Chapter 16 Chapter 16
Amelia
The moment I stepped into the lobby that morning, I sensed trouble. Declan was there, standing too close to Kelvin, their voices raised and their body language tense, like a fight could break out at any second. It had been three weeks since Declan last showed up, and seeing him now made my stomach tighten. I didn’t need anyone to tell me why he was here.
My heart thudded hard in my chest as I walked toward them, my heels echoing softly against the floor. Kelvin noticed me first, relief flashing across his face.
“Good morning,” he said quickly. “I told him you are not available yet, but he insists on going into your office to confirm it himself.”
I slowly turned my gaze to Declan. He looked as stubborn as ever, his jaw tight, his eyes sharp with impatience. I took a breath, steadying myself before speaking.
“I know you have probably never worked in a formal setting before,” I said calmly, though my irritation showed, “but when someone tells you the boss isn’t available and asks you to wait, courtesy demands that you do exactly that.” I paused, holding his stare. “Not throw tantrums and harass my staff.”
He smirked. “Fine. Can we go to your office now? I have a really important demand.” I nodded to Kelvin, who was still holding onto him, signaling that he should let him go.
We headed straight for my office. The moment I unlocked the door and pushed it open, Declan brushed past me and went straight for my chair. I smiled to myself, I knew exactly what he was doing, trying to provoke a reaction, trying to remind me of some imagined power he thought he still had over me.
I calmly dropped my bag on my desk and walked past him to the couch in the corner of the office. I sat down, pulled out my laptop, placed it on the small table in front of me, and began working as if he wasn’t even there.
When he realized I wasn’t going to entertain his nonsense, he stood up and walked over to me. He sat on the couch opposite mine, leaning forward slightly.
“Always trying to act like you are above everyone else,” he said. “Let’s see how that works out for you.”
I didn’t look up from my screen. If anything, his words only confirmed what I already knew. He was the one drowning in insecurity, the kind of person who needed to pull others down just to feel tall.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice sharp with irritation.
He smirked. “I thought you were never going to ask. First, I want you to be my fiancée again.”
For a second, I just stared at him. Then I burst out laughing, unable to stop myself.
“You are serious?” I asked between laughs.
His smirk widened. “Second, you will pay me monthly for being your fiancé, and you will sponsor my fashion career."
I shook my head slowly, disbelief washing over me. “First of all, I can’t be your fiancée for even a minute. I can barely stand you,” I said coldly.
“And second, why would I pour my hard-earned money into your career when I already know it would be a complete waste of resources?”
Without another word, he pulled out his phone. He tapped on the screen for a few seconds, then pressed play.
A familiar voice filled the room. Maxwell’s voice. “I don’t know, but if a woman ever keeps my child away from me for a year, let alone five years,” the voice said calmly, “I will take those kids from her. And that will be the last time she sees them, because I will throw her into an asylum.”
My laughter died instantly, my chest tightened, and my heart spiked painfully as the weight of his threat sank in.
“You heard him,” Declan said calmly. “And that recording was from just a few days ago. Imagine if I told him he has five children who have been hidden from him for five years. He would throw you into an asylum, and he has the power to keep you there for life.”
My throat tightened. “I… I can give you the money,” I stuttered. Money wasn’t the problem. I would rather die than become his fiancée again, not after everything he put me through.
“But I can’t be your fiancée,” I said firmly.
He laughed, short and mocking. “You don’t have a choice. I don’t even want you either,” he said bluntly. “I have hotter, more beautiful girls I’d rather marry. But I need that money for my career. And once it goes public that we are together, it will earn me points with my family, proof that I can land a woman like you.”
He leaned back, completely shameless. “I also need that point to be back in the family business.”
I stared at him, disgust twisting deep in my chest. Every word that came out of his mouth made my skin crawl.
“I can’t,” I said quietly. “Can I just give you the money?”
Agreeing to be his fiancée, especially in public, would be a disaster. My parents would immediately assume he was the father of my children, and they would stop at nothing to force us into a marriage. The thought alone made my chest feel tight. This was a terrible, terrible idea.
“That’s how it’s going to be,” he replied coldly, “or I go straight to Maxwell and tell him that the woman who almost ruined his reputation years ago got pregnant, hid his children, and kept them from him. Let’s see how that works out for you.”
He smiled like he was enjoying this far too much. “And imagine my mom meeting the five kids who look exactly like her. Her heart will melt. She will beg my father and Maxwell to forgive me.”
I froze, then it hit me. He was trying to drag my children into this sick, twisted game of his. I straightened, anger cutting through the fear.
“My kids won’t be part of this,” I said firmly.
“That’s not your decision to make,” he said coldly. “I make the demands, and you follow them, if you know what’s good for you.”
He stood up abruptly, the chair. “My family has a dinner coming up soon. Before then, our engagement will be made public. I will call you tomorrow and tell you what to do.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the door. “Don’t test me,” he added without looking back. “I can be dangerous and wickedly desperate when I need something.”
Then he was gone. He didn’t need to warn me. I already knew how cruel and desperate he could be.
My whole body felt unsteady, like everything inside me had been shaken loose. With trembling hands, I tried calling Adele, but she didn’t pick up. She was probably busy at work, unaware that my world was falling apart.
The private investigator I asked Kelvin to hire found nothing on Declan. Nothing at all. I didn’t know how he managed it, whether he was that careful or whether he truly hadn’t committed any crimes. Either way, it meant one thing.
Right now, I was at his mercy. And I wouldn’t let anyone take my children away from me.
I could barely focus on work for the rest of the day. My thoughts were scattered, jumping from one fear to another. Eventually, I told Kelvin to cancel all my appointments. I didn’t have the strength to face anyone, not like this.
All I wanted was to figure out a way out of Declan’s demands, onr that didn’t involve murdering him. I didn’t want that kind of stain on my conscience.
The door to my office opened abruptly, and I snapped, my chair was turned away from the entrance. “I thought I told you I don’t want to see anyone.”
Then a familiar scent filled the air, I would recognize that smell anywhere.
Slowly, I turned my chair around and came face to face with Maxwell Sinclair, a smug smirk playing on his lips. Kelvin stood beside him, wearing an apologetic expression.
Author's note: Declan, Declan is the epitome of, you can never shame the shameless, the audacityyy!!!😡😡.
Maxwell🥲