Marry Me Instead

Chapter2:MarryMeInstead

The church had never been this quiet. Hundreds of people sat frozen in their seats.

Nobody whispered, moved or even dared to look away

Because Alexander Knight had just walked into the biggest scandal of the year…

And somehow seemed completely unsurprised by it.

Emily stood motionless at the foot of the altar. Her bouquet still hung loosely in her hands.

Emily swallowed.

“Because my story isn’t over yet?”

The words he had spoken moments ago echoed in her mind.

“What does that mean?”

Alexander studied her for several seconds. As though confirming something.

Finally, he spoke.

“It means today does not have to end the way everyone expects.”

Emily laughed. The sound surprised even her. It wasn’t amusement but disbelief.

“You think this can be fixed?”

Alexander glanced around the church, guests, photographers gathering outside. The shattered remains of Ethan’s phone near the altar. Then back at her.

“No.”

The answer came instantly.

“No?”

“What happened here cannot be fixed.”

The honesty hit harder than false comfort ever could.

For some reason… Emily appreciated it.

Alexander wasn’t pretending or offering sympathy. He wasn’t telling her everything would be okay. Because it wouldn’t. Not today. Maybe not for a long time.

“Then why are you here?”

“I came to offer you an alternative.”

Emily frowned.

“Alternative to what?”

“Being remembered as the woman who was abandoned.”

The words were brutal and impossible to argue with.

Emily felt her stomach twist.

Because by tomorrow… Every newspaper, blog and social media page would be talking exactly about that.

Alexander’s voice cut through her thoughts.

“You have two choices.”

Emily folded her arms.

“Do I?”

“Yes.”

His tone never changed.

“First.”

He gestured toward the church doors.

“You walk out of here alone.”

The room remained silent.

“You spend the next few months explaining yourself to people who have already decided what happened.”

Emily’s jaw tightened.

“You become the subject of every headline.”

“Or…”

“Marry me instead.”

Silence felt louder than any word would've been.

A collective gasp swept through the church.

Someone dropped their phone. The officiant nearly sat down.

Emily stared at him.

Completely speechless.

Because there was no possible explanation for what she had just heard. This man didn’t know her. Had never met her.

And had just proposed marriage in front of hundreds of witnesses.

“I’m sorry…”

Emily shook her head.

“No.”

A nervous laugh escaped her.

“No, that’s insane.”

“Probably.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

The certainty in his voice made the situation even more unbelievable.

Emily searched his face desperately.

Looking for a joke, prank, hidden camera….. anything, but found nothing.

“You cannot walk into someone’s wedding and propose marriage like you’re changing a business appointment.”

Alexander remained calm.

“I just did.”

Several guests gasped.

Emily almost laughed again.

The audacity of this man was unbelievable.

“You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

“There you go saying that again.”

Her patience snapped slightly.

“What exactly does that mean?”

For the first time, Alexander’s expression shifted.

Not much. Just enough for her to notice.

Then he asked a question she wasn’t expecting.

“How long have you been paying your father’s debts?”

Emily froze.

The church disappeared. The room disappeared. Everything disappeared.

For one terrifying second…

Only that question existed.

Her heart skipped.

“…What?”

Alexander didn’t look away.

“Three years?”

The air left her lungs. Nobody knew about that. Not the guests. Not Ethan. Not even most of her relatives.

After her father’s company collapsed, Emily had spent years quietly helping to hold the family together.

Extra jobs, missed vacations, personal loans. Sacrifices nobody saw. She had never spoken about it publicly.

So how—

“How do you know that?”

A dangerous question.

Because she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

Alexander ignored it.

Instead—

“You sold your mother’s jewelry collection last year.”

Emily’s face went pale.

Her father’s head turned sharply toward her.

“Emily…”

She couldn’t even look at him. Because that was true too.

The hard decision she took to pay medical bills and creditors. A secret she had taken to her grave. Or so she thought.

Alexander continued.

“You withdrew from graduate school.”

Emily swallowed.

“Stop.”

“You gave up the scholarship.”

“Stop.”

“To keep your family from losing their house.”

“Stop.”

The word cracked out of her.

The church fell silent. Nobody had known. Not even Ethan. Especially not Ethan.

Because while she had been sacrificing everything…

He had been planning his escape.

Alexander finally fell quiet. Not because he felt guilty. Because he had made his point.

Emily stared at him. Fear slowly replacing confusion.

Who was this man?

And why did he know the parts of her life she had hidden from everyone?

“You investigated me.”

His answer came instantly.

“Yes.”

A fresh wave of whispers spread through the church.

Emily almost couldn’t hear them. Her pulse thundered too loudly.

“Why?”

A pause.

Then—

“Because I don’t make important decisions blindly.”

That answer should have offended her.

Instead… It frightened her.

Because he wasn’t embarrassed.

Wasn’t apologizing. Wasn’t pretending otherwise.

He had investigated her. And saw nothing wrong with admitting it.

“That’s insane.”

“No.”

Alexander’s voice remained calm.

“It’s thorough.”

Emily stared at him in disbelief.

For the first time all day…

She wasn’t thinking about Ethan, Selena, or the wedding.

She was thinking about the man standing in front of her. The stranger who somehow knew her secrets.

The billionaire who had walked into her disaster like he had been expecting it, asking her to marry him.

And the worst part?

She still didn’t know why.

As if sensing her thoughts, Alexander spoke again.

“Emily.”

Her name sounded different coming from him.

Not familiar but intentional.

“You think this proposal is the most important question you should be asking.”

She frowned.

“Isn’t it?”

“No.”

A beat.

Then—

“The most important question is why I was already here before your fiancé disappeared.”

Emily’s blood ran cold.

“What?”

Alexander held her gaze.

Unwavering.

“You should ask yourself that.”

And suddenly… For the first time since he arrived…

Emily realized something.

Alexander Knight had not stumbled into this situation.

He had come here for a reason. And whatever that reason was…

It had started long before Ethan abandoned her at the altar.

The church remained silent long after Alexander’s words settled over the room.

Emily could still hear them echoing in her head.

Why was I already here before your fiancé disappeared?

The question lodged itself inside her mind.

“You knew.”

Alexander said nothing.

Emily felt a chill crawl down her spine.

“You knew Ethan wasn’t going to show up.”

Still no answer.

Her pulse quickened.

“How?”

Alexander slipped one hand into his pocket.

Calm and controlled.

“That question has a complicated answer.”

“I didn’t ask for a complicated answer.”

For the first time, something almost resembling amusement flickered across his face.

“No. You asked for the truth.”

Emily folded her arms tightly across her chest.

“Then tell me the truth.”

A pause.

Then—

“I received information this morning.”

The church remained silent.

Listening. Watching.

Alexander didn’t appear to care.

“I was informed that your fiancé intended to leave the country.”

Emily swallowed.

“You knew…”

“Yes.”

Anger flared through her grief.

“You knew and you didn’t tell me?”

For the first time since he’d arrived, Alexander looked away.

Toward the stained-glass windows. Toward the sunlight spilling across the church floor.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.

“If I had warned you…”

His gaze returned to hers.

“Would you have believed me?”

Emily opened her mouth. Then closed it.

Because the answer was obvious.

No. She wouldn’t have.

If a stranger had approached her that morning claiming Ethan and Selena were planning to run away together…

She would have called security.

Alexander continued.

“You trusted them.”

The simple statement hurt more than it should have.

Because she had. Completely.

Blindly.

And look where it had brought her. The realization settled heavily in her chest.

Alexander stepped closer. Not enough to invade her space. Just enough to lower his voice.

“Emily.”

She hated how calmly he said her name.

As if he wasn’t turning her life upside down.

“You cannot change what happened today.”

His eyes held hers.

“But you can decide what happens next.”

Outside, another burst of camera flashes exploded.

The reporters were getting impatient. The story was spreading. Every second made it worse.

Emily could practically see tomorrow’s headlines.

BRIDE ABANDONED FOR HER SISTER

WEDDING DISASTER OF THE YEAR

LOVE TRIANGLE SCANDAL

Her stomach twisted.

Alexander noticed. Of course he did.

He seemed to notice everything.

Then he delivered the real blow.

“What happens when the creditors learn Ethan is gone?”

Emily froze.

The question hit harder than she expected.

Because she knew the answer.

Ethan wasn’t just her fiancé. He had been tied to several business agreements involving her family. Agreements that now hung in uncertainty.

Alexander continued.

“What happens when investors panic?”

Emily’s heart sank.

“What happens when the people who already doubt your family decide you’re vulnerable?”

The church suddenly felt smaller. Hotter…. Dangerous.

Because he wasn’t talking about heartbreak anymore. He was talking about consequences. Real ones. The kind that could destroy lives.

Alexander reached into his jacket.

Several guests shifted nervously.

Instead of a weapon… He withdrew a slim black folder. He placed it on a nearby pew. Between them. Like evidence.

Emily frowned.

“What is that?”

“A solution.”

She stared at the folder.

Then at him. Then back again.

Slowly…

She opened it.

The first page made her breath catch.

A contract.

Her eyes skimmed the title. Then widened.

She looked up immediately.

“No.”

Alexander remained calm.

“You haven’t read it.”

“I don’t need to.”

“No.”

Her voice rose slightly.

“I absolutely do not need to read a marriage contract.”

Gasps rippled through the church. Emily barely noticed.Because the words on the page had already burned themselves into her mind.

Marriage Agreement

The reality of his proposal suddenly became terrifyingly concrete.

This wasn’t a spontaneous act. This wasn’t pity or impulse.

Alexander Knight had come prepared.

The realization sent another chill through her.

“You already had this.”

It wasn’t a question.

Alexander nodded once.

“Yes.”

The church erupted into whispers. Emily’s hands tightened around the folder.

“When did you prepare this?”

Another pause.

A dangerous one.

Then—

“Before today.”

The world seemed to stop.

Emily stared at him. Not understanding and not wanting to understand either.

Because there was only one reason a man would prepare a marriage contract before arriving at someone else’s wedding.

He had planned something. Maybe not every detail. Maybe not the exact outcome. But something.

And suddenly…

The mystery surrounding Alexander Knight became much larger.

And much more frightening.

Because she was no longer asking why he wanted to marry her.

She was asking:

How long had he been planning to?