, for the future of this firm?" I looked directly at Chloe. "You want the Ainsworth fortune, the power that comes with it. But you despise the Ainsworth heir. Isn't that the truth?"

Chloe adopted a wounded expression. "I always believed in your potential, Ethan. I thought we could build something." A martyr, to the end.

"Build something for whom, Chloe?" I asked softly. "For 'us'?" The word she'd used with Jules.

Her face tightened. She knew I knew.

I didn't want to marry any of them. Not because they were "bad" in some simple way, but because the foundation was rotten. Forcing a marriage, forcing a life, it wouldn't work. It would be a different kind of prison.

My choice of Sophie was about strength, yes, but it was also about freedom. Freedom from their games, their contempt.

"You can't seriously be considering that Valeriano woman," Maya sneered. "The one in the wheelchair? The one who can't even give you an heir? Your father will never truly accept that. This is just some pathetic attempt to hurt us."

I didn't bother to correct her assumptions about Sophie. Let them think what they wanted. "My father has given his consent."

Chloe's eyes widened slightly. "He agreed? To her?" She couldn't hide her disbelief. Her plan, the one she'd confided to Jules, was crumbling.

"Why are you doing this, Ethan?" Ava finally spoke, her voice gentle, but the question was loaded. "If you didn't want one of us, you could have just said so. Why this... public humiliation?"

"Humiliation?" I repeated. "Is that what this is? Or is it simply a consequence of your own actions? You talk about what this family has done for you. What have you done for it? Or for me?"

Chloe stepped forward. "I've worked hard in the company. I've supported your projects."

"Supported them?" I felt a cold anger rise, one I rarely allowed to surface. "Or used them?"