~ 101

Chapter 101 ~ Kesley ~ Something was definitely wrong with Niklaus. The way he'd been behaving all morning—the pointed questions during Ben's session, the interjections that felt more like territorial marking than genuine contributions, the way his eyes kept finding me across the room—it was unnecessarily dramatic. And I had no idea what to do about it. Ben's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "Let's take a quick break. Fifteen minutes. Stretch your legs, grab some water, process what we've covered so far." The room shifted immediately, people standing, reaching for phones, heading toward the terrace where coffee and refreshments were set up. I stayed in my seat, pulling out my phone with the desperate need for something normal. Something that wasn't Niklaus Specter staring at me with unreadable intensity while simultaneously texting cryptic messages to the phone in my pocket. A text notification sat at the top of my screen. Taraji: You will not BELIEVE who just

~ 102

Chapter 102 ~ Kesley ~ I sat on the closed toilet seat lid, staring at my phone, trying to convince my heart rate to return to something approaching normal. The bathroom was quiet. Peaceful, even. The kind of quiet that felt like a small mercy after the chaos of the morning. I pulled up my conversation with Taraji, ready to dive back into the Amanda drama—because other people's disasters were infinitely more manageable than my own—when my phone started ringing. Dan's name lit up the screen. My thumb hovered over the answer button for a beat too long, that old familiar hesitation that came from fourteen years of hoping and never quite having those hopes met. I answered. "Hey." "Kels!" His voice was warm, enthusiastic, exactly the way it always was when he called me. "I'm so glad I caught you. Are you at work?" "Workshop," I said. "Team building thing. We're on break." "Oh perfect, this won't take long. I just wanted to remind you about Saturday." Saturday. Right. His birthday

~ 103

Chapter 103~ Niklaus ~Whatever had changed her mind about marrying me must have been significant.I'd spent the sleepless night thinking about it, turning it over from every angle while staring at my bedroom ceiling.She'd refused me. Multiple times. Had run away, avoided my calls, turned down fifty million dollars to my face.And then suddenly, in that penthouse suite, after the insulin and the kiss and the almost-more-than-a-kiss, she'd looked at me with absolute determination and said let's get married.There were only two explanations.Either the kiss had changed something for her—had made her realize that a contract marriage to me wouldn't be the worst thing, that maybe there was something between us worth exploring even in a temporary arrangement.Or she desperately needed the money.My chest tightened at the thought, the same uncomfortable sensation I'd been feeling since last night.Because it was becoming increasingly clear which explanation was more likely.She needed the

~ 104

Chapter 104~ Kesley ~Niklaus was honestly a meerkat.The name had been meant as an insult during that sabotage date, a ridiculous comparison I'd thrown out to annoy him. But sitting here now, watching him watch me with those calculating eyes, I realized I'd been more accurate than I'd known.Meerkats were relentless. Territorial. They never let go of something once they'd decided it mattered.And Niklaus Specter had apparently decided I mattered.Or at least, that making me suffer mattered.What had I done to deserve this witchcraft? This cosmic joke where the man I was trying to fake-marry was also my boss and was somehow orchestrating situations that made it impossible to keep the two identities separate?I stared at my phone, at his text demanding I meet him at 6 PM, at the impossible logistics of being in two places at once.He meant it. I knew he meant it. If I didn't show up, he'd call the whole thing off. Would decide I wasn't serious, wasn't committed, wasn't worth the troub

~ 105

Chapter 105~ Taraji ~The final bell rang at 2:45, and I watched twenty-three children explode out of their seats with the chaotic energy of people who'd been forced to sit still for seven hours."Remember!" I called over the noise. "Spelling test tomorrow! And George, your permission slip for the field trip is still not signed!"George gave me a thumbs up while simultaneously trying to put his jacket on backward.The classroom emptied in approximately ninety seconds, leaving behind the particular kind of devastation that only elementary students could create—pencils on the floor, papers everywhere, someone's lunch box abandoned under a desk.I started the cleanup process that had become my new daily routine, this thing I did now because I was an actual teacher with actual responsibilities and no cleaning service to handle it for me.Amanda appeared in the doorway, her own bag over her shoulder. "Need help?""I've got it," I said, stacking chairs. "Your ride here yet?"As if on cue,

~ 106

Chapter 106~ Kesley ~At exactly 3 PM, the moment Ben wrapped up the final slide of his presentation, I was out of my seat."Thank you so much for understanding," I said to Dante, already grabbing my bag. "I'll be back by 9, I promise.""Just get your medication and drive safely," Dante said. "And Kesley? Text me when you're on your way back so I know you're okay.""Will do."I practically ran to the parking area where the shuttle had dropped us off that morning. Except there was no shuttle now. No convenient transportation back to the city.Just me and the need to get there as fast as humanly possible.I flagged down a taxi from the main road—expensive, but I didn't have time to worry about that—and gave the driver an address in the city."Can you get me there in under ninety minutes?" I asked.He looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Rush hour traffic starts at 4:30.""I'll pay extra. Please. It's an emergency."He shrugged. "I'll do my best."The drive was excruciating. Every red