Chapter 2: The Man Who Doesn’t Ask
952 Words
“Marry me instead.”
The words didn’t feel real.
They hung in the air between us—heavy, impossible, dangerous.
I stared at him, my mind refusing to catch up.
“What…?”
It was the only thing I could say.
Behind me, I could feel the shift in the room.
Whispers.
Shock.
Confusion.
But I couldn’t look away from him.
From the man who had just stepped into my humiliation… and turned it into something else entirely.
He didn’t repeat himself.
Didn’t explain.
He simply watched me.
Like my answer was already his.
“You don’t know me,” I said, my voice barely steady.
A slow, almost amused breath left him.
“I know enough.”
His eyes flicked briefly to my stomach.
Then back to my face.
“And I know he doesn’t deserve you.”
The words hit differently coming from him.
Not soft.
Not comforting.
Just… certain.
“Sebastian,” Ethan snapped from behind me, his voice tight with irritation. “What are you doing?”
So that was his name.
Sebastian.
It fit.
Cold. Controlled. Dangerous.
Sebastian didn’t even look at him.
“You said she’s not yours,” he replied calmly. “So this doesn’t concern you.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Don’t play games.”
A faint smile touched Sebastian’s lips.
“I don’t play games.”
Something about the way he said it made the room feel smaller.
Like the rules had just changed… and only he knew them.
I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself.
“This isn’t funny,” I said, looking between them. “You can’t just—just say something like that.”
“I can,” Sebastian replied.
Simple.
Direct.
Like there was no world where he couldn’t.
“You don’t even know me,” I repeated.
His gaze didn’t waver.
“You were with him for three years,” he said. “You stayed when he had nothing. You built him up. You trusted him.”
My breath caught.
How did he
“You think I don’t know who you are?” he continued quietly.
A chill ran through me.
This wasn’t impulsive.
This wasn’t random.
“I’ve been aware of you for a long time.”
The words sent something sharp through my chest.
Before I could respond
Naledi stepped forward, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor.
“This is ridiculous,” she said, her voice still composed, but her eyes sharper now. “You’re embarrassing the family.”
Sebastian finally turned his head.
Just slightly.
And the look he gave her
It wasn’t anger.
It was worse.
Indifference.
“You’re mistaken,” he said. “I don’t embarrass myself.”
Naledi’s expression stiffened.
Ethan stepped closer now, his presence suddenly tense.
“You’re going too far,” he said.
Sebastian looked at him then.
Really looked at him.
And for the first time,
Ethan faltered.
Just slightly.
“You made your choice,” Sebastian said. “Now I’m making mine.”
My heart was racing so fast it felt like it might break through my chest.
“This isn’t a choice,” I said quickly. “This is madness.”
Sebastian’s gaze returned to me.
“Is it?”
He took one step closer.
Then another.
Until there was barely any space left between us.
“You have nowhere to go,” he said quietly.
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because they were true.
My throat tightened.
“My family?” I whispered, more to myself than to him.
“They won’t take you back like this,” he said.
Pregnant.
Alone.
Humiliated.
I knew it.
And he knew it too.
“And him?” Sebastian added, glancing briefly at Ethan. “He’s already made it clear.”
I felt something break inside me all over again.
The reality of it.
The finality.
“So what?” I said, forcing myself to meet his eyes. “I just… marry you?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No doubt.
No room for negotiation.
“Why?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.
This time
He paused.
Just for a second.
Then he said quietly:
“Because I don’t take what’s broken.”
His gaze darkened.
“I take what’s mine.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“I’m not yours,” I said, though my voice lacked strength.
“Not yet.”
The room felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too intense.
Everything inside me screamed to run.
To refuse.
To reject this madness.
But another voice
Quieter.
Colder.
More honest
Whispered something else.
What do you have left?
I looked at Ethan.
At the man I had loved for three years.
He didn’t look back.
His attention was already elsewhere.
Already moved on.
Like I meant nothing.
Like I was nothing.
My chest tightened.
Then I looked back at Sebastian.
At the man who hadn’t looked away once.
The man who had stepped forward when everyone else stepped back.
Dangerous.
Controlling.
Unknown.
But certain.
My fingers curled slightly at my sides.
“This wouldn’t be real,” I said slowly. “It would be… an arrangement.”
“Of course,” he replied.
Something about that made it easier to breathe.
“And the child?” I asked quietly.
His eyes flicked to my stomach again.
Then back to me.
“They will have my name.”
The words hit deeper than I expected.
Stronger.
Safer.
More binding.
“Say yes.”
It wasn’t a request.
It wasn’t pressure.
It was inevitability.
I closed my eyes for a brief second.
Then opened them again.
And stepped into a decision that would change everything.
“…Okay.”
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