I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind

Chapter 249 - 247: Drag Back, Lock Up

When she made out the large characters on the page, Mia Grant felt her world shake, as if she’d been struck by lightning.

A frightened hiccup escaped her. "E-Ethan, when did you get back?"

She feigned ignorance, trying desperately to change the subject.

But Kian Keller saw right through her.

His next words instantly shattered her hope.

"This is a prenuptial agreement. The lawyer drew it up overnight. You can take a look and see if anything needs to be changed."

"We don’t need to certify my pre-marital assets. What’s yours is yours, and what’s mine is yours, too."

"If I have an affair after we’re married, I’ll walk away with nothing. All assets in my name will be transferred to you."

"..." Mia Grant hiccuped again in shock.

It wasn’t that she had a weak constitution and couldn’t handle the shock.

It was just that Kian Keller’s "surprise" was far too sudden.

In the next moment, Kian Keller picked up the glass of water from the table and handed it to her.

Mia Grant quickly took it, taking two gulps to calm her nerves.

She had barely swallowed when she heard Kian Keller continue, "After we’re married, I won’t interfere with your personal life. You’ll still be free."

"..."

His words seemed to be hinting at something.

Mia Grant’s eyelid twitched violently. ’I must be dreaming.’

’Kian Keller was not a generous person.’

’He was probably the pettiest person in the room.’

’But what he just said sounded truly bizarre.’

Kian Keller watched her, his gaze sweeping over her face, observing every subtle change in her expression, not missing a single detail.

"You don’t like children, so we don’t have to have any. That clause is already in the agreement. If you’re worried I’ll go back on my word, I can get a vasectomy."

"PFFT... COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!" Mia Grant choked on her water. She coughed violently, her shoulders shaking as she hung her head, making it look as if she were crying.

"No, no, no."

She waved her hands frantically in alarm.

"That’s not necessary, but..." Mia Grant’s gaze drifted to the corruption value hovering over his head.

’Right now, Kian Keller’s corruption value was the highest of them all.’

’Even Silas Grant was safer than him.’

’How am I supposed to refuse him?’

’Kian Keller and Silas Grant both seemed dead set on marrying her.’

’I wonder if it’s because they’re both getting on in years...’

’But I’m still young!’

"I won’t be of legal age to get a marriage license until this time next year."

"We’ll have the wedding first, and get the license when you come of age."

He seemed to have anticipated her response, his voice utterly calm and devoid of emotion.

Mia Grant felt a headache coming on. "Ethan, based on what you’ve just said, I don’t think there’s any need for us to get married."

"Marriage needs to be built by both partners, on a foundation of mutual loyalty."

"I know you can do that, and you don’t seem to care whether I can or not."

"But that in itself isn’t fair."

"No matter who asked me today, my answer would be the same."

"At this stage of my life, there are many things I have to do, things that must be done now. But getting married isn’t one of them."

Seeing the value above his head fluctuate, Mia Grant gave a helpless smile. "I’m just stating my point of view, not trying to antagonize you, so please don’t be angry. If you truly see us as equals, then you need to understand where I’m coming from."

"I’m not willing."

"And again, this isn’t about you, and it’s not because I dislike you. It’s that marriage is simply not in my plans."

"Is there more?"

He watched her, his voice cool and his emotions unreadable. Mia Grant glanced at the number above his head, hesitating to speak.

"Didn’t you say you want me to understand your thoughts? If you have anything else to say, just get it all out at once."

"Only if you promise not to get angry," Mia Grant said.

"Fine."

Kian Keller lifted his gaze.

Swallowing hard, Mia Grant averted her eyes and said softly, "The truth is, you say you’ll give me freedom, but once we’re actually married, once we’re intimate partners, you won’t want to let me fly away anymore."

"You should know this better than I do."

"It’s not like I just met you yesterday. For you, love isn’t letting go, it isn’t freedom. It’s possession."

"If I’m not mistaken, in that basement where you locked me up after you found me... all those things are still there, aren’t they?"

"The shackles. The birdcage."

"Maybe for a fleeting moment, you decided to let the bird see the outside world. But that doesn’t contradict your desire to lock it away and keep it all to yourself."

"You’ve never given up that idea."

"You don’t have to deny anything. Let’s just imagine. Once we’re married, if I interact with other men at school or work—even just at a normal social distance—could you accept that?"

"I could. I know nothing would happen between you and them."

"Then could you accept the way those men look at me? Could you accept them liking me, constantly professing their feelings for me?"

"..."

His fingertips rolled heavily over one of the Buddha Beads.

"See?" Mia Grant smiled. "You can’t."

"So what would you do in that situation?"

She answered for him.

"You only considered accepting me flying freely, but you forgot that you can’t accept others showing affection for me."

"Even if you could ’clean them up’ in time, there would always be another. If that goes on, there are only two possible outcomes for us."

"Either we divorce... or you drag me back, lock me up, and I spend my days lying in bed waiting for you to come home, becoming your personal, caged pet."

"You’re unwilling to accept the first outcome, and I’m unwilling to accept the second. That only leaves mutual destruction waiting for us."

"Maybe we could be happy, but only on the condition that I’m not a soaring bird, but a flightless one."

"Then again, if I really became like that, you wouldn’t love me anymore. At that point, my affection, my love, would become worthless, trampled underfoot along with my self-respect."

"Ethan, I like you. But I love myself more."

"I don’t want to be trapped—in any sense of the word. That’s why, for now, I can’t accept being in a long-term relationship with anyone."

"It feels foreign to me, and it would make me anxious and uneasy."

"The way things are now is fine. At least I don’t have to worry about whether you’ll cheat on me or abandon me."

"People are selfish, especially me. I’ve always believed I should focus my energy on myself, not on a partner or a family."

"It’s not that I’m unwilling to give of myself. It’s that the price is too high, and I’m too tired. I can’t accept that kind of outcome."

"Those are my thoughts."

After her long speech, Mia Grant lowered her head, not daring to look at him again.

A long time passed in silence.

She cautiously raised her head and stole a glance at him.

Across from her, Kian Keller’s dark eyes were fixed on her. But even as he stared, he seemed to be lost in thought.

Mia Grant thought that something she’d said must have touched a raw nerve.

But surprisingly, Kian Keller had indeed been listening to her very seriously at first.

But as he listened...

She had rambled on and on, but his attention had become fixated on a single phrase: "Ethan, I like you."