The phone call came right as I was stuck in traffic. “Kaylee, the info on that USB drive is literally life or death for me. You have to find it for me. ”
I found it and handed it over.
“Oh my god, thank you. You’re a lifesaver, dear. ”
I was always the dependable one. Well-behaved, they said.
Too well-behaved, apparently. Didn’t spark any excitement. That was the running joke in our circle, the one about the Stanley and Thorpe families and their long-standing engagement agreement. “Jackson, come on.
That’s not fair. We all grew up together. Kaylee’s always been closest to you. ”
“Besides, the Stanley family has more than one eligible son, you know.
Your brother Samuel’s coming back. Aren’t you worried he might agree to marry Kaylee? ”
“Samuel? No way.
”
I had only met Samuel when I was little. He was distant, and I was terrified of him. Everyone thought so. It wasn’t fear, it was respect.
But the label stuck. He was like an older brother I barely knew, and Jackson was the one I grew up with. Yet when the two families pushed for the marriage, Jackson fought it for two years. He went off-grid, wouldn’t answer messages, wouldn’t pick up his phone.
Then Samuel came back and took his place. He stood before my guardians, the Stanleys, and objected when I tried to call it off. “Why does it have to be Jackson? Why couldn’t it be me?
”
“He’s right,” I thought. The Thorpe Group couldn’t function without the Stanleys. The company was my parents’ life’s work. I couldn’t be selfish.
I agreed to think it over. He brought me takeout from that home-style restaurant I loved. He asked me to call him by his name. He told me we could spend more time together.
But I told him we should call it off. “Do you hate me? ” he asked. “Have you fallen for someone?
” No, to both. Still, he refused. “We either never start or stay together for life. ”
Then my life fell apart.
My brother David was in a car accident abroad and was unconscious. Two major Thorpe Group projects collapsed in a row. Our partner walked out in bad faith and teamed up with rivals to crack down on the company. Stock prices plummeted.
We needed a massive influx of capital, and the only one who could stand against the rivals was Samuel Stanley, head of both the Stanley Group and the Ederville Group. I didn’t want to owe him more. But then Samuel found me. “Kaylee, marry me.
Your life won’t change at all. But after we’re married, the Thorpe Group can have access to all the resources from the Stanley Group. ”
He had already taken care of the funding. The wire transfer arrived.
The secretarial team took over the projects. The Thorpe Group was saved. “Samuel, you don’t need to thank me,” he said. “This is simply what I do as your fiancé.
”
On my twentieth birthday, we got our marriage certificate. Just like that. We barely knew each other. Our wedding night was awkward.
I had never kissed anyone before. I apologized. He was gentle. “You’ll get the hang of it soon.
” I wanted to shower alone, found warmer pajamas. He told me I’d burn up with too much clothes on. The next morning, he was gone on a business trip for two days. My best friend Emma freaked out.
“You just got married and you’re already living apart? How are you supposed to bond? ”
I didn’t know how to bond with a stranger. I didn’t know how to feel at home in his mansion.
He had my clothes and daily necessities moved in. “I have no intention of separating right after marriage, you know. ”
He sent me flowers. He enrolled a driver.
But the distance between us was a chasm I didn’t know how to cross. At a family dinner, Jackson was there, and he couldn’t keep his bitterness in check. “Kaylee, all these years, everyone just assumed the one with you would be me. Yet you turned to my brother out of nowhere.
”
I married him for a business alliance, he accused. My brother-in-law had a point. I married Samuel to save the Thorpe Group. I told myself it was duty, gratitude.
Not feelings. I couldn’t even admit that my heart raced when Samuel said he didn’t want a divorce. “Kaylee, I told you before, we either never start or stay together for life. So I won’t agree to a divorce.
”
Then the rumor hit. A video, a post, anonymous. “Look at Kaylee Thorpe, latching onto another rich guy so soon. ” The account belonged to Madeline Fuller, Brielle Ashton’s roommate.
Brielle had been flinging herself at Jackson, and now she wanted to destroy me. Samuel didn’t hesitate. He posted our wedding photos on the Wapta Group official website. “The Stanley Group people won’t be bullied by anyone.
Especially not Mrs. Stanley. ” The legal department pursued the slanderer. Dov raped them.
Then David came back. And he was furious about my marriage. “Kaylee, if it’s out of gratitude for the Stanley family’s help this time, you don’t need to trade your marriage for it. I’ll handle that debt.
”
“It’s not gratitude, David. I accept this arranged marriage voluntarily. I agreed because I like Samuel. ”
He didn’t believe me.
How could I like a man I barely knew? But then I started noticing things. The way Samuel had my favorite cakes delivered. The way he moved schedules to pick me up from school.
The way he introduced himself to the professors just to make sure I was well cared for. “Kaylee, I love you,” he said one night, holding me. He had asked me to marry him again, properly this time, on a hillside, with all the courage he’d gathered. I said yes.
Again. But then I met Sophie. Samuel had been overseas for years, and there was a woman there named Sophie, the only daughter of the esteemed Mr. Holden.
Jackson made sure I found out. And I panicked. I asked Samuel if we should divorce. “I met no one,” he said.
“There’s no one else. Not before and never will. The only one I love is right here in my arms. ”
Still, he insisted I hear it from Sophie herself.
And Sophie laughed. “You don’t actually think I like Samuel, do you? I’m into that stupid guy. But hey, who was that guy who dropped you off?
Your brother? He’s exactly my type. ”
I had made a mistake. I had let Jackson’s poison get to me.
Samuel forgave me. He told me to come to him whenever something came up, not shoulder it alone. Then David called me to the office. He gave me a stock transfer agreement, our parents’ wish.
He wanted me to sign it. Or come back to the company and take up my position. “Kaylee, you fell into a flower pit and Samuel didn’t pull you out in time,” he said with a sigh. I went to the appointment Sophie made with me, the one Samuel arranged.
I was supposed to confront her. Instead, I found a friend. And I found my brother’s future girlfriend, apparently. Samuel picked me up after.
“Did Sophie clear things up? ”
“Yeah. I misunderstood. ”
“Mrs.
Stanley, could you tell me right away whenever something comes up? Don’t try to shoulder it alone. ”
“Okay. I promise.
”
He drove me up a hill, to a spot with a view. He got down on one knee. “Kaylee, I know you’ve been afraid of me since we were kids. You always kept your distance.
I thought this years-long one-sided love would end right there. Until I met you again. I admit, I got greedy. So, I took the initiative to claim our marriage arrangement.
Because I want to be with you for the rest of my life. But I don’t know how you feel. So, I’m gathering all my courage to ask you once. Kaylee, will you marry me?
”
I did. “Kaylee, I love you. ”
And later, at his birthday dinner, I gave him a gift of my own. “Samuel, you are going to be a father.
”
