Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rival's Contract Marriage : Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

Drake’s POVI didn’t move for a long time. Just stood there in the silence, fists clenched so hard my nails dug crescents into my palms. He walked out. He always walked out. But I saw it in his face before he left—he wasn’t walking away from me. No. He was walking toward him.Brandon, you stupid bastard.That name burned like acid in my throat. Brandon had sunk his claws so deep into Cameron that every time I reached out, I only cut myself on his shadow. And the worst part? Cameron let him. Cameron chose him over me, every single time.I turned slowly, my eyes falling on the half-empty wine glass still sitting on the table. My hand twitched. I wanted to hurl it against the wall, watch it shatter into pieces, but I didn’t. Not yet. My anger wasn’t blind rage anymore—it was cold, sharp, like a knife.Unless Brandon disappeared completely from this world, Cameron would never belong to me. I understood that now. The connection between them—it wasn’t just attraction, it was chains. Invisib

Young Brandon POVBrandon’s POV (Flashback)The blood dripping from my side dragged me under, and before I knew it, I wasn’t in that cold, broken room anymore. I was small again. Seven. Scared out of my mind.I could smell the dust of the attic, the wood so old it creaked with every breath I took. My wrists were red where the rope rubbed against them, and my throat burned from crying so much. Two days. Two nights. That’s how long I’d been here.And I remembered the voice of my best friend’s dad, sharp and mean, echoing in my head: “Your parents will pay. They have to. Or else.”I didn’t even understand half of it. I was just a kid. But I knew enough to know it was bad. I knew enough to know I wasn’t supposed to be here.The attic window was tiny, cracked open just a little. And in that moment, I thought: It’s now or never.I wriggled free enough to get the rope loose, my hands trembling so hard I thought I’d drop. My heart was hammering so loud I was scared they’d hear it downstairs.

Cameron POVI drove like a madman. My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles had gone white, and I didn’t even care. The city blurred past me, streetlights flickering against the windshield like ghosts.Brandon wasn’t answering his phone. Not texts, not calls. Nothing. It wasn’t like him. Yeah, he could be reckless, but not like this. Not silence.“Dammit, Brandon,” I muttered under my breath, pressing harder on the gas. “Where the hell are you?”Every part of me was buzzing with this ugly mix of fear and anger. Anger at him for disappearing. Anger at myself for not noticing sooner. And this deep, gnawing fear that something was seriously wrong.I pulled over suddenly, shoving the car into park, because I needed to think. Just breathe. My head fell forward against the steering wheel. The noise of the city was muffled in the background, but my heart was pounding so loud it drowned out everything else.Okay. Facts. He never showed up at the bidding. His team suddenl

Cameron’s POVBy the time Hilda pulled up, I’d worn a hole in the concrete from pacing. My nerves were shot. Every car that passed had me ready to swing.She slammed her door shut and marched over. Her eyes landed on Brandon’s car instantly, and her face hardened. “Shit. This is bad.”“No kidding,” I muttered, shoving my hands into my hoodie pocket so she wouldn’t see them shake.She crouched down, inspecting the door handle, then glanced up at me. “That’s blood, isn’t it?”“Yeah.” My throat was raw, like the word scraped it.Hilda stood, brushing her hands off. “Then he didn’t walk away. Someone forced him.”Hearing her say it out loud made my chest squeeze like a vice. I turned away, hands on my head. “I can’t— I can’t lose him, Hilda. Not like this. Not to them.”She stepped closer, voice low but steady. “We’re not going to. Okay? We’re gonna figure this out.”I let out a shaky laugh that wasn’t funny. “You sound so sure.”“Because I have to be.” She grabbed my arm, forcing me to f

Cameron’s POVThe mill was huge inside, way bigger than it looked from the street. The kind of place that could swallow a hundred people and still feel empty. Rusted machines loomed like skeletons in the dark, their metal bones creaking with every gust of air that slipped through the broken windows.I kept my hand pressed against the wall, partly so I wouldn’t trip on all the crap littering the floor, partly because my body wouldn’t stop shaking. My pulse was so loud in my ears it almost drowned out the voices. Almost.They were close. Too close.“…boss said the price doubled—” one of them muttered, voice sharp and impatient.“Then let him pay it,” another said. “I didn’t sign up for this much heat.”Heat. My stomach dropped. They were talking about Brandon. About hurting him.I swallowed, the sound deafening in my own head. My fists clenched so hard my nails cut into my palms. Hilda shot me a look like she could feel the storm building in me. She mouthed one word: Quiet.I nodded, bu