Returning My Plaything Fiancée Chapter 1

The night before our wedding, Isabella, in a fit of rage, hurled my ring into the lake.

I spent the entire night dredging the icy water for it, my fingers raw and numb by the time I finally found it. But as I was about to go tell her, I overheard her talking with a friend.

"Isabella, honestly, how many times are you going to mess with Ethan?"

"Jason's been gone for three years. Can't you let him go?"

Isabella's voice was cold as steel. "Jason would still be alive if he hadn't been begging me for a ride that day. That car crash… it was his fault. He killed Jason. Everything that's happening to him? He deserves it."

The ring in my hand felt like a shard of ice. My knuckles were white, my blood frozen solid in my veins.

She never loved me. All this time, my devotion was just a pawn in her twisted game of revenge.

Silently, I tossed the ring into the nearest trash can and dialed my parents. "Mom, Dad… I've thought it over. I'll agree to the family arrangement. Let's have the wedding in three days."

…

My parents' joyous voices crackled through the phone. "Oh, Ethan, we're so glad you've come to your senses! Isabella is a fine woman, but ten years your senior… people talk. And you remember Sophia Parker, don't you? She's your age, and she's been waiting for you all this time!"

"I know," I said, my voice flat. "Just make the arrangements. I'll be there in three days."

After hanging up, I leaned against the wall, gasping for air, fighting to regain my composure before walking back into the house.

The moment I stepped inside, a splash of red wine hit me square in the face, followed by a sharp scream.

I looked up, my eyes meeting Isabella's as she sat on the sofa.

"Ethan, I'm so sorry," she said, though the smirk playing on her lips told a different story. "Chloe thought you were some kind of creep. It was an accident. You're not mad, are you?"

Her apology was a lie, her delight at my humiliation all too real.

To everyone's shock, I snatched the glass from Chloe's hand and flung the dregs right back at her. The dark liquid splattered across her face and onto Isabella's prized white dress.

Isabella’s gaze darkened. Her voice was laced with ice. "I already apologized for her, Ethan. Don't mistake my affection for a blank check to do as you please."

Affection? Her so-called affection was a series of cruel games designed to watch me suffer.

Because of her "affection," she'd abandoned me in the mountains during a trip, leaving me to struggle for three days before I was found, my right leg permanently damaged.

Because of her "affection," when I stood in a downpour all night to bring her medicine, ending up with a severe lung infection, she was nowhere to be found.

Even the elaborate proposal I'd planned was ruined when she casually texted that she was "stuck in traffic," leaving me to wait alone until dawn.

Seeing the defiant set of my jaw, Isabella's brow furrowed. "Fine," she snapped. "I'll let it go this time. Where's the ring, Ethan? You spent all night in that lake. Don't tell me you couldn't find it."

"I didn't," I lied. It was sitting at the bottom of a garbage can.

Before she could press me further, a man who looked like a bodyguard leaned in and whispered something to her. Her mood instantly brightened, and she waved me away dismissively.

I turned and limped out of the room, ignoring the stares. Behind me, I heard someone stifle a laugh.

Fighting back tears, I quickened my pace. Just a few yards away, I saw Isabella, her arm linked intimately with another man's.

He looked so much like Jason it stole the breath from my lungs—a younger, sharper version, but the resemblance was uncanny.

My heart skipped a beat. By the time I realized it, tears were streaming down my face.

She loved Jason that much. So much that she'd find a replacement to keep by her side. So much that she'd spend years destroying me for his sake.

On the way home, my phone buzzed. It was the hospital.

"Mr. Hayes? Ms. Lamont has been injured. You need to come to the hospital right away!"

When I arrived, Isabella was lying in bed, her arm in a cast. She gestured to the young man beside her. "Ethan, I was almost attacked on my way back. Aiden here saved me. I've decided to hire him as my assistant."

The way they looked at each other, the air crackled with unspoken tension. The old me would have been consumed by jealousy.

But now, knowing the truth, I felt nothing.

I just nodded. Isabella seemed taken aback by my lack of reaction. It was Aiden who spoke first, offering a polite greeting.

I made an excuse and stepped out of the room. The moment the door clicked shut, I heard Chloe's triumphant laugh. "Isabella, wasn't that a brilliant idea? Making Aiden your assistant? Now Ethan has no reason to object!"

"Just make sure you play up the injury," Chloe continued. "And Aiden, you take good care of her."

The laughter continued inside, but I couldn't bear to listen. My chest felt tight as I walked to the restroom.

As I was splashing water on my face, a figure blocked my path. I looked up into Aiden’s taunting eyes.

"So, you're the lapdog who's been clinging to Isabella for three years," he sneered. "Haven't you had enough yet?"