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.

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

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

had encountered that fateful night. Apparently, Noah and Rebecca had known each other

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

in the multimedia classroom.

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

“What is?”

crush on

pause, Paul

nodded, her

watched her for a moment. “What’s on your

did he never

Paul furrowed his brow.

*

Noah phoned Ella to pick her up for

parked outside the school, catching sight of Ella through the car window. She was dressed in a simple blue and white striped sundress that accentuated her

waved goodbye to her classmates with a smile, then turned her gaze to his car. The smile on her face faded slightly, yet she

the slowly retracting car window still made her smile stiff for a moment. She instinctively

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

the smile warmly.

she was in, Rebecca turned around to chat. They talked about Ella’s major,

make Noah jealous, shook

your smarts and looks, Ella, I bet you have plenty of suitors,

smiled modestly. “A few.”

surprised. “Then you

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

in silence when he suddenly cut

on dating if

comes, everyone would go their separate ways. It is a waste of emotions and time,

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 Rebecca swiftly brought

took a moment to ponder

turned sharply grim, his lips pressed into a thin line. He remained silent for the rest of the journey. Ella, too,

had given his family a heads-up because

Ella stepped out of the car, trailing behind Rebecca, who had already looped her

Ella couldn’t help but admire the picture

Jon filled her ears. “Have a

ease and grace clearly winning Jon’s

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

her gaze away and stepped through the foyer into

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

“Yep, I have.”

before pulling her to sit next to him. “I saw in the news, the engagement is

“Yeah, during the summer break. Ella will be free then, and she can even bring her friends along for

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