The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Noah had many friends, and in previous years, she used to stick close to him. Whenever Noah was roped into a new group chat, Ella was inevitably there as well.

Take, for instance, the old neighborhood crew—friends from way back when, the sort who grew up on the same block and trudged to school together. As time marched on, they’d all spun off in their own orbits, some landing in different cities, others hustling through the same ol’ town, but whenever a reunion cropped up, Ella would be there, mingling and melding with the crew as if she’d never been anything but one of the gang.

This particular group was a bit looser with their banter than most.

It was a Thursday night when Ella, fresh from a shower and cozied up in bed, noticed her phone buzzing with a barrage of messages from the gang. Amidst the chaos of notifications, her name was flashing in a bold, beckoning red.

Driven by curiosity, she tapped into the thread, only to be greeted by a chorus of congratulations for Noah.

She clicked on the message that had tagged her: [@PrincessElla, spill the beans! Who’s the lucky lady Noah’s snagged? Pics or it didn’t happen.]d2

Ella blinked in disbelief. Noah’s got a girlfriend?

Instinctively, she scrolled through the chat history and discovered that someone had shared their upcoming nuptials with a celebratory digital toast. After the initial wave of well-wishes, talk turned to the dwindling number of bachelors in the group, and naturally, all fingers pointed to Noah.

Bombarded with tags and probably fed up, Noah had blurted out a bombshell: [Not single. Don’t bother sending me wedding gifts under a hundred grand.]

[Damn!]

[Holy smokes!]

[The big shot at Visionary Productions keeping his love life under wraps?]

[Which girl has he charmed?]

[@PrincessElla, come on, give us the deets on your new auntie-in-law! Pics, please.]

The chat erupted with further tagging, congratulations, and a burning curiosity that only intensified with Ella’s cryptic response. Her fingers hovered over the screen for an eternity before she finally tapped out a message, forcing a smile through the digital divide, her fingertips trembling above the keys. [No comment, folks. But let’s just say she is quite the looker.]

Her playful deflection only stoked the group’s curiosity. In no time flat, Noah added someone new to the chat: [Any questions? Ask her yourself.]

A brief silence fell before the chat exploded again.

[Damn, the lady herself?]

[Really?]

[The Mrs.?]

[Hello everyone, I’m Rebecca.]

[Welcome to the family.]

[Pics or it didn’t happen.]

Ella quietly exited the chat, her mind replaying the image of the woman she’d seen at the mansion. Noah and Rebecca truly seemed well-matched.

The next day, Noah went public with the engagement.

largest private hospital, with their heiress Rebecca apparent holding a PhD and serving as

start from the ground up. Her actions were beyond

Apparently, Noah and Rebecca had known each other for ages—a fact that had entirely escaped

all anyone could talk about. Some even approached Ella with cryptic

in the multimedia classroom. Paul

him, a wry smile playing on her lips, and nodded

“What is?”

on my

a pause, Paul replied,

nodded,

her for a moment. “What’s on your

smart, how did he never see my blatant attempts? And why did he let

Paul furrowed his brow.

*

Ella to pick her

blue and white striped sundress that

goodbye to her classmates with a smile, then turned her gaze to his car. The

face revealed by the slowly retracting car window still made her smile stiff for a moment. She instinctively looked at the driver’s seat, but all she could see was the

quickly adjusted her emotions, greeted

smile warmly. “Hi

she was in, Rebecca turned around to chat. They talked about Ella’s major, her life at school, and then the conversation naturally drifted to

no longer playing games to make Noah jealous, shook her head. “Not

for romance—such a wonderful age. With your smarts and looks, Ella, I bet you have plenty of

modestly. “A few.” That was an

“Then you

studies. Romance can

when he suddenly

on dating if not in

time. When graduation comes, everyone would go their separate ways.

love each other, the girl will follow the

Noah who ended up in a

Ella took a moment to ponder

pressed into a thin line. He remained silent for the rest of the journey. Ella, too, just passively chatted with

his family a heads-up because they showed

stepped out of the car, trailing behind Rebecca, who

couldn’t help

the entrance, the robust laughter of Jon filled her ears. “Have a seat. Make yourself

you, Jon,” Rebecca said, her ease and grace clearly winning

and took a seat on the couch first. At Jon’s gesture, Rebecca

through the

up with a warm smile, gesturing her over. “Met your

“Yep, I have.”

sharp eyes stayed fixed on Ella’s face, searching for any sign of distress before pulling her to sit next to him.

during the summer break. Ella will be free then, and she can even bring her

times they intended to remind her of this event, even timing it