Channel
I blinked multiple times when I heard him say that.
"Uuh..." I finally found my lost tongue, though it felt like it didn't belong to me anymore.
"I hate repeating myself. You heard me clearly earlier; don't act like a dimwit." He growled, his sharp eyes slicing into me without mercy.
Gosh!!
I was completely taken aback.
Who the hell was this disrespectful, glittering, annoyingly confident man who walked into my breakdown like he owned the air I was breathing and started talking about marriage like it was a business transaction?
"Are you in-"
He raised his hand midair, cutting me off effortlessly.
"Get married to me in exchange for your freedom from Rowan Reynolds." His voice dropped-cold, precise, and commanding. "I'll settle your one hundred million debt, and in return, you'll fill the position of my wife for two years."
He spoke fast, like a man who had already decided everything long before I ever existed in the conversation.
His eyes never left my face-not even for a second.
And that foot of his... it kept tapping against the grass impatiently, like patience itself was something he didn't believe in.
I frowned.
Who exactly did he think he was?
"I don't even know you," I snapped, pushing myself to my feet. "Who the hell are you?"
"Your new husband." He said it flatly, like it was already written in law. Then he tossed a stack of documents and a pen onto the grass. "Sign them. We're leaving."
That was it.
That was the moment something inside me snapped.
I laughed, sharp and bitter, dragging my fingers through my messy hair. "Are you okay? Did you escape from somewhere– a mental hospital, maybe? Which sane man walks up to a stranger and commands her into marriage without pleading or proposing?
"Plead?" He scoffed. "You want me to plead?"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I am offering you freedom, and you want me to beg?" His voice dropped lower. "Reject it, and stay chained to your debt. I'll find someone else who understands opportunity when it's placed in their hands."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
I stared at him, my chest tightening, my thoughts scattering in every direction.
Freedom.
The word hit too hard.
Too painful.
Who... was this man?
"Who are you?" I whispered again, but softer this time.
"Calvin Blackwood," he replied sharply. "A man in need of a wife."
He pointed at the papers again.
"If you're not interested-"
"I'll marry you."
The words left my mouth before my brain could stop them.
My fingers trembled slightly as I dug them into my hair, my emotions colliding violently inside me.
This was insane.
Utterly insane.
But then-
Rowan.
Just his name alone was enough to tighten my chest.
His control.
His anger.
His silence that always felt louder than shouting.
I swallowed hard.
"I'll marry you," I repeated, firmer this time, like saying it twice would make it real.
I needed out.
Even if it meant jumping into another unknown fire.
Without reading a single line, I bent down and signed the papers.
One stroke.
Two strokes.
Done.
The sound of the pen scratching felt like I was sealing away the last remaining piece of my old life.
When I stood, my breathing was uneven.
"It's done," I said quickly. "We're married. I'm Channel Blackwood now. When are you settling my debt?"
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then-
A slow, unreadable smirk formed on his lips.
It wasn't warm.
It wasn't kind.
It was controlled.
Like he had just gotten exactly what he came for.
He pulled out a black card and placed it in my hand.
"It has no limit," he said. "Use it to clear your debt. Take care of yourself. For two years, you belong to this agreement."
Two years.
The number echoed in my mind longer than it should have.
Before I could ask anything else, he turned away.
"Follow me," he added. "There's a file in the car. You have two hours to memorize everything. My father does not tolerate mistakes."
-
Inside the white Rolls-Royce, my world started shifting in real time.
The air felt heavier.
Stranger.
Like I had stepped into someone else's life without permission.
The file in my hands wasn't just paper.
It was identity.
Rules. Answers. Instructions.
How to speak.
How to sit.
How to breathe around his family.
How to exist without slipping.
Each page felt like a layer of me was being rewritten.
My chest tightened.
"Why me?" I muttered under my breath.
Then, louder-
"Did Rowan send you?"
The car slowed slightly.
Calvin didn't look at me immediately.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
"I married you because I need you," he said coldly. "I have nothing to do with your ex-husband."
I didn't believe him.
Not fully.
"How do you know about me?"
"Search your name," he replied. "Everything is already out there."
My stomach twisted.
Of course.
The humiliation.
The headlines.
Rachel.
That name alone burned.
"Rachel..." I whispered.
My fists clenched tightly.
She didn't just ruin my marriage.
She broadcasted my ruin as entertainment.
But before the anger could fully consume me, the car slowed again.
We stopped.
I looked up.
An airport.
Private.
Quiet.
Expensive.
My breath caught in my throat.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To my country," Calvin replied, already stepping out. "I don't stay anywhere near your ex-husband."
My pulse jumped.
"You're starting a new life," he added flatly. "With a new identity."
A new identity.
The words should have comforted me.
Instead, they felt like a warning.
I stepped out slowly, my eyes fixed on the private jet ahead.
The wind brushed against my skin, colder than I expected.
Freedom.
That was what I kept telling myself.
But it didn't feel like freedom.
It felt like a transition.
Like something I couldn't reverse.
I followed behind him, my heels clicking softly against the ground.
Each step felt louder than the last.
The jet loomed closer.
Massive.
Silent.
Waiting.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
This was the beginning of something new.
Something better.
Something-
My thoughts suddenly fractured.
A cold sensation spread across my chest.
Like something invisible had brushed against my skin.
My steps slowed without permission.
My fingers tightened slightly at my sides.
The wind shifted.
Or maybe I imagined it.
Maybe it was just fear.
Just nerves.
Just my mind catching up to reality too slowly.
I swallowed hard.
It didn't matter.
I was almost there.
Almost free.
Almost-
"Stop right there, Channel."
The voice came again.
Clearer this time.
Closer.
Too close.
My body locked instantly.
Not a single muscle obeyed me.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs, hard enough to hurt, hard enough to blur my vision for a second.
No.
No, no, no.
That voice...
It didn't belong here.
I was at an airport.
Leaving.
Escaping.
Starting over.
Rowan wasn't supposed to be part of this distance.
He was supposed to be behind me.
In the past.
Locked in everything I was trying to run from.
But that voice-
It sounded like it was right behind my ear.
Like he was standing so close I could feel his breath.
My throat went dry.
My mind began to fracture between logic and fear.
Don't turn.
If you turn, it becomes real.
If you turn, it means he's here.
But what if he's not?
What if it's just my mind breaking under pressure?
What if I'm finally losing it?
My breath turned shallow.
My fingers curled slightly as if searching for something to hold onto.
Calvin was ahead.
The jet was ahead.
Freedom was ahead.
But behind me-
That voice lingered like a shadow that refused to leave.
"Stop right there, Channel," I heard the unmistakable voice of Rowan behind me.
My entire body froze instantly; my heart began thumping violently against my chest.
