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Penulis: Gem
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-02-12 23:49:49

Cameron’s POV

I didn’t realize I’d stopped breathing until Brandon said my name for the third time.

“Cameron… hey… why do you look like you just saw a ghost, what happened?”

My hand was still wrapped around my phone so tight my fingers hurt, like if I loosened my grip even a little the message would disappear and I’d convince myself I imagined it, which honestly would’ve been preferable to the reality sitting on my screen.

I swallowed hard and turned the phone toward him.

He read it once.

Then
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  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    128

    Cameron’s POVThe moment I took the step forward, everything inside me shifted again, like something deep in the system had briefly misfired.Not broken.Not gone.Just… interrupted.“You moved,” Brandon said immediately, his voice sharp with disbelief and hope at the same time.“I did not complete the previous instruction set,” I replied.Wilson let out a loud breath.“I don’t know why that sounds more concerning than reassuring,” he said. “But it does.”Kade’s voice came from behind Brandon, calm as always.“The failsafe is destabilizing,” he said.Brandon turned slightly, not taking his eyes off me.“Then fix it,” he said.“I cannot,” Kade replied.Brandon scoffed.“You keep saying that like it’s helpful,” he said. “It’s not.”“It is factual,” Kade answered.Brandon looked back at me.“Cameron,” he said again, slower this time, “talk to me.”I processed the request.Language response: stable.Output: clear.“I am talking to you,” I said.“No,” he replied immediately. “You’re answer

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    127

    Brandon’s POV“Failsafe?”The word did not sit right in my chest. It felt wrong the second it left Kade’s mouth, like something sharp pressed against my ribs from the inside.“What failsafe?” I repeated, louder this time.Kade did not look at me.He was still watching Cameron.Always Cameron.“You don’t remember that part yet,” he said calmly.I stepped in front of Cameron again without thinking, my hand tightening around his wrist.“Then you’re going to explain it,” I said, my voice steady even though everything inside me was not.Kade tilted his head slightly.“It’s not my job to explain,” he said. “It’s my job to observe.”“That’s not happening,” I snapped. “You don’t get to drop something like that and then act mysterious about it.”Wilson nodded aggressively.“Yes, exactly. This is not a movie. You cannot just say ‘failsafe’ and then refuse to elaborate. That is extremely unfair.”Irene shot him a look.“Now is not the time,” she said.“It is absolutely the time,” he argued. “We

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    126

    Cameron’s POVThe moment the words left my mouth, I felt it.Not something external.Not something new.Something that had always been there.Buried.Controlled.Restricted.Until now.“I’m done holding back.”The air around us felt sharper, like everything had suddenly become clearer, more defined, more… predictable.Kade smiled.“Finally,” he said. “I was starting to think you’d never get there.”Brandon stepped closer to me, his voice tight with something I couldn’t ignore.“Cameron,” he said, “what does that mean?”I didn’t look at him immediately.Because my focus—Was on Kade.“It means he gets what he wants,” Kade answered for me. “A fair test.”“I didn’t ask you,” Brandon snapped.Kade ignored him.I took a step forward.Then another.Slow.Controlled.Every movement deliberate.“Cameron,” Irene said, her tone sharp now, “we need to leave. This is not the time to—”“No,” I said.The word cut through everything.Firm.Clear.Final.“We are not leaving,” I continued.Wilson star

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    125

    Brandon’s POVEverything turned into chaos so fast that I did not even have time to fully process what was happening before my body was already moving on instinct.“Move!” Cameron said, his voice sharp, controlled, like he had switched into something else entirely.I grabbed his arm tighter instead of letting go.“I’m not losing you in this,” I said.“I am not going anywhere,” he replied, even as he pulled me sideways just in time to avoid Kade’s next move.Kade did not hesitate.He adjusted instantly.Like he had already calculated where we would be before we even moved.“That’s not normal,” I said, my voice rising.“He’s reading patterns,” Cameron replied quickly. “He’s anticipating reactions.”Wilson nearly tripped behind us.“I do not have a pattern!” he shouted. “I am pure chaos right now!”“That might actually help,” Irene said, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him out of the way of another attack.Kade moved again.Fast.Too fast.He came straight for Cameron this time, ignoring

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    124

    Cameron’s POVThe wind hit harder up on the rooftop, but I barely noticed it because all my focus locked onto the figure standing in front of us.They were not moving.Not rushing toward us.Not even trying to close the distance.They were just… waiting.Like this was exactly where we were supposed to end up.“Cameron,” the voice said again, calm and steady. “Still running.”My chest tightened slightly.Brandon’s grip on my arm didn’t loosen.“You know them?” he asked, his voice low but urgent.“Yes,” I said.“Then please explain because I feel like I am constantly ten steps behind in this situation,” he replied.I did not take my eyes off the figure.“They’re not just part of the program,” I said slowly. “They are part of my program.”Wilson blinked rapidly.“I am sorry, your program?” he repeated. “As in your personal nightmare project?”“Yes,” I said.“That is not comforting,” he said.Irene stepped slightly forward, her voice sharp.“Who are you?” she demanded.The figure tilted t

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    123

    Brandon’s POVThe word retrieval did not leave the room.It stayed there, hanging in the air like something alive, something breathing, something waiting.“They’re coming for me,” Cameron said again, quieter this time, but somehow heavier, like he had already accepted it.“No,” I said immediately.All of them turned to look at me.I stepped closer to him, my voice stronger now.“No, they’re not,” I repeated.Cameron looked at me, his expression unreadable again, but I could see it—the shift, the way his brain was already trying to calculate outcomes, already trying to prepare for something he thought was inevitable.“They have the resources,” he said. “The access. The documentation confirms continued monitoring. The probability of—”“I don’t care about the probability,” I cut in.Wilson blinked.“Oh, we are rejecting logic now. That is new,” he muttered.I ignored him.“I don’t care what they think they can do,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on Cameron. “They’re not taking you.”Ther

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    Chapter 31

    Cameron’s POVThe second we shut the bathroom door behind us, both Brandon and I jumped like we'd been caught making out by a teacher , which, to be fair, wasn't too far from the truth.I yanked my phone from the makeshift stand on the sink and stopped the recording with shaking hands. “Okay,” I b

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    Chapter 30

    Cameron’s POVThrowing a party under the excuse of an engagement was probably the dumbest genius idea I’d ever had. I told Brandon it was for us to get the blackmailer ,lure him and set the trap. But let’s be real: maybe I also wanted to see what would happen if we blurred the lines a little more.

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    Chapter 29

    Cameron POVI should’ve been angry. Furious. Hell, maybe even panicked.Someone was threatening me. Not from the outside, but from within our own circle. Someone who’d looked me in the eye, smiled like we were friends, and then turned around and stabbed me in the back with a screenshot. They were r

  • Rival's Marriage Agreement    Chapter 28

    Brandon’s POVI wasn’t sure what I expected after last night. Maybe for Cameron to wake up tangled in my sheets, maybe to make pancakes and pretend like we were normal. Maybe for him to kiss me again, slow and lazy, like we had all the time in the world.What I didn’t expect? Him leaving first thi

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