Six Years a Stand-In, Claire Marries a Clarke Instead

Chapter 1

It was my sixth year with Ethan Reed.

I said, “Ethan Reed, I’m getting married.”

He jolted like someone had snapped their fingers in front of him, then forced a smile that didn’t quite land. “Claire, you know this, the company’s right in the middle of fundraising, I just don’t have the bandwidth right now.”

“It’s fine,” I said, smiling like it didn’t matter.

Ethan got it wrong.

I was getting married, just not to him.

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, I glanced toward the direction he’d been staring at a second ago, and the corner of my mouth tugged up in something like a joke.

He used to look at me like that too.

Back in college, he chased me for three years out of the four. When I asked what he liked about me, he grinned like an idiot and said I was pretty, prettier than anyone else.

I didn’t like idiots, but somehow I still got moved by how earnest he was.

Even then, I didn’t say yes right away.

Ethan didn’t care. Rain or shine, he showed up with breakfast outside my dorm like it was his job.

He even kept track of my cycle, and a couple days beforehand he’d start making me sweet tea and fussing over me like I was made of glass.

If I so much as lingered on a necklace in a shop window, he’d squeeze in extra shifts, save up, and buy it for me.

If I was in a bad mood, he’d rack his brain for jokes until I finally smiled.

Even when I only frowned, he’d ask if I felt sick.

But in the end, none of it stood a chance against the girl he’d known since childhood.

Two months ago, that childhood friend of his suddenly came to Seabrook to “visit.”

The first time I met her, I could already tell Ethan didn’t really have boundaries with her.

I figured she’d stay a few days and leave, so I let it go.

I didn’t expect her to become Ethan’s personal secretary and settle in Seabrook for good.

When I asked about it, Ethan only said they were hiring anyway, and it was better to keep it in the circle.

After that, his business trips and late nights started stacking up.

Him not coming home became normal.

I went to HR the day before yesterday and checked the time logs. That was when I found out the two of them had been glued to each other for a while.

Those “business trips” were the two of them traveling together.

And the receipts submitted to Finance, they only showed one executive suite.

As for working late, I didn’t even need proof.

When I stepped out of Ethan’s office, Olivia rose from her desk by the door.

She smiled brightly. “Claire, you don’t look so good. Did you and Ethan fight?”

I didn’t have the energy to bite back. I walked past her and kept going.

“Claire Bennett,” she called after me.

I stopped.

Olivia’s voice stayed sweet, but every word pressed down like a thumb. “You’ll be thirty next year, right. Don’t act like a teenager throwing a tantrum. Rydale Capital still won’t budge on the funding, and Ethan’s under a ton of pressure. Even if you can’t help him, at least don’t distract him when things are this critical.”

I frowned slightly and looked at her, calm as still water. “Olivia Hart, Ethan and I built this company together. If he can let you stay, I can make you leave.”

“You,” she stammered, clearly not expecting me to push back.

Her eyes flooded red in an instant. “I was only trying to help. If you don’t want to hear it, fine, but why are you trying to kick me out.”

“Who’s kicking you out,” Ethan said.

He stepped out, his tone already cold. “Claire, she’s new here and doesn’t know anyone. If she said something wrong, can’t you be a little more generous.”

New here.

I almost laughed.

Olivia was only three months younger than me.

The sting rushed straight up behind my eyes. I drew in a slow breath. “Ethan Reed, I’ll give you one choice. She leaves, or I do.”

Ethan’s face hardened. “Claire Bennett, don’t be unreasonable.”

I froze.

For a second, my mind went blank, like I’d lost a thread I’d been holding for years.

I couldn’t even remember the last time he’d called me by my full name like that.

“Claire,” Olivia said softly, her voice trembling. “Did you misunderstand what Ethan and I are. We’re just friends who grew up together.”

She turned to Ethan with wet lashes and a wounded look. “Ethan, I heard Claire grew up comfortable, she’s probably used to getting her way. Just give in a little, don’t fight with her because of me. I’ve been watching people’s faces my whole life, I can handle it. If leaving makes Claire happy, I can pack up and go, I can even leave Seabrook.”

“Liv,” Ethan said.

He didn’t hide the flicker of tenderness in his eyes, not nearly well enough.

I pressed my lips together and walked away.

Outside the building, I realized my vision had gone fuzzy at some point. I wiped at my tears without thinking, pulled out my phone, and called home.

The call picked up fast.

Mom sounded half scolding, half relieved. “Sweetie, you finally remembered you’ve got a mom. Do you know how many days it’s been since you called. Three whole days.”

“Mom,” I said, forcing my voice steady, “tell Grandpa I’ll do the marriage arrangement. I’ll come back.”

“Really,” Mom blurted, genuinely thrilled, then paused like something didn’t add up. “Wait, what about that boyfriend you’ve been with for years. We do want you with someone who matches, but if you really”

“There isn’t one anymore,” I said.

Mom didn’t press right away. “Think about the arrangement for two more days. Grandpa picked him carefully, and their family’s been close with ours for ages. He’s running some investment company under their name now. Still, it’s your marriage. I don’t want you deciding in a moment of anger.”

“I’m not,” I said. “I’ve thought it through.”

Yesterday, my brother let something slip on the phone, and that was when I learned the family’s cash flow was close to snapping.

And this marriage was the cleanest solution.

All these years, they’d let me do whatever I wanted.

After graduation, Dad wanted me back in Northgate. He wanted me to learn the ropes for a few years, then take over the family business.

But I was deep in love and stubborn. For Ethan, I fought with Dad so hard I went hoarse, and I refused to leave Seabrook.

All because Dad said one sentence, “He’s got nothing, what can he give you.”

So I stayed quiet, stayed put, and built a company with Ethan from the ground up, sometimes drinking until dawn just to land a contract.

And in the end, I didn’t get loyalty.

I got a stomach that needed bitter medicine to keep it from falling apart.

Mom sighed. “So when are you coming back to Northgate.”

“In half a month,” I said.

After I hung up, I turned and looked at the office tower behind me. The curve of my mouth felt like it hurt.

Ethan Reed.

I gave you a choice.

You didn’t take it.

So I’m done choosing you.

Chapter 2

When I got home, I sat on the couch for a long time, doing nothing.

The first cracks in what Ethan and I had weren’t actually obvious until last month.

At first, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. How could someone’s feelings flip so fast.

Every time I questioned what was going on between him and Olivia, he’d say, “You’re overthinking it. I only see her as a kid sister. I’m just looking out for her a little.”

In the beginning, I believed him.

Because the way he treated me felt real. I never doubted that he loved me.

Until one night, after a get-together with friends, he drank too much and I went to pick him up.

One of his buddies was just as drunk, and that was how I heard the truth by accident.

“Ethan and Olivia, yeah. They grew up together. Before he ever went after you, he actually confessed to her once. She turned him down.”

“Stuff like that doesn’t just disappear overnight.”

“He started chasing you because, honestly, when you smile, you kind of look like Olivia.”

“But don’t worry. We’ve all been telling him to treat you right. Olivia probably looked down on him when he was broke. Now that he’s made it, she shows up again.”

I didn’t even realize how long I’d been standing there.

The kettle beeped when the herbal tea was done, and only then did I snap back.

I drank the dark, bitter liquid in one go. It burned all the way down.

Then I looked around the home I’d arranged so carefully, turned to the calendar, and drew a hard line through the date.

Fourteen days left.

After that, I started cleaning, little by little.

Seabrook and Northgate were on opposite ends of the map. I could only take so much with me.

Everything else, I’d toss.

I didn’t like the idea of my things being sorted through by someone else, especially not Ethan’s next girlfriend.

After two trips downstairs with bags, I was wiped out. The rest would have to wait.

I took a shower, and when I came out, Olivia’s post popped up on my feed.

[CEO by day, standing in line to buy me cake at night. He said he’s making up for all the years he missed. I’m so happy.]

The photo showed a strawberry cake.

And on the hand holding the box, she wore a men’s watch, loose on her wrist, but unmistakably not hers.

The women’s version was on mine.

We’d bought them after I’d pulled several all-nighters with Ethan to finish the company’s first big project.

That was the one that really put us on the map.

We barely slept that week, but he was riding high. He dragged me to Riverside Mall and bought the matching set I’d secretly saved photos of on my phone.

I told him not to. It was too expensive.

He insisted. After he fastened it on my wrist, he pulled me into his arms and said, serious as anything, “Claire, everything you like, I want to be the one to give it to you.”

He never took his watch off except to shower or sleep.

His last assistant got fired for getting it wet by accident.

Everyone knew Ethan loved me.

Looking back, it was all a joke.

No one knew that when he looked at me like that, he was thinking about someone else.

I let out a slow breath, unclasped the watch, snapped two quick photos, and posted it for sale.

Ethan didn’t come home again that night.

The next day I slept until noon, then went to the office to file my resignation.

After the company stabilized these past two years, I’d mostly handled design and not much else.

I didn’t expect that on the walk from the design floor to HR, people would keep congratulating me.

I was still trying to figure out why when Megan Collins, the HR lead, yanked me into her office.

“Okay, be honest. Is it happening. Are you and Ethan getting engaged soon.”

“What,” I said, completely thrown.

Megan was one of the original team, so she didn’t bother with politeness. “Come on, you’re seriously still trying to keep this from me. With the show Ethan’s putting on, who doesn’t know he’s about to propose.”

I frowned. “No. What are you even talking about.”

She covered her mouth like she’d said too much. “Wait, you really don’t know. Is Ethan trying to surprise you or something.”

“Megan. Tell me.”

“Well,” she hesitated, then leaned in like she was sharing classified info. “Someone saw a florist deliver flowers to Ethan downstairs. The entire trunk was packed, all pink roses. It’s not your birthday, it’s not an anniversary. If it’s not a proposal, what is it.”

Pink roses.

Two months ago, the day Olivia arrived in Seabrook, Ethan brought pink roses to the airport.

My fingertips pressed into my palm without me noticing.

I kept my mouth shut.

Megan glanced at the folder in my hands. “What’s that.”

“I’m here to resign.”

Her eyes widened. “Exactly. It’s because of the proposal, right. You’re stepping back, letting him take the lead. Here, here, I’ll sign it.”

“Okay,” I said.

I didn’t explain. I just handed her the paperwork.

As she signed, she grumbled, “Ethan really is something. He didn’t even warn me. Where am I supposed to find another design director like you on short notice.”

“Just get Ethan to sign it too,” I said.

She finished and passed it back, then looked at me with real sincerity. “Claire, I don’t know if walking away like this is the right move. But as your friend, I mean it. I hope you’re happy. And I hope Ethan doesn’t let you down.”

“I will be happy,” I said.

Just not with Ethan.

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