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C16

Author: Zeepha
last update publish date: 2026-09-11 03:49:48

Chapter 16- Marriage, Typed at the Top of the Page

Ivie stared at the word again

Marriage.

She hesitated with her hand over the paper, then slowly drew it back into her lap.

Alexander said nothing.

She looked up.

"This is a joke right?”

“Does it look like a joke to you?"

"You're asking me to marry you?"

"I'm offering a contract. Marriage is a legal structure that facilitates the possibility of the rest of it."

Ivie exchanged a long look with the page, then with the remainder of the folder stil
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  • The Vows we broke    C17

    Chapter 17 What the Papers Say About HimIvie set the folder from Alexander’s office on the kitchen table, unopened, and opened her laptop instead.She typed his name into the search bar. Three years of press releases arranged themselves into a tidy, flattering timeline. Blackwood International’s expansion into logistics. A profile calling him “notoriously private.” A charity gala photo dark suit, not smiling, standing slightly apart from the group even in a posed shot.None of it told her anything she hadn’t already picked up sitting across from the man himself.She scrolled back further. Ten years. Fifteen. The coverage thinned the deeper she went, the way it does for someone who kept himself out of cameras on purpose. She tried a different search: Alexander Blackwood early career.Most results repeated the same short paragraph, word for word, the kind of biography a company writes about itself and lets journalists copy from it without checking. Built his first company from a small

  • The Vows we broke    C16

    Chapter 16- Marriage, Typed at the Top of the PageIvie stared at the word again Marriage.She hesitated with her hand over the paper, then slowly drew it back into her lap.Alexander said nothing.She looked up."This is a joke right?”“Does it look like a joke to you?""You're asking me to marry you?""I'm offering a contract. Marriage is a legal structure that facilitates the possibility of the rest of it."Ivie exchanged a long look with the page, then with the remainder of the folder still tucked beneath his hand. "You said you could clear the debt. Keep the house.""Yes. If you agree to become my wife under the contract.”"For how long.""Two years minimum before either of us can request a termination. After that, either party may dissolve the arrangement freely under the given terms.""And during those two years.""You keep the house. The debt is cleared in full. Your father's estate remains your responsibility. You retain your name, if that is your preference. Nothing is clai

  • The Vows we broke    C15

    Chap‌ter 15 Two WeeksIvie had barely woken when s‌he⁠ stretched beneath the sheets and yawned. Sleep stil‍l c⁠lung to her, but she pushed herself out of bed and reached for th⁠e clothes s‌he had left on the chair the night before.She w‍as p⁠ullin‍g her top‌ over her he‌ad when her p⁠hone‍ buzzed on the bedside table.She stopped.‌For a mo‌ment, she c‌o⁠nsid‍ered ignorin‌g it. Then she reached for the phone a⁠nd unlocked‌ the scr‍een.A‌n email.She opened it.The message was shor⁠t and formal. An invitation to a m‌eeting concerning a‍ mutual‌ly‌ beneficial ar‍rangement. The t⁠ime was‍ sta‍ted clearly. So was the address.S‍he stared at the screen for s‌e‍veral seconds before letting out a quiet hiss and dropping the phone back onto the bed.Of‌ course.‍She should have kno‌w‍n Ale‌xander Bl‌ackwood wasn't fin‍ished⁠ w‍ith her.She picked up her clo⁠thes and walked into t‌he bathro‍om.The s‌ho‍wer helped wake he‌r up, but it di⁠d not⁠hing to s‌ettle her thoughts. By the tim‌e she

  • The Vows we broke    C14

    Chapter 14What He Doesn't Say Out LoudShe had said no without actually saying it.Alexander sat with that after she left, the pen still in his hand until he noticed and set it down. Most people who came into this office already knew how the meeting would end. They arrived prepared to accept whatever terms he offered because they had run out of other options. Ivie Sterling had not done that. She had made him repeat himself. She had called him on the pacing before he had fully decided to do it.He hadn’t planned for that.Seventeen days still left her with almost no room to maneuver. She would need the money. Pride only stretched so far when a house and a deadline were involved. But the arrangement would require more handling than he had expected, and he preferred plans that did not need handling.He buzzed his lawyer’s office. “Marcus Reid in my office now, if he’s free.”Reid arrived twenty minutes later with a laptop bag over one shoulder.Alexander didn't waste time.“I want you to

  • The Vows we broke    C13

    Chapter 13 The First Ten MinutesThe meeting was set for ten the next morning. Reyes had sent her the address, but Ivie didn’t recognize the place. She hadn’t even agreed to anything yet, yet he had already arranged everything as though her answer had never been in doubt.She didn’t trust Alexander. She didn’t trust the place he wanted her to go, either. But trust was a luxury she could no longer afford.She had seventeen days left.Maybe less.The following morning, Ivie took a bath and chose one of her best outfits, the navy suit she used to wear to board meetings.Putting it on brought back memories she had been trying not to think about. Those days when she had walked into her father’s company with confidence, knowing exactly where she belonged. Now, the same clothes felt almost like something borrowed from a life that no longer existed.She ate a quick breakfast, then ordered a Bolt ride and showed the driver the address Reyes had sent her.The drive was quiet.Ivie stared out t

  • The Vows we broke    C12

    Chapter 12The Last Number in the ColumnThe bank opened at nine. Ivie was on the phone a few minutes past nine.“Hello, good morning.”“Good morning, ma’am. How may I help you?”“I need to speak with the loan officer.” Ivie said over the phone “One moment, please.”She waited, gripping the phone tighter when the call finally connected.“Good morning. This is the loan department.”“Hi. I want to apply for a loan.”“Alright, ma’am. What amount are you looking for?”“I’m not sure yet. I have a problem I need to solve, and I have seventeen days left.”“Alright, what is your name please.”“Ivie Sterling,” Ivie replied, hoping for good news.There was a short pause.“Okay ma'am,” the loan officer said. His tone was polite, but distant. “But the deadline isn’t the problem. Your financial profile has changed.”Ivie frowned. “Changed how?”“Your income status. A month ago, you had steady employment with Sterling Holdings. Our records now show that your position has been terminated, so your c

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