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.

into Rebecca’s background. The Mintons—owners of P City’s largest private hospital, with their heiress

were beyond reproach. Even as her identity became fodder

was the woman Ella had encountered that fateful night. Apparently, Noah and Rebecca had known each other for ages—a fact that had

anyone could talk about. Some even approached Ella with cryptic congratulations on gaining such a stunning aunt-in-law. She found it all quite

her textbooks, Ella settled into a seat in the

playing on her lips, and nodded before diving into her book. “Is it

“What is?”

on

a pause, Paul replied, “Very

simply nodded,

her for a

wondering, if he is so smart, how did he never see my blatant attempts? And why did he let me stay close

Paul furrowed his brow.

*

Friday afternoon, Noah phoned Ella to pick her up for

the car window. She was dressed in a simple blue and white striped sundress that accentuated her delicate collarbone, adorned with a

a smile, then turned her gaze to his car. The smile on her face faded

put her hand on the handle of the passenger seat, the beautiful familiar face revealed by the slowly retracting car

she quickly adjusted her emotions, greeted Rebecca with a smile. “Hey,

smile

turned around to chat. They talked about Ella’s major, her life at school, and

playing games to make Noah jealous, shook

time for romance—such a wonderful age. With your smarts and looks,

few.” That was an

“Then you have plenty of

her studies. Romance can wait,”

driving in silence when he suddenly cut Rebecca off with

do you plan on dating if not

can’t withstand the test of time. When graduation comes, everyone would go their separate ways.

each other, the girl will follow the boy wherever he

ended up in a heated debate, but then Rebecca swiftly brought Ella back into the

a moment to ponder before responding earnestly,

into a thin line. He remained silent for the rest of the journey. Ella,

his family a heads-up because they showed no surprise at

stepped out of the car, trailing behind Rebecca, who had

Ella couldn’t help but admire

of Jon filled her ears. “Have a seat. Make yourself at

ease and grace

seat on the couch first. At Jon’s

her gaze away and stepped through the foyer

warm smile, gesturing her over.

“Yep, I have.”

on Ella’s face, searching for any sign of distress before pulling her to sit next to him. “I saw in the

be free then, and she can even bring her friends along for

wondering just how many times they intended to remind her of this event, even timing