You Have 24hrs To Marry Me

Chapter 2:The Gun Has No Bullets

_Michael’s eyes were wild. Soaked. Angry. “He killed Dad, Jenna! He’ll kill you too! Run!”_

My breath caught. The cathedral felt too big, too quiet. The only sound was the ringing in my ears and the cold metal of the handcuff Kelvin had clicked around my wrist five minutes ago.

Run? To where?

Kelvin pulled me closer. His arm was an iron band around my waist. His lips brushed my ear, and his voice was low, amused, like he was watching a play he’d written himself.

“Your brother works for me, wife. The gun has no bullets. It’s a prop. Part of the show.”_

_My stomach dropped. Michael works for him? Then why the tears? Why the gun?_

For two years I’d thought Michael was dead. Or missing. Or hiding from the debt collectors after Dad’s company collapsed. I’d prayed to see him again. And now… this?

_“Lie,” I hissed back. “He’s my brother. I’d know.”_

I tried to pull away from Kelvin, but the handcuff bit into my skin. His cologne was expensive. Cedar and something darker. It made me dizzy.

Kelvin smiled. Cold. Slow. Like a shark that had already tasted blood.

“Do you? Two years ago I paid him $50,000 to disappear. To make you desperate. To make you think you had no one left. To make you marry me. And he took it.”_

The words hit harder than the cathedral walls.

$50,000.

That was the exact amount of debt that made Dad sell our house. The reason Michael vanished the week of Dad’s funeral. The reason I’d been cleaning hotel rooms at 3AM to keep food on the table.

_Michael flinched. Just a little. Enough for me to see._

He wouldn’t look at me. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack. The gun in his hand shook. No bullets. A prop. All of it a lie.

Two years of grief. Two years of thinking I was alone. Sold.

_The truth hit me like ice water. My brother… sold me?_

My legs almost gave out. Kelvin’s grip was the only thing keeping me upright. I hated him for it.

All those nights I’d cried into my pillow, begging God to bring Michael back… Michael had been cashing Kelvin’s checks.

I thought of Dad’s last words to me. _“Protect each other, Jenna. Family first.”_

Family first. What a joke.

“Why?” My voice came out broken. “Why would you do that, Michael?”

He finally looked up. His eyes were wet, but there was no apology in them. Only fear. Fear of Kelvin.

“I had to, Jen. They said they’d hurt you if I didn’t. I thought… I thought if I disappeared, you’d be safe.”

_Safe._ He called this safe. Handcuffed to a man who bought people like furniture.

_“Liar,” I said. But my voice cracked._

Because part of me believed him. And I hated that part most of all.

Kelvin’s thumb brushed over the handcuff on my wrist. Possessive. Final.

“You see it now, wife. There’s no one coming for you. No brother. No family. Only me.” He leaned in until his forehead touched mine. “So choose now. One year contract. You stay. You play the part. Or…” His eyes flicked to Michael. “Or the brother I thought was dead.”

The cathedral doors creaked behind us. Two men in black suits stepped in. Kelvin’s men.

Michael took a step back. The gun lowered. No bullets. No fight.

And I understood. This wasn’t a rescue. It was an auction. And I’d already been sold.

One year. Or the only blood I had left.

_My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would break my ribs. Choose now, wife. Your brother… or your contract._

The cathedral felt colder after that. Like the walls were listening.

Two years. $50,000. That was the price of my brother.

I thought of Dad’s funeral. Empty chair where Michael should have sat. The debt collectors banging on our door while I was still in my black dress. I’d blamed the world. I’d blamed bad luck.

I never blamed Michael.

Until now.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered. My throat was raw. “I would’ve—”

“Would’ve what, Jenna?” Michael’s voice broke. “Taken the money yourself? Gone to Kelvin’s bed to save me?” He laughed, bitter. “I did it so you wouldn’t have to.”

Kelvin’s grip tightened. “Enough family reunion.” He pulled me until my back hit his chest. “You have 3 seconds, wife. Sign the contract. Or I tell my men to escort your brother out. Permanently.”

The two men in black moved closer. Hands in their jackets.

And that’s when I realized: Michael didn’t bring a gun to save me.

He brought it so he’d have an excuse to die instead of watching me get sold.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would break my ribs.

Permanently.

The word echoed in the cathedral like a gunshot.

Michael didn’t move. He just stared at me, that broken gun hanging by his side. No bullets. No rescue. Just guilt in his eyes.

And I understood it all at once.

He wasn’t here to save me. He was here to be forgiven.

Two years ago he sold me for $50,000 because he was scared. Today he came back because he couldn’t live with it anymore.

But fear didn’t disappear just because you said sorry.

Michael took a step back instead of forward.

That step… it decided everything.

One year. Or the only blood I had left.

_Choose now, wife. Your brother… or your contract._

My fingers were numb.

The handcuff felt heavier than iron. It felt like a ring I never said yes to.

Kelvin didn’t wait for my answer. He just lifted my hand. The cold metal clicked again. Tighter this time.

“Smart girl,” he whispered. Like he already won.

I looked past him, to Michael.

My brother. My blood. The boy who taught me how to ride a bike. The man who sold me for $50,000.

He wouldn’t meet my eyes.

The cathedral doors were open behind him. Freedom was right there.

And he chose to stay outside.

Tears burned my throat, but I didn’t let them fall. Not in front of Kelvin. Not in front of him.

So I did the only thing left to do.

I stopped looking at Michael.

And I looked up at the man who owned me instead.

“One year,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. “But you touch me without permission, and I burn this contract myself.”

Kelvin’s smile was slow. Dangerous. He liked the fight in me.

“Burn it all you want, wife,” he said, lifting the handcuff chain. “You’ll still be on my wrist when you do.”

The cathedral echoed with his words.

And for the first time, I believed him.

The contract was signed. My life was not my own anymore.

__