Chapter 9: 9.

Marry him.

They were simple words but they carried so much weight that I choked on nothing.

Kieran had the same nonchalant expression on his face. It was the same as the one he held when he tore my marriage into shreds.

There was no way he meant those words. It had to be a joke, so I searched. I searched his expression for that trace of mockery to prove that I was right, but I found nothing.

He meant it.

“You are insane,” I finally choked out in a whisper, “What are you saying? Why would you want to marry me? Are you trying to play me? Make fun of me?” I spat, getting angrier with every word that came out of my mouth.

My voice was loud, but none of it bothered Kieran. He leaned back in the chair, his arms crossed in front of me, “You should know by now that I don’t joke, especially not with things like this,” he said calmly as though she was not spiralling out of control in front of him.

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded. “Did I offend you in some way? Is that why you’ve been hell bent on tormenting me? First, you destroyed my marriage, and now, this?”

“I didn’t destroy your marriage, and you know it. Van never treated you well. He tossed you out like garbage without another word.”

I blinked back tears, “And getting married to you isn’t getting into another cage?”

“It’s not. I promise,” he answered quickly, and for the first time since he said those ridiculous words, I saw an expression on his face. “I’ll treat you better than Van ever did,”

“That’s rich coming from someone who had only caused me trouble since I set eyes on him.”

“I understand why you are acting like this, but I have my reasons. Marry me,”

“You barely know me. We’ve never met until you walked into my house. The internet is tearing me apart. I am a disgraced divorcee who is worth less than a contract deal. What kind of game are you playing to want to marry someone like me?”

“A lot, but you have more to gain if you get married to me. Your status will be revived, even higher than before and you’ll get to do everything you wanted to do. I think it’s a good deal if you ask me,”

I laughed at the ridiculous idea, “Let’s use your words, Mr Archibald. I just left a miserable marriage. What makes you think I want to enter another?”

Something flickered in his eyes but it was gone as fast as it appeared. Kieran turned to me with a good gaze, “So, what? Van stripped you of everything. You have nowhere to go, and I know that you don’t want to go back to your parents and add to their burden,”

“Fuck you, Kieran,” I growled, feeling suffocated in the small space with him.

His words were so harsh, brutal, and cutting through every bit of me with the vile truth they held.

“You know that I’m right. Throw your pride away. You can’t afford it right now. Take this way out I’m giving you,” he said, “If you want to get revenge on Van for everything he did to you and your family, I am your best option,”

“I don’t want revenge on Van,” I whispered but the lies in my words were louder than the beat of my heart.

Kieran scoffed, “You don’t want revenge? Oh, please, sweetheart. I saw how thrilling it was for you to put him in his place in that boardroom. I can place you above him so you’ll feel that emotion a million times. All you have to do is say yes,”

As if he could sense my reluctance, Kieran leaned closer to whisper like the devil crawling inside my thoughts, “Think about it. Imagine him on his knees before you. Don’t you itch to make him feel smaller than he ever made you feel? To prove to him and everyone who mocked you how powerful you can become?”

I shivered as the images forcefully slammed into my head. Van on his knees, begging me to take him back as I step on his pride.

It felt good, I had to admit but one look at the hopeful, yet dark glint in Kieran’s eyes had them dying. He was worse than Van. I didn’t have to know him longer than I did to know it.

The dark gleam in his eyes as he spoke of revenge was enough. Did I want to join hands with the devil?

I told myself that I wanted to move forward, but Kieran wasn’t letting me and I hated him.

He was forcing me to deal with emotions I would rather bury than deal with. The anger, shame, betrayal.

Kieran Archibald was cruel for making me face them forcefully, just when I thought that I had pushed those emotions to the back of my mind.

He was giving me a golden ticket that I needed but didn’t ask for. A chance to make Van and everyone who had taken from me and my family, from those people who had looked down on us after Van ruined everything.

I hated that I was considering it, when making the deal would probably put me in a worse position than I was with Van.

Was it worth it? This tempting deal with the devil himself?

“I need time,” I said after a few seconds of haunting silence, “This is not something I can just agree to because you are pressuring me,”

“Fine,” Kieran leaned back. My head snapped to face him. It was too easy, the way he agreed, but then his next words proved me right, “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to think about it,”

“What?” I exclaimed with wide eyes. “But that’s too…”

“That’s all you get,” he said, cutting me off then turned his attention to the road.

I did the same. Looking out the window but not really seeing anything.

Twenty-four hours to decide if I wanted to probably be miserable again.