Chapter 3
Even the simplest pose made Kelvin look both unattainably cool and irresistibly sexy.
No wonder my dad always said Kelvin was the best marriage candidate. He had spotted Kelvin at first glance and knew Kelvin would be perfect for me.
The next second, a streak of neon blue jumped out at me.
That neon blue was the color I'd picked with my fans back then. We agreed it would be my signature cheering color once I debuted.
Kelvin always had that boss-level, commanding look, but deep down he was actually kind of adorable, especially with that eye-catching blue leather band on his wrist.
How interesting.
While they chatted in the living room, my dad kept shooting me these meaningful looks.
But Kelvin sat there all calm, not even twitching an eyebrow, completely ignoring my dad's silent hints.
He was basically showing me with his actions that he couldn't care less about me, the fiancée who showed up out of nowhere.
My dad finally gave up on all the hinting, stomped his foot, and said straight out, "Kelvin, why don't you stay for breakfast? Joan's here too. You guys should meet."
"No need," Kelvin said flatly.
His voice was low, making it clear he wasn't about to budge.
He added, "We'll have plenty of time to be stuck together in the future, so skipping breakfast now doesn't matter, right, Mr. Stovall?"
My dad started to say something, but Kelvin cut him off, ice-cold.
"Alright then, Mr. Stovall, see you later," Kelvin said.
Before my dad could respond, Kelvin couldn't wait to get out of there.
As he stepped out, I walked into the living room.
Kelvin closed the door behind him without glancing back at me.
It was like he had "not interested" written all over his back.
As soon as Kelvin walked out, my phone buzzed with a message from him.
He wrote: [Miss Stovall, I've already handed the agreement to your dad. Once you've looked it over, sign it. My assistant will swing by to collect it.]
I read through the agreement from start to finish, making sure I didn't miss a single detail.
On top of everything we'd discussed last night, there was one last clause at the end, stating the profits from this marriage alliance would be split: 30 for him, 70 for me.
This was seriously big money, enough to keep me set for life.
I went through the agreement from start to finish, double-checking every detail so nothing slipped past me.
I even counted every single zero in those numbers to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
At first, I was pretty resistant, but now all I felt was a jittery unease about this massive sum suddenly landing in my lap.
I nervously messaged Kelvin: [Mr. Whitten, how come there aren't any terms in the agreement about you and whoever you're into?
[Was that left out by accident?]
I was genuinely curious. After all, this was a ton of money.
But Kelvin wasn't happy about my question at all.
Kelvin typed, cutting straight to the point, [Miss Stovall, there's no need to dance around it.
[These days, women always get the short end of the stick in marriage. So while we're together, I won't let anyone laugh at you or look down on you.]
I was left speechless.
Even though we were just texting, I could totally picture Kelvin's impatient face right now.
With sharp gaze, brows drawn together, he probably was muttering in annoyance, "Who is this woman, thinking she can butt into my business?"
But still, he forced himself to tone it down before replying: [I don't want her to be the other woman, not in any way.]
When we got to this part, Kelvin paused for a moment.
Probably thinking about the one he cared about, his tone lost some of that usual chill.
He wrote: [I'm not going to court her until this marriage with you is over. Then I'll give it everything I've got: confess, marry her, and make sure we're really together.
[But that's only if she doesn't have feelings for someone else, and if she's actually willing.]
How interesting.
Who knew the ice king could be so hopelessly devoted?
After Kelvin finished pouring his heart out, he went quiet, like he was silently savoring the moment.
Suddenly, he broke the silence.
[Also, send me your ID number,] he said.
[What do you need that for?] I shot back, instantly wary.
He explained, [The day we get our marriage certificate, I've got to fly overseas for business meetings. It just so happens that's where your crush lives.
[Why don't I get you a ticket too? We'll use the honeymoon as our cover. I'll play along and help you out, even help you go after your crush. So, are you interested?]
I hesitated for a moment, my finger hovering over the screen, unable to press send.
Kelvin waited ages for my reply, but nothing came through.
So he started talking me into it, actually super patient about the whole thing.
He typed: [Seriously, Miss Stovall, this is a golden opportunity.
[Who knows when you'll get another chance like this?
[You better think it over. Miss this chance and there won't be another.]
I still didn't reply.
After my whole crush fantasy crashed and burned back then, I went ahead and cut that jerk out of my life, no hesitation.
Kelvin wasn't about to give up.
He wrote: [Your dad told me when you found out he was moving abroad, you were totally heartbroken.
[I've got a relationship expert who's really good at dealing with crush drama.
[I'll bring him along too. Who knows, maybe you'll finally spill your feelings and get your happy ending.]