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.

hospital, with

straightaway, but she chose to start from the ground up. Her actions were beyond reproach. Even as her identity became

Noah and Rebecca had known each other for

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

into a seat in

on her lips, and nodded before diving

“What is?”

crush on

a pause, Paul

nodded,

her for a moment. “What’s on

“I am wondering, if he is so smart, how did he never see my blatant attempts? And why did

Paul furrowed his brow.

*

to pick her up for a trip back to the

window. She was dressed in a simple blue and white striped sundress that accentuated her delicate collarbone, adorned with a red pendant necklace that set off her fair complexion. Her hair cascaded

her gaze to his car. The smile on

passenger seat, the beautiful familiar 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

she quickly adjusted her emotions, greeted Rebecca

the smile warmly.

They talked about Ella’s major, her life at school, and then the conversation naturally drifted to whether Ella had a

playing games to make

age. With your smarts and looks, Ella, I bet

modestly. “A few.” That

wasn’t surprised. “Then you

now, she’s focused on her studies. Romance can wait,” Noah chimed

been driving in silence when he suddenly cut Rebecca off with

do you plan on

would go their separate ways. It is a waste of emotions

truly love each other, the girl will follow the boy wherever he

it was Rebecca and Noah who ended up in a heated debate, but then

moment

Noah’s expression, however, turned sharply grim, his lips pressed into a thin line. He remained silent for the rest of the journey.

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

Ella stepped out of the car, trailing behind Rebecca, who had already looped her arm through Noah’s, heading towards the

slower pace, Ella couldn’t

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

said, her ease

on the couch first. At

drew her gaze away and stepped through the

a warm smile, gesturing her over. “Met your future

“Yep, I have.”

before pulling her to sit next to him. “I saw in the

free then, and she can even bring her friends

forced a smile, wondering just how many times they intended to remind her of this event,