Chapter 1 The husband I never wanted
The estate was even more rigid with protocol—its high ceilings and gilded mirrors making the room feel colder than it actually was.
You were thirty. Not old, but far from young—not a debutante, not some naive girl fresh out of college. Most people expected you to be dating someone.
But tradition dictated otherwise.
Your parents had arranged this meeting—a formal family gathering where two households would discuss marriage terms like they were negotiating business mergers back in feudal times.
And there he walked in: Ethan Hart—their son.
Twenty years old.
Fresh-faced.
Tall as hell (you had to tilt your head up slightly just to meet his eyes).
Dressed neatly—but stiffly—in an ill-fitting suit that screamed *first-time-at-a-business-meeting* energy through every awkward movement he made while entering…
He looked around nervously—the kind of nervousness that came from being surrounded by strangers who could decide his entire future over tea cakes
