Married To My Fiancè's Stepbrother

5

KYLIE'S POV

The smooth hum of the car does little to calm my nerves as I'm taken back to the very prison I barely escaped from minutes ago.

The death contract I'm to sign is sitting on the dashboard, waiting for me to just pick up a pen and officially agree to Ralph's proposal.

My eyes bore into it with every miserable second that passes, hoping it would just miraculously burst into flames and set me free from this hell I'm about to get trapped in.

But, it doesn't.

So, with one final, sharp intake of breath, I snatch the document and flip it open, preparing to see a boring string of words. But the first line my eyes catch makes me pause.

'Kylie is not permitted to form or maintain any emotional, romantic, or s****l connection with any other man for the duration of the contract.'

A light scoff escapes me before it slowly builds into a mocking laugh that tears its way out of my throat. "Were you drunk, or did you really have your lawyer write that you own me for six months?"

Ralph barely throws a glance my way before fixing his eyes back on the road, one hand loose on the steering wheel like he's driving me to a dinner date instead of legal captivity.

"It's mutual," he says dryly. "I don't get to sleep with anyone else either."

"Oh wow,” I mutter, rolling my eyes so hard that it makes the ache in my head flare. “My heart feels like it's going to explode. How thoughtful of you."

"Just keep reading."

Oh, I will.

As I continue, most of it is the usual fake-marriage nonsense.

No physical intimacy in private.

Public affection is required.

No catching feelings for each other – as if my heart would ever stumble and fall in love with him.

Please. I'd rather throw myself off a cliff.

But as I read further, the real insanity begins.

'At public events, Kylie must remain within arm's reach of Raphael at all times and is required to wear the wedding ring.'

I glance up at him. "Arm's reach? Am I also supposed to be your emotional support animal?"

"It's for visibility," he says calmly. "People believe what they see."

I shake my head, lips pressed right as I keep going.

'If suspicion about their partnership arises, they must immediately perform a convincing romantic gesture (kissing is allowed here)'

The air suddenly feels too thin, like the car walls are slowly closing in on me. "Allowed? Wow, thank you, Your Majesty, for graciously permitting my lips to exist near yours."

His jaw ticks — just once — as he smoothly takes a U-turn and continues driving. "It says 'a' gesture. It doesn't necessarily have to be kissing."

"Even if it was, there's no way I'm letting you shove your tongue down my throat."

“Glad to know we're on the same page here,” he mutters, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “Wouldn't want to inherit all the bacteria Tyler left for you."

My cheeks burn, teeth grinding together as memories flood my mind. Without another word, I drag my attention back to the document on my lap and keep reading.

‘If paparazzi or family are watching, Raphael can touch Kylie however necessary to sell their fake marriage.’

That one makes my skin crawl and I crumple the corner of the page, recoiling in disgust as I try to picture what it would feel like to have Ralph’s filthy hands on my body again.

Bile rises to the back of my throat, threatening to push me over the edge. But I’m not done yet.

‘Violations and punishments of any breach in contract are determined solely by Raphael.’

I bite down on my tongue and squeeze my eyes shut, throwing my head back against the headrest.

“Problem?”

I glare at him from the corner of my eye, ignoring the way he lets out a dark chuckle at my misery.

The splitting headache only grows worse with every passing second, gnawing relentlessly at the back of my skull.

My vision turns hazy as I force myself to keep reading the damn papers, but nothing seems to register.

The only thing I can think about is how I'm going to be spending the next six months pretending to be someone I can never be – Raphael's wife.

A shudder ravages my body at the thought and the bile I'd managed to push down earlier rushes back up with twice the force.

“I can't do this,” I breathe.

My eyes catch the red light just as Ralph eases to a stop, and before I can think twice, my hand finds the door handle.

“Are we seriously doing this again?" he sighs, barely even sparing me a glance.

I don't say anything. Instead, I fix my attention straight ahead, quietly drawing in a slow breath as I prepare myself for what I plan to do now.

With one final exhale, I wrench the door handle with such force I fear it's going to snap.

But nothing happens.

My heart stutters to a stop.

I try again — harder this time, my pulse already starting to spike — but it doesn’t budge. Not even a little.

‘It's locked,’ a cold voice whispers in my head, the realization hitting me all at once, heavy and suffocating.

No. No, no, no….

My heartbeat goes wild, hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to escape without me.

I blink, but my vision is already blurring, tears gathering faster than I can stop them.

I swallow a lump that has formed, forcing myself to breathe, but the air feels too thin, like there isn't enough in the car.

Slowly—ever so slowly—I shift my gaze to Ralph and find him already staring at me.

He doesn't utter a word.

He just stares. Watching me with not even a hint of emotion in his eyes, like he already knew.

For a moment, everything goes still. The buzz outside, the honking cars, the world and everything within it — it all fades, leaving just me, him, and the stupid door that won’t open.

Then, the light turns green.

And just like that, he looks away.

His foot presses down on the accelerator, and the car moves forward like nothing happened.

Like I didn’t just try to run away from my problems again.

My hand is still wrapped around the handle, frozen in place, as my heart keeps racing.

Everything seems like a blur to me as the car keeps moving, barely stopping for even one second.

My thoughts continue to collide with each other, my eyes burning with unshed tears until we suddenly screech to a stop.

I'm pushed forward in my seat for just a second before my seatbelt drags me back.

“We're here," Ralph says dryly, easing his fingers off the steering wheel.

He stops a few blocks away from my father's estate, no doubt because he wants us to get our s**t together before we begin our ‘happy married life’.

A thick, stifling silence settles over us before Ralph finally breaks it.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?” he asks, voice tinged with a mix of frustration and restraint.

I gnash my teeth, willing myself to remain strong.

"I already explained how this works and what's going to happen if you decide to do things your own way, but you're still too stubborn to accept it.”

He pauses, clenching and unclenching his fingers around the steering wheel.

I don't even know what to say or do anymore. There's no point in it. I'm already cornered with no way out.

Letting out a sharp breath, he fishes out some papers from his glove compartment and stares at them for a while.

"I didn't want to do this.” He hands the documents to me. “But I can't have you ruining what I've spent months planning.”

I stare at the files, then at him, before taking them.

My hands start to slightly tremble as I skim through the papers, wondering what their contents could be.

When I finally understand what I'm looking at, tears pool in my eyes.

Séduire.

My Séduire.

The words blur together as my brain scrambles to make sense of it: shareholder transfer agreements, ownership percentages, my father's signature at the bottom of every single page like it's a brand logo.

"That's…" My voice comes out like a squeak and I can barely recognize it as my own. "That's my company."

"Technically," Ralph says, his tone unbothered, almost bored, "seventeen percent of it belongs to me now. Your father signed it over as partial collateral three months ago."

The paper crinkles under my fingers.

"He had no right," I growl through clenched teeth, my throat burning with sheer fury. "That company is mine. I built it—"

"With his seed funding." He cuts me off quietly. "Which gave him enough of a stake to make that decision."

The tears that had been threatening to fall finally spill over and I hate myself for it.

I hate that he gets to sit there, perfectly composed, while my entire world keeps tearing itself apart piece by piece right in front of him.

I built Séduire from nothing. From sketches in the margins of my boarding school notebooks when I had nobody and nothing else.

It was never about money or legacy or proving something to my father.

It was mine.

And now it's just another bargaining chip in a game I never agreed to play.

"So." I swipe at my cheek roughly, refusing to let him see me fall apart completely. "What happens to it if I don't sign your stupid contract?"

Ralph stays quiet for a heartbeat. "I think you already know the answer to that."

My jaw tightens as I pick the contract from my lap with trembling fingers, flipping back to where I left off.

If I'm signing away six months of my life, the least I can do is read every single word of this thing.

When I reach the final page, something makes me stop.

A glimmer of hope. A ray of light in this dark tunnel I sadly found myself trapped in.

'This contract shall be terminated any time at the sole discretion of Raphael Grifone upon the successful acquisition of Project Helios.'

I read it once.

Then again.

‘Project Helios,’ the name rings in my head, curiosity bouncing around.

I quickly read through the pages again, trying to see if I'll find anything to explain what it means.

But it's a futile attempt.

There's no explanation, no footnote. Nothing that tells me what it means or why it matters.

My eyes flick to Ralph, but he's just staring out the windscreen, jaw set and completely unbothered.

I look back down at the page, feeling something shift in my chest.

It's quiet but sharp, and it doesn't take me long to realize that it's determination.

I decide against asking him about it.

I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing it caught my attention.

"Here,” he says, holding a pen out for me. "We've wasted enough time already. Wouldn't want your darling fiance to have the FBI already out looking for you, if he hasn't yet done so.”

I eye the pen, hesitating just for a second before taking it from him.

My father's face flashes in my mind, followed by memories of me and Tyler.

With a quick sniffle, I tighten my grip around the pen and scribble my signature onto the last page, finally sealing myself to my cruel fate.

“Here’s your trillion-dollar signature,” I mutter, shoving the contract against his chest.

He takes it without a word, and I turn back to the window as the car starts moving again.

Whatever this Project Helios is, I'll find it.

I'll use it to give Ralph a taste of his own medicine and force him out of this agreement.

And when I’m finally free?

I’ll burn the whole thing to the ground.