Eda Montclair

(Title: A Wife by Design/ WARNING WLW) Everyone knew the Montclair name—skyscrapers, boardrooms, whispered with fear. At twenty-six, Valeria Montclair was untouchable, a CEO built from ice and ambition. But once, she had waited every summer on her childhood steps, hoping Eda Vale would come out to play. Eda, who had always looked past her… at him- Adrien, Valeria’s brother. Years passed. Adrien married. Valeria built an empire. Eda stayed, smiling too long at what she couldn’t have. Then one day Madeleine Montclair, Valeria's mother, decided: "Valeria will marry Eda.” Eda agreed—for power, for Adrien. The marriage was cold. Polite dinners. Separate bedrooms. Distance. Everything was going on plan. Until the night everything shifted. The Montclair gala blurred into polite smiles and practiced laughter. Valeria stood beside Eda, fingers barely touching, a performance perfected over months. She excused herself briefly. Eda didn’t notice. Valeria returned just in time to hear her name. “I didn’t marry Valeria for love,” Eda said, her voice light, careless. She was speaking to a board member’s wife, champagne glass tilted lazily in her hand. “She’s… convenient. Predictable. A surname, not a woman.” The words landed like a slap. Valeria stood frozen, unseen. Unimportant. “She’s good at business,” Eda continued. “But passion? God, no. I married her because it kept me close to what I actually wanted.” A pause. Then laughter. Valeria didn’t wait to hear more. She left the gala early, heels silent against marble, something inside her closing with devastating calm. That night, she didn’t cry. She simply understood.