All Chapters of The Proxy Contract: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

1

EVIE“Omg, Evie, where have you been? And—” She grabbed my arm, turning it around quicker than I could react. I quickly pulled my hand back and pulled the sleeves of my hoodie down to cover it.Her expression was angry. “Where the fuck have you been? And what happened?”“Nothing,” I shook my head. “Did the boss notice?” I asked instead.She stared at me as if I was some crazy lady but still shook her head hesitantly. Patricia was my coworker and possibly the only friend I’d known since high school. She’s stuck with me, defended me from bullies, and helped me with food and shelter during the stormy days.Stormy days like the past two days.“I thought you were saving up to move out,” she whispered as we changed into our work fit in the dressing room. “What happened? We were supposed to go apartment hunting later today.”I shrugged tiredly. “I guess it didn’t work out again.”“Why?”“Why?” I repeated to myself. Right, because my oh-so-perfect cousin sister thought that the money I carefu

2

EVIEMy head throbbed as if a hundred soldiers were marching around it, and a low groan escaped my lips as I turned to the left. The movement made the world tilt, and before I could stop myself —Thud!A sharp pain shot through my body as I hit the floor. I groaned again, this time from the ache. The door opened, and slow, deliberate footsteps echoed across the room.“How clumsy can you get,” a deep voice murmured.His presence came closer, marked by the suffocating scent of his cologne; rich, dark, and powerful. I tried to open my eyes to see who he was, but the lights were too bright, and my head pulsed in agony.“Shut the blinds,” the man ordered. The sound of footsteps obeyed him, and the room dimmed.“Leave,” he said again, and the door closed softly behind whoever had entered.Finally, my eyes felt comfortable enough to open. The first thing I saw was his jaw, covered with a beard. His eyes were on me, and his expression was unreadable.Who is this man?I struggled to free mysel

3

GAMMONHer face... there was just something about her face that haunted me. The way her eyes welled up with tears, the way she breathed fearfully; those things usually massaged my ego and made me feel better.But in this case, it pricked my heart. It was as if I was actually hurting myself by hurting her."You're a monster!"Her whispers still echoed in my head. Scowling, I shook my head as if to shake it away.“Get it together,” I mumbled, focusing on the papers before me. “I'm not just any man; I'm Gammon Blackwell, a billionaire and the CEO of the biggest financial firm in the country.”That calmed me a bit, but my heart was still drawn to the girl.“Ah, fuck it!” I pushed the papers away, causing a big mess. The door flew open as one of my security men barged in."Mr. Blackwell, is everything all right?" he asked, concerned."Pick these papers and arrange them neatly. Follow the paging. I got up from my seat and headed to the door. Once you're done, lock the office and meet me at

4

EVIEI was still standing by the window until early evening when I saw his car drive back into the manor.It’s been a week of being here, ignored. I haven’t set eyes on him except when he’s leaving in the morning or at night. Margaret came every morning by 9 to drop my breakfast, by 1 p.m. to drop my lunch, and by 9 p.m. to drop my dinner.It had become a norm for me that once the clock struck that hour, I opened the door, waiting for her.Our conversation had always been the same — drop the meal, take the previous dish, me saying thank you, and her offering a warm smile.Is this the punishment for the crime? It would be relieving if I had the freedom to even roam the house, not to mention step out. I missed Patricia so much, and I know she’d be dying to reach out to me.Today was different anyway, because even while I stood by the window, my door opened and I turned quickly. Nobody ever did that.It was him.“Evie,” he called with a gentle smile. The way he called my name, it felt so

5

GAMMONThe taste of her was still burning on my lips — a chaotic mix of sweet rain, salt, and the sharp, metallic tang of pure terror.I stood frozen in the center of the dimly lit bedroom, my chest heaving under my black singlet as if I had just sprinted a mile through a war zone. My hands, usually so steady they could sign away billions without a single tremor, were vibrating with a dangerous, electric current.Below me on the mattress, Evie lay perfectly still. Her eyelids fluttered, the chaotic trembling that had racked her fragile frame just moments ago slowing into a heavy exhaustion. The scream that had cut through my soul was gone, swallowed entirely by the bruising force of my mouth against hers."What the hell did I just do?" The voice in my head didn’t just taunt me this time; it roared a deafening accusation that made my blood run cold. *You swore yourself to Vee. You promised no one else would ever touch you. And you just lost your mind over a Fulham pawn.*"Sir?"Henry’

6

EVIEI woke with a violent gasp, my fingers instantly knotting into the thick silk duvet. The room was vast, cold, and entirely unfamiliar. For a terrifying ten seconds, my mind was a blank slate of white noise until the chaotic events of the previous night rushed back with the force of a physical blow. The contract, the violent storm in my head, and him.I pressed the back of my hand against my lips, my skin tingling. They still felt slightly swollen, vibrating as a result of the kiss that had felt less like an assault and more like an unexpected lifeline. "You let him kiss you," I scolded myself fiercely, my cheeks burning with an intense, sudden heat that made my breath hitch. "You let a man who locked you up, a man who threatened an innocent child’s life, touch you like that. And worse... you leaned into it."A soft, rhythmic chime cut through my spiral of self-loathing.My eyes darted toward the bedside table. A sleek, black smartphone sat on the polished marble surface next to

7

EVIEThe dress was a masterpiece of midnight-blue silk, so dark it bordered on black, with thousands of microscopic glass beads sewn into the bodice that caught the sunlight and fractured it into sharp needles of light. It looked expensive.I sat on the edge of the plush mattress, my knees pulled tightly to my chest, glaring at the fabric as if it might spring to life and choke me. A sharp knock rattled the heavy oak door before it swung open, revealing Margaret and two sharply dressed women holding leather cases that could only contain high-end cosmetics and hair styling tools."Good morning, madam," Margaret said, her voice a soothing balm that didn't quite match the rigid, militaristic precision of the women behind her. "Mr. Blackwell has requested that the glam team prepare you for this evening’s dinner. We have exactly three hours before the car arrives."I didn’t move. "Take it back."Margaret paused, a silver hairbrush hovering in her hands. One of the stylists, a tall woman wi

8

GAMMONI stood at the base of the floating glass staircase, my hand resting flat against the cold steel railing, watching her descend. The fabric shifted with every step she took, the thousands of microscopic glass beads caught the dim, recessed spotlights above and fractured the light into sharp, icy splinters. She looked like a winter night carved into a weapon. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a sleek, elegant twist, exposing the pale, fragile line of her throat and the faint, fading yellowish shadow of a bruise near her collarbone.My chest tightened, a sudden, heavy pressure arresting my lungs. For a split second, the glittering glass tower vanished, replaced by the suffocating scent of ash and the memory of a little girl with a fierce, gap-toothed smile who used to hold my hand in the dark."Get a grip, Blackwell," the voice inside my head snarled, colder than the marble beneath my feet. "She is a Fulham trade. A tool for retribution. Nothing more.""You're staring," she

9

EVIEThe interior of the Maybach was an armored vault of absolute, suffocating silence.I sat pressed against the cold leather of the door, my hands wrapped so tightly around my velvet clutch that the fabric groaned under the pressure. Outside the tinted glass, the neon lights of Manhattan blurred into jagged streaks of static, but all I could see was the memory of Julian’s face hitting the mahogany bar. The sound of shattering crystal still echoed in my ears like a physical alarm.Beside me, Gammon was a statue carved from shadow. He hadn't looked at me once since he dragged me out of the restaurant. His large hands rested flat against his thighs, his knuckles still white, his chest heaving in slow, controlled expansions that felt less like breathing and more like a predator suppressing the urge to tear something apart."You didn't have to do that," I whispered, the words scraping painfully against my raw throat.He didn't move. He didn't even turn his head. "Do what, Evie? Educate a

10

EVIEBLACKWELL’S BLOODY DEBUT: BILLIONAIRE RECLUSIVE SLAMS HEIR AT L’ÉTOILE.WHO IS EVIE? THE SECRET FIANCÉE WORTH RUINING A LOGISTICS EMPIRE FOR.CROFT LOGISTICS STOCK PLUMMETS 14% FOLLOWING BARROOM ALTERCATION."A business calculation," I whispered to the empty room, my voice flat, echoing mockingly in my own ears.A sharp, synchronized double-knock rattled the heavy oak door before it swung open. I braced myself for Gammon's towering, suffocating presence, but instead, Margaret stepped into the room. She was carrying a silver tray with a porcelain teapot, a single cup, and a stack of printed morning broadsheets. Her usually unshakeable, maternal composure was frayed around the edges; her eyes were wide, darting anxiously toward me as she set the tray on the bedside table."Good morning, madam," she said, her voice tight, lacking its usual smooth rhythm. "Mr. Blackwell requested I bring you chamomile tea. He... he also explicitly instructed that you read the press coverage before he

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