I Returned To Marry Another Man

It had been three years since I ended things with Noah Slavin, three years since Id left this city behind. Now, I was back.

Everyone was whispering, speculating that Id returned because I couldn't stand being away from him any longer, that I was here to beg him to take me back.

Noah himself seemed to think so, too.

His buddies were already sucking up to him, their voices dripping with envy. "Damn, Noah, you've got some serious game. After all this time, the great Sienna Windsor is still wrapped around your finger."

Another one chimed in, "Who can compete with our man Noah? She stormed out of here like she was never coming back, and now look at her, crawling back like a lost puppy, ready to beg."

A mocking smile touched Noah's lips as he listened. He let out a soft, arrogant laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. Even if she did come back begging, it all depends on whether I'm still interested."

But none of them knew the truth. I wasn't the same girl I was three years ago.

Six months ago, I got engaged to Grayson Holt.

I was back to plan my own wedding.

01

My friends were all there to meet me at the airport. My best friend, Bella, threw her arms around my waist. "Sienna, you jerk! You're finally back. I missed you like crazy."

Familiar faces surrounded me, warm and welcoming.

But I never expected Noah to be there.

Three years hadn't changed him much. He still had those roguish, charming eyes, a lazy swagger, and that same untamable arrogance.

"I told you not to wear stuff that's so tight," he said, his voice a low drawl. "Don't come crying to me when people make fun of your body again. I'm just looking out for you."

Right. Still the same silver-tongued devil.

I used to be so insecure about my large chest. A comment like that would have made me hunch my shoulders, instinctively looking down to see if something was out of place.

But I was long past the age of letting someone else's words define me.

Besides, I was wearing a high-necked, knee-length dress. If anyone had a problem with it, that was a reflection of their own dirty mind, not my fault.

So, I just gave him a cool, detached glance and a polite, distant smile, saying nothing.

Bella, however, shot him a glare. "What do you know? Sienna has the kind of killer body other girls would die for. All the curves are in the right places."

Noah seemed to notice the change in me. His expression faltered for a second, his eyes fixed on me.

To celebrate my return, my friends booked a private room at a bar. When it was time to sit, I deliberately chose a seat as far away from Noah as possible.

The mans sharp brows twitched, but he stayed silent, merely shrugging off the other girls who tried to slide in next to him.

At one point, a couple of girls from the next room came over, using a game of "truth or dare" as an excuse to ask for Noah's number. He turned them all down politely.

That surprised me. The Noah I remembered was never one to refuse a pretty face, as long as she was decent-looking.

Just then, a friend leaned in and whispered to me.

"Noah's changed a lot since you left. He barely talks to girls anymore. You hardly ever see him with another woman."

02

I had no idea what he was trying to achieve by telling me that.

Was I supposed to be touched?

A little late for that, wasn't it? This worthless, self-serving gesture? He was only trying to make himself feel better.

Uninterested, I got up and headed to the restroom.

On my way back, I saw Noah and a few of his friends smoking on the balcony just off the hallway.

Their voices drifted over to me.

"Seriously, Noah, you're the man. All these years, and Sienna Windsor still can't get over you."

"Yeah, teach us your secrets, bro. I wanna know what it's like to have a rich heiress completely hung up on me."

"Who can compare to Noah? Remember how final she was when she left? And now shes back, tail between her legs, ready to play nice."

A smirk played on Noah's lips. He chuckled. "You guys are talking nonsense. Even if she begged me to take her back, it's not a given I'd say yes."

A round of laughter followed.

Then, one of them spoke up, a little more thoughtfully. "I don't know, man. Sienna seems different this time. She's barely even looked at you."

Noah flicked the ash from his cigarette, the ember glowing faintly. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, completely unconcerned. "Different how? She's just throwing a tantrum. It's not the first time."

So that's what they thought. That Id come back to beg Noah for a second chance.

A three-year-long tantrum. What a creative way to see it.

I was afraid they were in for a major disappointment.

Because six months ago, I had gotten engaged to Grayson Holt, the man at the helm of the Holt Corporation.

I was back to get married.

Still, I couldn't entirely blame them. The old me really had been head-over-heels for Noah.

03

Noah and I were childhood sweethearts.

It all started when he told me, "Stick with me, and I'll have your back."

And so, I trailed after him for over a decade.

After high school graduation, he said, "Sienna, I know you like me. Let's give this a shot."

And just like that, we were a couple.

I used to think I was special to him.

He was the one who, when other guys would catcall me or make crude jokes about my figure, would complain about me being too flashy, then corner those jerks in an alley and beat the crap out of them.

He was the one who, when I got injured during a track meet, set aside his germaphobia to have someone carry me to the nurse's office on a stretcher. Hed grumble about me being a pain while carefully tending to my wounds.

I always told myself that Noah just wasn't good at expressing his feelings. That if I just loved him enough, one day, he would show me his gentle side.

That fantasy shattered the day Lily, a transfer student on a scholarship, showed up.

That's when I learned that Noah's kindness didn't have to come packaged with insults and belittlement. That he could be genuinely warm and considerate.

At first, Noah just said he felt sorry for Lily. She was all alone, struggling to pay tuition with student loans, and he just wanted to help her out.

I believed him. I even went out of my way to buy Lily clothes and toiletries.

I forgot that so many relationships begin with pity.

But the moment that truly killed every last bit of hope was the campus "Prom Queen" election.

04

At our university, the elected Prom King and Queen got to share the first dance at the Freshman Ball.

Noah was, without a doubt, voted Prom King.

I, on the other hand, worked my ass off to become Prom Queen. I campaigned relentlessly, stayed up all night helping classmates with their group projects, and spent my entire monthly allowance buying them lunches and gifts.

But when the final vote came down to a tie between me and Lily, Noah cast the deciding vote. For her.

In that instant, my world went silent. The cheers, the whispers, the laughter around me all faded into a dull roar. All I could see was Noah on the stage and Lily in the crowd, sharing a triumphant smile.

A bitter, acidic feeling churned in my stomach.

For the first time, I wondered if Noah had ever liked me at all.

He tried to smooth things over afterward, a rare attempt at placating me. He explained that the Prom King and Queen got a paid gig to shoot promotional posters for the university. I didn't need the money, but Lily, with her difficult family situation, desperately did. He asked me not to fight her for it.

But that night, outside the pool hall, I overheard the real reason from him and his friends.

"Nice one, Noah. Getting Lily crowned was all your doing, wasn't it? Sacrificing your own girlfriend for the cause. Cold-blooded, man."

Noah just laughed, not denying it. "A Prom Queen should be you know, the pure type. Sienna's not exactly the right fit."

"True," another one added. "If Sienna wore the gown, all the freshmen would probably get nosebleeds just looking at her."

The whole group erupted in laughter, Noah included.

The same boy who used to get into fights because someone made fun of me had become one of them, laughing right along.

"But isn't Sienna your girlfriend? We thought you were into her type."

Noah's demeanor shifted, as if they'd hit a nerve. "No way," he denied instantly. "If my parents hadn't pushed me to be nice to her, I wouldn't have given her a second look. A girl who's that clingy? It's such a turn-off."

The others glanced toward the entrance of the pool hall, their knowing smirks saying it all.

One of his friends did push back a little. "I don't know, I think Sienna's great. If I were voting, I'd pick her. She's a total bombshell. Hottest girl in school, built like a goddess."

The conversation grew cruder, and Noah's face finally hardened. "That's enough," he snapped, his eyes landing on Lily, who was sitting nearby, blushing furiously. "There's a lady present. Watch your mouths."

05

I don't remember how I got home.

It felt like the world had been ripped out from under me. My heart was a block of ice, the cold so sharp it was agonizing. A lump of years' worth of hurt lodged in my throat, and I couldn't even find the courage to storm in there and confront him. It was hard to even breathe.

If Noah's love had been like sugarcanetoo fibrous to swallow but too sweet to spit outnow, even that last hint of sweetness was gone.

I didn't sleep a wink. The next day, I dragged my exhausted body to class, only to see Lily showing off the dress Noah had bought her for the ball.

"Wow, Lily, that dress is gorgeous!" someone gushed.

Lily shot a triumphant look in my direction, but her tone was feignedly helpless. "I told Noah he shouldn't have, but he just wouldn't listen. He said that as his dance partner, I'd be by his side all night, representing him."

I was already past the point of caring, but Lily made a point to walk over to me. "Sienna, what do you think? Does this dress suit me?" She held it up against herself, giving a little, not-so-accidental twirl.

I ignored her. She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know, Sienna, I've always wanted to ask are they real?"

She gestured toward my chest. "I mean, a lot of rich girls get implants to you know, hook the guy they want."

"What did you just say?" I shot up from my chair and shoved her, hard.

Lily stumbled backward, crashing into a desk. A cup of water tipped over, soaking the front of her shirt.

"Sienna, what the hell are you doing?"

Noah's furious voice boomed from the doorway. He rushed to Lily's side, pulling her into his arms and glaring at me with eyes as cold as ice.

I told him what Lily had said, what she had insinuated.

"So what? It's a normal question," Noah cut me off, his voice laced with impatience. "The way you look, anyone would wonder. You don't have to be so sensitive about it."

With that, he draped his own jacket over Lily's shoulders and carried her out of the room, presumably to the nurse's office.

Watching his arms wrapped so tightly around her, my eyes filled with tears.

So, his germaphobia was selective.

The one thing I had always longed for was something she could have so effortlessly.

A broken laugh escaped my lips. Tears finally streamed down my face. I had been such a fool for so many years.

His words were the final bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last flicker of hope in my heart.

I broke up with Noah. I called my mom and told her I wanted to study abroad.

The withdrawal papers were processed in two days.

On the third day, I was on a flight to New York.

Other than the generic holiday greetings he mass-texted every year, we had no contact.

06

"Hey, did you guys hear? I think Grayson Holt, the head of the Holt Corporation, is getting married."

Someone in our private room suddenly dropped the gossip bomb.

"For real? That's like seeing a pig fly. That guy is a total workaholic. He's 32, and his parents have been on his case for years, but he never budged. They were starting to lose hope."

"I wonder who the lucky girl is. She must be something special to land him. I heard she's young, still in college in New York."

"Sienna, you were in New York. Do you know who it is?" Bella nudged my arm.

I managed a small smile, taking a sip of my drink to hide my unease. "No idea. I was totally focused on my studies. I didn't really follow that stuff."

My thumb traced the rim of my glass, a nervous habit whenever I lied.

Bella nodded, buying it completely.

Only Noah noticed my small gesture. He gave me a long, searching look.

When the party ended, we all started heading out.

Suddenly, a jacket was draped over my shoulders. Noah was standing beside me. "I'll take you home. If my parents find out I let you go home alone after drinking, they'll kill me."

His tone was so familiar, so intimate. As if I'd been gone for three days, not three years.

The old me would have been floating on a cloud of pink bubbles.

But now, I just stepped back and handed the jacket back to him. "That's okay. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up."

The word "fianc" felt too intimate, too much to say out loud just yet.

Noah's smile froze on his face. Everyone else turned to stare, their expressions a mix of shock and confusion. The guys who'd been talking smack on the balcony looked particularly flustered, their eyes darting between me and Noah.

"You brat! You kept something this big from me?" Bella slung an arm around my neck, feigning offense.

I laughed, apologizing. "I'll tell you everything later, I promise."

One by one, everyone else left.

I stood by the curb, waiting for Grayson, with a scowling Noah lingering behind me.

After about ten minutes, the scowl on his face slowly melted into a smug grin. "Sienna, you don't have to resort to childish games just because you don't have a boyfriend. I know I was harsh before. If you're still mad, I can"

Before he could finish, a black Bentley pulled up silently in front of us.

07

Arthur, the driver, got out. "Miss Windsor, Mr. Holt's flight was delayed. He asked me to come and get you."

I nodded and slid into the back seat, not sparing Noah a final glance.

A moment later, my phone buzzed with a message from him.

Don't tell me that old guy you hired is your 'boyfriend.'

I get that you're trying to make me jealous, but don't lie like that again. It actually pisses me off.

My brow furrowed in disgust.

I blocked his number.

I hadn't bothered before because it seemed pointless. But now that he was actively nauseating me, there was no reason to put up with it.

Sensing my discomfort, Arthur spoke from the driver's seat. "Miss Windsor, there's some soup for you. Mr. Holt anticipated you might be drinking tonight and had us prepare it."

He continued, "Also, Mr. Holt knows you prefer not to stay at your family's home. He's had the villa at Crescent Bay prepared for you. We've already replaced the bedding and toiletries with your preferred brands. If there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to let me know."

I nodded, picking up the thermos beside me and taking a sip. A warm, comforting feeling spread through my stomach.

My mom had told me during the matchmaking process that older men were better because they knew how to take care of you.

Turns out, she was right. It was nice.

I didn't have to worry about a thing; he had already arranged everything.

After a shower, I sank into the plush bed, surrounded by the calming scent of my favorite aromatherapy diffuser, and fell asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, I walked out of my room to find Grayson, just returned from his trip.

He stood there in a black overcoat, tall and imposing. The moment his eyes met mine, a wave of raw, masculine energy washed over me.

"You're staying here too?" I asked, my brain still foggy with sleep. I'd completely forgotten this was his house.

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I leave?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" I backpedaled quickly. "I just meant there are a lot of rooms here. If you wanted to stay it wouldn't be a problem."

A hint of a smile touched his eyes. He handed his coat to the butler and strode toward me. Before I could say another word, he cupped my face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed me.