Chapter 2
There were also other remarks online.
[Did a ghost possess Mr. Whitten or something?]
[This is freaky. Demon, get out of Mr. Whitten right now.]
[What on earth could make the boss from hell this heartbroken?]
As soon as someone said that, everyone else jumped in, trying to guess what happened.
Some said it was because a big project got snatched by a rival, others thought he finally snapped after being forced into a business marriage.
Whatever the reason, I wasn't in the mood to care anymore.
After swiping through the gossip for a bit, I went to talk to that shitty company about getting out of my contract and quitting for good.
By midnight, I collapsed onto my bed, completely drained.
Just as I was catching my breath, my phone buzzed with a new message.
I opened it and saw that the heartbroken grim reaper from the trending topic had sent me a friend request.
His profile name was simple: Kelvin Whitten.
I hesitated for a moment, then decided to check out his profile first.
His profile picture and background were both pitch black, no bio, and even his username was just a single dot. It was the kind of vibe that would make anyone, living or dead, want to keep their distance.
I covered my face, pushed my hair back, and hit "Accept" like I was about to face a firing squad.
Less than a second later, Kelvin sent me a voice message.
I played it, and my blood ran cold.
He sounded like he was dealing with a chore he couldn't avoid, barely managing to be polite out of sheer habit.
He said, "Hello, Miss Stovall. I'm Kelvin Whitten, the guy you're supposed to marry."
I'm not used to voice messages, so I just replied with a simple "Hi."
Kelvin clearly wasn't interested in chit-chat. He cut right to the chase.
He said, "Miss Stovall, I'm in love with someone else. She's the only one for me, always has been, always will be. So there's no need for you to put any effort into me.
"This marriage is just a business arrangement. I don't mind if you go after your true love. I won't get in your way. Just as I won't stand in your way, I hope you'll respect my boundaries too.
"Plus, I heard from your family that you've got a crush who's coming back soon. I don't mind if you go after him. I can even help cover for you."
I was so shocked I couldn't help blurting out my question. "Wait, are you seriously going to help me go after my crush?"
He replied, "Yeah.
"Besides, I really don't want you getting attached to me. If you've got someone you like, that'll put my mind at ease."
Silence fell.
I was so stunned, I couldn't even find the words.
I asked, "Anything else you want to say?"
Kelvin replied, "Just one more thing. This whole marriage deal only lasts two years.
"After that, we split. Don't try to pull any tricks or stop me. I don't want things getting messy for either of our families."
"Works for me," I said without hesitation.
As soon as I said that, he let out a sigh of relief.
He added, "Then we can skip the wedding, and there's no need for intimacy between us.
"No need to go public with this marriage. Let's keep it under wraps. It's better for both of us."
I had zero objections and agreed immediately.
After laying out all those rules, Kelvin went silent for ages, probably making sure he'd covered everything.
Twenty minutes later, he finally messaged me to confirm.
He wrote: [That's all for now.
[Sorry, Miss Stovall, but in a deal, what really matters is the concrete stuff.
[Just to make sure there's no confusion later, I think we should put it all in writing and sign it.
[The agreement will spell out everything we just discussed, not just how we'll split things up after the marriage, but all the other details too.
[How does that sound to you, Miss Stovall?]
I was totally fine with it.
I typed: [Sounds good, Mr. Whitten. Just send it over once it's ready.]
Kelvin was happy. [I can send it to you tomorrow.]
Suddenly, I remembered something. [By the way, Mr. Whitten, do we need to see each other in person before we get the marriage license?]
He replied instantly: [No need to waste time. There's really no point in meeting. We'll just go to city hall and get the license the day after tomorrow.]
That works perfectly for me.
[No problem, sounds good,] I replied.
*****
It was three in the morning, and I was fast asleep.
But Kelvin had already finalized the agreement and sent me three different versions, as if he was afraid I'd change my mind or something.
To top it off, he showed up at my house at exactly six with a printed copy in hand.
Before I could even open my eyes, my mom yanked me out of bed and shoved me into the bathroom to get ready.
"Hurry up. Your dad's buying you some time," she called out.
Once my mom left, I quietly peeked over the railing from upstairs.
Sure enough, Kelvin was exactly like my friends had described.
He was sitting on the sofa, his body sculpted like a statue, his refined, superior looks paired with that all-black suit. He was so tempting, it was almost impossible not to want to do something reckless.