The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 151

Nadia shot to her feet in shock, her hand slamming against the edge of the table. The wine glass toppled over, spilling its contents onto her dress, but she didn’t even notice.

Ethan wasn’t just bluffing... He had actually married Ramona?

The Shepard family elders frowned at Nadia, one of them clearing his throat sharply. Her mother quickly grabbed her arm and forced her to sit back down, trying to smooth over the disruption.

Across the table, Holden took in the entire scene. Ethan’s announcement had stunned him too. He’d assumed Ramona would lose her standing with the Jordons today, but instead, Ethan had chosen to swallow his pride and defend her, no matter what it cost him.

But watching Nadia, Holden’s mind began to turn. He’d heard whispers about her and Ethan—how there’d never been another woman at Ethan’s side, perhaps because of this childhood friend. But the Jordon family had always been shrouded in secrecy, no one ever got the full story.

But emotions are hard to hide, and Nadia’s reaction was hardly that of a woman with a one-sided crush. Maybe Ethan’s whirlwind marriage to Ramona wasn’t just about Ramona at all; maybe he was trying to provoke someone else.

On the other side of the table, Melinda’s eyes darkened. With Ethan’s dramatic reveal, she suddenly felt like the villain in a romantic comedy—someone out to ruin true love.

She forced a smile and arched a brow at the Jordon family. “So, you’re already married? Well, that certainly makes the rumors we just heard sound like nonsense. But honestly, Mr. Jordon, you didn’t waste any time. This is a pretty big deal, and yet none of us in the Covington family had the faintest idea. Ramona never mentioned it either… Are you sure your own family knew?”

With just a few words, Melinda deftly turned the spotlight back onto Ramona.

After all, getting married without telling the family was a breach of etiquette, even for the Jordons. No matter how much Ethan wanted to protect Ramona, her past was still a ticking time bomb. The look on the Jordons’ faces said it all—they clearly hadn’t known, unlike Ethan, who seemed determined not to back down.

Zadkiel kept his expression unreadable, while Shelby glanced at him anxiously, barely able to contain herself.

Everyone at the table saw right through Melinda’s ploy. She was practically handing the Jordons a knife. If they wanted to make things difficult for Ramona, all they had to do was claim they hadn’t been consulted or deny they’d known about the marriage. That would put all the blame squarely on Ramona’s shoulders if the engagement between the two families fell through. Ethan could be painted as an innocent man led astray by a woman with a dubious past.

Zadkiel’s stance was unreadable, but Shelby already knew where her loyalties lay. To her, Ramona’s past relationship wasn’t the end of the world. The girl had grown up alone, never truly protected by anyone. Even now, being with Ethan probably didn’t make her feel entirely safe. Wasn’t it understandable she hadn’t shared everything with his family?

Besides, Ethan had never cared about a woman this much before.

Shelby had no intention of letting the two of them be humiliated.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify