Love Between Two Enemies Part Three

The Engagement Trap

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PART THREE – THE ENGAGEMENT TRAP

Engagements were supposed to feel like beginnings.

New dresses. Champagne. Smiles frozen in photographs that promised forever.

But for Isabella Moretti, her engagement felt like a funeral disguised as a celebration.

The ring sat heavy on her finger—too perfect, too expensive, too final.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror of her childhood bedroom. The woman staring back at her looked composed, elegant, every inch the obedient daughter of a powerful family.

Only she knew how violently her heart was rebelling.

“You look beautiful,” her mother said softly from behind her.

Isabella swallowed. “I feel like I’m disappearing.”

Her mother hesitated, then reached out, adjusting a curl near Isabella’s cheek. “Sometimes survival requires sacrifice.”

Isabella turned slowly. “Does love always have to be the sacrifice?”

Her mother didn’t answer.

That silence was louder than any command.


---

Across town, Ethan Ashford watched the same news unfold on a massive screen inside his office.

MORETTI–DESANTIS ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCED

Isabella’s photo appeared beside Luca DeSantis’s smug smile.

Ethan’s chest tightened painfully.

“She didn’t choose this,” he muttered.

“Doesn’t matter,” his assistant said carefully. “The market’s reacting.”

He barely heard her.

The investigation into Ashford Industries had deepened overnight. Auditors were requesting documents. Investors were nervous. His father was furious—and suspicious.

“You’re hiding something,” Richard Ashford said during a tense meeting later that day.

Ethan met his gaze steadily. “I’m fixing what you broke.”

The room went deadly quiet.

Richard stood slowly. “You forget who built this empire.”

“No,” Ethan replied calmly. “I remember exactly how.”

That was the moment Ethan realized something terrifying:

This wasn’t just about Isabella anymore.

This was about choosing who he was willing to become.


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The engagement party was held in a historic ballroom overlooking the Hudson River.

Everything glittered.

Crystal chandeliers. White roses. String quartets playing music that sounded like lies.

Isabella moved through the room gracefully, accepting congratulations, her smile practiced and hollow.

Luca never left her side.

“You’re very quiet tonight,” he murmured, his hand firm at her waist.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she replied smoothly.

He leaned closer. “You’ll get used to being watched. Power always attracts eyes.”

She stiffened slightly. “I didn’t know love came with surveillance.”

His smile sharpened. “Love doesn’t. Alliances do.”

That word again.

Alliance.

Not marriage. Not devotion.

A transaction.

Her gaze drifted across the room—and then she froze.

Ethan Ashford stood near the far column, dressed in a dark suit, his presence unmistakable.

Her breath caught.

He shouldn’t be here.

And yet, some reckless part of her was grateful he was.

Their eyes met.

The room disappeared.

For a split second, everything else—family, duty, hatred—fell away.

Then Luca followed her gaze.

His expression changed.

“Interesting,” he said quietly. “So the rumors are true.”

Her heart slammed. “What rumors?”

“That Ashford has taken a personal interest in you.”

She forced a laugh. “He’s the enemy. Nothing more.”

Luca studied her too closely. “Enemies can be… tempting.”


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Ethan shouldn’t have come.

He knew that.

But watching her stand beside another man—wearing a ring she didn’t want—lit something dark and furious inside him.

He felt it when Luca’s hand tightened possessively around her.

Felt it when Isabella’s eyes flicked toward him, filled with something dangerously close to longing.

He was halfway across the room before he realized he’d moved.

“Congratulations,” Ethan said coolly when he reached them.

Luca smiled. “Ashford. I was wondering when you’d show.”

Isabella’s voice was barely steady. “Ethan.”

Their fingers brushed briefly as she shifted.

Electric.

Luca noticed.

“Careful,” Luca said softly. “Old rivalries have a way of resurfacing.”

Ethan leaned in just enough for Isabella to hear him. “Meet me outside. Five minutes.”

Her pulse raced.

She hesitated.

Then nodded once.


---

The balcony was empty, washed in cool night air and city lights.

Isabella arrived breathless.

“You can’t keep doing this,” she said immediately. “You’re putting everything at risk.”

“I know,” Ethan replied. “But you’re walking into a cage.”

She turned away, gripping the railing. “I don’t have a choice.”

“You do,” he said firmly. “Let me help you.”

She laughed bitterly. “Help me how? By burning both our families to the ground?”

“If that’s what truth costs,” he said quietly, “then maybe it’s time something burned.”

She turned back to him, eyes shining.

“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “Luca knows more than he should.”

Ethan stiffened. “What do you mean?”

She swallowed. “He hinted that the investigation into your company wasn’t accidental.”

Cold dread settled in Ethan’s gut.

“Someone is using the past,” Isabella continued. “And Luca is closer to it than he admits.”

Before Ethan could respond, a voice cut through the night.

“Am I interrupting?”

They spun.

Luca stood in the doorway, smile polite, eyes sharp.

Isabella’s heart dropped.

“Just getting some air,” she said quickly.

“Of course,” Luca replied. “Though I should remind you—secrets don’t age well.”

His gaze locked on Ethan. “Especially between enemies.”

The warning was clear.

And it was only the beginning.


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Two nights later, everything changed.

Ethan received an encrypted message from an unknown sender.

I KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT RIVERSIDE.
MEET ME. COME ALONE.

Attached was an old photograph.

Two men shaking hands.

One was Ethan’s grandfather.

The other—

Isabella’s.

The truth was clawing its way out.

And someone was ready to sell it.

In Part Four: “Secrets Don’t Stay Buried”

A hidden witness steps out of the shadows.
Luca tightens his grip—and reveals his true intentions.
And when Isabella is forced to choose publicly…

Love becomes an act of rebellion.