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My Fiancé Lent Me Out, So I Married His Rival
Novelix
Completed
Emma Hayes spent five years believing Ethan Carter’s promises: one more favor, one more holiday, and he would finally marry her. Instead, he lent her to his single friends while taking another woman home as his fiancée. Humiliated, injured, and betrayed by the family she sacrificed for, Emma reaches her breaking point when her mother’s treatment is threatened. Adrian Blake, the powerful rival Ethan underestimated, steps in with protection, truth, and a proposal that changes everything. As Ethan realizes what he destroyed, Emma must choose between the man who broke her and the one who helped her stand free again.
Chapters (3)
第1章
Every holiday, Ethan Carter would "lend" me to his single friends so they could bring me home and satisfy their parents' nagging about marriage.
He said it was just friends helping each other out.
His friends were more than happy to oblige.
But I didn't always come back in one piece.
Some families looked down on where I came from, saw right through the charade, and by the end of the night had screamed me out of their houses.
Every time I tried to refuse, Ethan would pull me into his arms and murmur softly against my ear.
"It's just dinner with them. Once this is over, we'll get married."
And so, for five years, I never spent a single holiday with Ethan.
This Thanksgiving, I got slapped across the face in front of everyone. Again.
I went looking for Ethan with red-rimmed eyes, but outside his door, I heard someone ask him:
"Bro, you really don't mind Emma being taken home by us?"
Ethan took a drag of his cigarette, his tone lazy and unbothered.
"Why would I mind? Every time you guys take her off my hands, I get to bring Sophie home for the holidays."
Someone laughed in agreement.
"You're a genius. One move, two birds. And if it ever blows up, you can just say she was the one messing around with other guys first."
I stood outside the door, unable to process what I'd just heard.
Then came Christmas break, and I was assigned to accompany his friend Adrian Blake home.
Adrian's mother gave me an emerald bracelet—an heirloom passed down only to the future daughter-in-law of the Blake family.
If it had been before, I would have quietly returned it.
But that time, I froze for a few seconds, then slipped it onto my wrist.
When I got back from the Blake estate, I pushed through the front door and found Ethan sitting in the living room.
He smiled at me like he'd been waiting a long time.
"You're back? Must've been exhausting."
But I felt no warmth at all, because his friends were there too.
Their eyes darted over me, gleaming with anticipation, like they were waiting for a verdict.
"She actually didn't get hit this time?"
"Damn, that means Sophie wins. Ethan, you bet wrong."
Ethan didn't respond, just glanced at me with mild surprise.
"Fine, I lost."
The words were light, throwaway. But they sent a chill through my entire body.
So that's why they were all gathered here. They'd been betting on whether Adrian would hit me.
I numbly pulled my gaze away and turned to leave.
But Sophie suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"What's that on your hand?"
Her voice cut off mid-sentence.
The others' faces changed too.
"Is that the Blake family's emerald bracelet? The one worth over a million dollars?"
"The one they only give to their future daughter-in-law? What exactly is the Blake family trying to say?"
Even Ethan's eyes locked onto my wrist, suspicion flickering in his gaze.
It was only then that I finally understood why Adrian had that knowing look in his eyes when he gave me the bracelet.
But Sophie suddenly shrieked:
"Did you steal it, or did you con them out of it?"
At those words, Ethan's expression slowly relaxed.
"Emma, I told you I'd marry you, and I will. There's no need to pull something this low just to spite me."
The others acted like it all made sense now.
"I knew it. There's no way the Blake family would actually want her."
"They probably just offered it to be polite, and she actually thought she deserved it."
Sneers like these had never stopped—not since the day I went from being a charity student funded by the Carter family to being Ethan's girlfriend.
Ethan never personally looked down on my background.
But he never once stopped anyone else from doing it either.
He even volunteered me to accompany his friends home.
The soup that was thrown on me. The ashtray hurled at my head. The days I was someone's punching bag, someone's outlet for rage—all of it happened with his silent permission.
I used to think he had his own difficulties.
I thought he couldn't shield me from everyone.
But today at the Blake estate, Adrian's father had casually mentioned that a few days ago, Ethan had brought Sophie home to the Carter family.
He'd publicly acknowledged Sophie as his fiancée.
Adrian's father had even spoken of it with admiration for the younger generation.
"That Carter boy has backbone. Shut down every objection."
And in that single moment, I finally understood.
When you truly care about someone, you pave the way for them. Willingly.
"Enough, knock it off."
Ethan stubbed out his cigarette and, for the first time, cut them short.
"Emma, the Blake family isn't that simple. I'll return the bracelet for you."
He reached for my hand, but I covered the bracelet with my other palm.
A flash of surprise crossed Ethan's eyes.
"What? You don't want to give it back?"
"I'm not feeling well," I said. "Must have eaten something bad."
My stomach was churning in waves.
Ethan looked at me carefully.
For a split second, I was thrown back to the way things used to be.
There was a time when all I had to do was mention feeling unwell, and Ethan would drop everything to take care of me.
But now, all he did was curl his lips into a dismissive smile.
"Can't handle the fine dining at the Blake house?"
He slipped the bracelet off my wrist and patted my shoulder.
"Go rest."
第2章
I don't know how I made it back to the bedroom.
The nausea quickly turned into stabbing cramps, so bad I didn't even have the strength to go out and buy medicine.
I don't know how long I lay there before my phone buzzed.
It was Adrian.
His voice was low and warm.
"Ethan returned the bracelet. You didn't want to keep it?"
I managed a thin, breathless reply, and he immediately picked up on something being wrong.
"What's going on?"
"Ate something bad."
The other end of the line went quiet for a few minutes.
When Adrian spoke again, he said:
"There'll be medicine downstairs in twenty minutes. Once you're feeling better, we'll talk."
My chest ached with a tangled mess of emotions, and tears slid into my pillow.
Twenty minutes later, I went downstairs to get the medicine.
Ethan was sitting in the living room.
He raised his hand. Between his fingers was a sticky note.
In a man's handwriting: Take care of yourself.
Ethan's gaze was darker than I'd ever seen it.
"What is this?"
"Emma Hayes, which man are you screwing around with? Medicine delivered right under my nose."
He threw the box of medicine into the trash.
"You can't go a single minute without a man? You can't buy your own medicine?"
"It's just a box of medicine," I said, exhausted.
He could be endlessly attentive with Sophie—coaxing her with candy just to get her to take a pill.
But someone buying me a box of medicine was a crime.
In Ethan's eyes, my explanation seemed like nothing more than brushing him off.
He grabbed the ashtray in a fury and hurled it at me.
"I'm planning a wedding for you. I was going to marry you next month. You don't deserve it!"
The ashtray struck my forehead, splitting the skin open.
I didn't dodge.
Partly because I had no strength left.
And partly because it suddenly occurred to me—in five years, Ethan had planned four weddings.
The first time, there was a problem with the venue. Everyone consoled me, said it was just bad luck.
The second time, old Mr. Carter passed away. The guests exchanged uneasy glances, and some of the Carters were already calling me a jinx.
The third and fourth times were called off for various other "accidents."
Eventually, everyone could see the Carter family's true feelings.
I became the punchline—the girl who tried to marry into money and failed.
When I accompanied Ethan's friends home, some of them asked with cruel relish:
"Is it because you're bad in bed? Is that why he won't marry you?"
Some even cornered me in the bathroom, trying to put their hands on me.
So this wedding—how could it possibly happen either?
Ethan seemed surprised that I hadn't dodged. He paused for a moment.
His voice softened slightly.
"Why didn't you move? Come here, I'll clean up the wound."
Every time I came back battered, Ethan was the one who patched me up.
I used to think it was because he cared.
Later I realized he just didn't want word getting out.
I pulled away from his outstretched hand and fished the medicine out of the trash.
Ethan watched me, words on the tip of his tongue.
Then a woman's voice came through his phone.
"Ethan, stop arguing with her. We're all waiting for you."
My breath hitched. My hands shook as I tore open the medicine box.
"Your phone's been on a call this whole time?"
Ethan frowned slightly.
"Yes."
So that's why he'd appeared downstairs in the middle of the night. He'd been on his way out to see Sophie.
Her urging voice came through again.
Ethan glanced at me with a look of hesitation.
In the end, he left.
I leaned against the wall for a while, then opened the fridge. Not a single bottle of water—just Sophie's favorite desserts and drinks.
I turned on the tap and forced the pills down with harsh, metallic water straight from the faucet.
It felt like something was crawling down my throat. The nausea was unbearable.
I didn't know how many people had overheard everything that just happened.
But I never expected the first person to call and interrogate me would be my brother, Ryan.
"You cheated? Do you have any idea how many people are laughing at me right now?"
"Don't you forget—who rescued your brother from that pyramid scheme? Who's paying for Mom's treatment? You go apologize to Ethan right now! Get on your knees if you have to!"
"Ryan, I didn't cheat. He's the one who wronged me."
"Be grateful, Emma! Ethan's been more than good to our family. So what if there's a Sophie—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
I was trembling, barely able to believe what I was hearing.
"You've known about them all along, haven't you?"
I desperately wanted him to say no.
If he just said no, it would prove that at least one person in this world hadn't been lying to me.
But my own brother—the one I'd grown up depending on—said without a shred of concern:
"Now that you know, why aren't you trying harder to keep Ethan happy?"
"Everyone out there is dragging your name through the mud. Besides Ethan, who else would marry you? Making a scene about cheating right now is just stupid."
I never imagined a day would come when my own brother would blame me like this, as if everything were my fault.
"Listen to me, Emma. Ethan just got me a job, and Mom's medical bills went up again this month. Just bear with it."
I didn't know what else to say.
After a long silence, I canceled the train ticket I'd bought the night before.
In the beginning, it was Ethan who brought me out of the mountains.
He funded my education, looked after my family, gave me a kind of love I'd never known.
But later, all of those kindnesses came with a price.
After he rescued my brother from the pyramid scheme, he lent me out for the first time.
The day he covered my mother's astronomical medical bills, he brought Sophie home.
So in Ethan's eyes, we were never equals.
My phone buzzed twice more.
I picked up. Ethan's voice came through, cold and flat.
"You heard what your brother said? Stop making trouble."
I let out a bitter laugh.
"You gave my brother a job. What do I have to trade for it this time?"
Ethan was quiet for a moment, then his voice turned even colder.
"Over the next seven days, you'll be accompanying a few more people home. This afternoon, start with Mason Reed—go meet his family. Don't embarrass me."
The blood drained from my face.
This was the first time I'd ever spent a Christmas like this.
第3章
That afternoon, Mason came to pick me up for a restaurant dinner.
He and his family all looked down on me.
At least no one threw a punch during the meal.
Afterward, I was about to get into Mason's car to go home when someone grabbed me by the hair and yanked me away from the door.
"You slut! I'm Mason's girlfriend!"
Before I could say a word, a slap cracked across my face.
Everything went black.
All I heard was Mason's panicked voice.
"Lily, what are you doing here?"
"You're having dinner with your side piece, and I can't show up?"
Mason didn't explain.
He stood there and let the girl slap me across the face, again and again.
Then she kicked me, and I crumpled to the ground.
The wound on my forehead split open. Blood blurred my vision.
I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating, but I thought I saw Ethan standing a short distance away.
The shock and worry on his face—I hadn't seen that in a long time.
But as he started walking toward me, Sophie caught his arm and whispered something in his ear.
Ethan stopped. He stared at me with a complicated expression.
So it wasn't a hallucination after all.
Because in a hallucination, Ethan wouldn't have stood there watching me get beaten.
Only after the girl had spent her rage and been led away by Mason did Ethan come over.
Without a word, he scooped me up. He offered no explanation.
Even though I was covered in injuries, all he did was call his private doctor for a quick patch-up.
The only way I could numb the pain was sleep.
But I didn't sleep well.
Half-conscious, I heard Mason say:
"Ethan, my girlfriend didn't mean it. Whatever it takes to make it right, just name it."
But Ethan reassured him:
"Don't worry about it. I was the one who asked you guys to take her home. Without you, I couldn't bring Sophie back to the Carter house."
"Yeah, for you and Sophie's happiness, we're all glad to help."
I pressed my hands over my ears in agony.
When I woke again, Ethan was sitting gently at the edge of my bed.
"Don't worry. I won't send you out again until you've healed."
He leaned close to my ear, his voice carrying a strange, hidden eagerness.
"Once you're better, we'll get married."
I didn't ask him who he meant to marry.
Me?
Or Sophie?
But what came before any wedding was Adrian.
When I saw him appear at the Carter house, I froze for a moment.
So much for Ethan's word meaning anything.
I got into Adrian's car and sat through another meal with his family.
After his parents left, Adrian walked me out at an unhurried pace.
A friendly voice called out from ahead.
"Adrian, you're here for dinner too?"
Adrian replied politely:
"Mr. Carter, I brought my girlfriend and my parents for a meal."
Standing across from us were Ethan's parents.
Ethan and Sophie were right behind them.
And Ethan was staring at me, his face like thunder.
His parents looked a little uncomfortable when they saw me.
Probably remembering all the times they'd said I wasn't fit to be seen in public.
But they still had to put on pleasant faces.
"Perfect timing. Ethan brought his fiancée for dinner too. Why don't you join us?"
Adrian's lips curved upward, and he didn't refuse.
Ethan's expression darkened visibly.
Compared to the light, delicate dishes at the Blake family table, the Carters had ordered almost nothing but heavy, spicy food.
I'd never been able to handle spice.
In the beginning, Ethan used to eat mild food with me.
But after Sophie moved in, everyone in the house started catering to her taste.
I kept my head down, picking the peppers out of my plate.
Then I heard Adrian ask:
"Ethan, that string of beads on your wrist—is that a blessing bracelet from the monastery?"
I had given that to Ethan as a birthday present years ago.
At the time, he'd said he would wear it for the rest of his life.
Now, he just let out a cold laugh.
"Some cheap thing from who knows where. Take it if you want."
"That won't be necessary."
As he spoke, Adrian placed a cheese-baked shrimp on my plate.
The next second, Ethan dumped the entire dish of shrimp into the trash.
"This is too rich. Have the kitchen make a new batch."
The table went dead silent.
Adrian smiled deliberately.
"Ethan, why do I get the feeling you have a problem with my girlfriend?"
Ethan's gaze turned icy.
"How could I? I don't even know her."
Ethan's father immediately smoothed things over:
"Exactly. In a little while, you should bring your girlfriend to Ethan and Sophie's wedding."
Everything I ate tasted like cardboard, but inside I felt strangely calm—like I'd been sealed inside a hard shell.
Sadness, resentment—none of those feelings were there anymore.
After dinner, Adrian was about to take me home, but Ethan stormed out after us.
"Adrian, don't let her fool you. You must've heard about her cheating with some random guy, right?"
His voice dripped with contempt.
What he didn't know was that the "random guy" was Adrian.
Adrian started to explain, but I pressed his hand down to stop him.
"You go ahead. I'll handle this."
After he left, I turned to face Ethan in all his fury.
"Ethan Carter, the one who chose to marry someone else—wasn't that you?"
I was simply stating facts.
But Ethan's brow furrowed tight.
"I'm just keeping my parents happy."
That excuse again.
Because of that absurd excuse, he'd sent me off with his friends.
And let Sophie keep him company.
I laughed bitterly.
Ethan fixed me with a hard stare.
"You actually think you can marry into the Blake family? Even if Adrian really wanted to marry a nobody, a clean, decent girl like Sophie would still be ten times better than you."
"Emma, stop dreaming."
I nodded.
"Ethan, you're the one who sent me to be with Adrian."
Ethan was so angry he laughed.
He ground out the word "fine" through clenched teeth, again and again.
What I didn't expect was that three days later, my brother called.
"Emma, what did you do now? The Carters cut off Mom's targeted therapy."
