Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)
Chapter 101

Chapter 101

She readjusted her posture for the umpteenth time, her left foot mindlessly tapping along the tile beneath the small, two-person table where she were seated. Her heart skipped an occasional beat, and her hands were clammy against the iced tea she fiddled with absently. It's two weeks before the wedding and she didn't want to be, but she was nervous, Despite how much and how often she had rehearsed this situation in her mind, she wasn't prepared for it. Not really. Even though this was the right thing to do, she still harbored a sick feeling in her stomach.

Kylan had no idea what she was doing. She left their home under the guise that she needed to run a few last-minute errands before their flight to New Zealand in a few days. He didn't question her too much, and she was both glad and terribly guilty.

She couldn't tell him what she was doing, though. If she did, and if it all went wrong, it would only hurt him. He had enough pain, enough ghosts that still threatened to swallow him whole at random times.

ity that this would backfire entirely

He didn't need the weight of this conversation. The heaviness of the very real possibility

It was easier, less r messy, if he didn't know right now.

Her fingers subconsciously found the solid band of her engagement ring and the spun it a few times, taking notice of the ridges and outlines of the beautiful stone situated at the center. She licked her lips, rolling her shoulders before checking the clock on her phone for the seventh time in the

last five minutes.

He was late. Two minutes late.

What if he didn't show?

He hadn't exactly been thrilled when she found his phone number amidst Kylan's contacts and then proceeded to message him a few days ago. Her stomach churned uncomfortably, her eyes scanning the busy street in front of her. The weather was sweltering now that summer was in full swing, and she could feel a layer of sweat coating the hack of her neck.

She glanced at the time again.

Four minutes.

Okay. This was New York City. Traffic was impossible. He was n doubt casing him in on all sides..

most likely stuck at an intersection, waiting among the loud hors of the cars no

"Katrina?"

Her neck snapped to the direction where her name was being uttered, only just avoiding knocking her tes over in her haste.

And there he was.

The man who grew up with Kylan. The man who once knew Kylan as well as she was lucky to now. The man who had loved the woman that Kylan aho cared for

She recognized him from the picture Kylan showed her in his closet during the night that had changed everything, so long ago now.

He was older than he was in the photo, and his eyes didn't reflect the same level of happiness that his younger self had, but it was him. James.

Now that he was here, she wasn't su

sure what to do. Or what to say.

She realized she had been blinking at him for a second too long, and she hurried to her feet, the hem of her sundress billowing as she moved.

"Hi, hey. I'm Katrina Katrina Morgan." She awkwardly held out her hand for her to shake, and then she grimaced to herself when she remembered this wasn't that kind of meeting. She closed her hand into a that and sat back down, gesturing to the seat across from her. "I wasn't sure what you might want to drink, but I can replace the waiter for you." She was speaking too quickly, her voice trembling, and her head buzzing from more than just the heat of the day

James wordlessly took his seat, picking up the menu on the table in front of him and avoiding her gaze entirely while he looked it over. "The iced lea any good?" he asked her quietly.

She nodded her head, doing her absolute best not to bounce her foot anymore. "It's pretty good" She cleared her throat, picking up the tea in question to take a sip of it. The coolness of the liquid did very little to calm the fire now building in her throat. Their waiter stopped by a moment later, and she listened while James ordered an iced tea for himself

And then there was silence.

Awkward, unbearable silence.

Chapter 101

Charged silence.

A congested silence

She could feel him looking at the ring on her finger. The ring that now felt like it weighed far more than it truly did.

Her mind was a blank slate. The words she rehearsed and practiced were nowhere to be found. Missing among the sea of 100 much to say "Why did you ask me here, Katrina?" James broke the awkward tension first, his voice guarded, his hands folded on the cable in front of him. She inhaled purposefully, taking another drink of her tea for good measure, and then she forced herself to look at James

For Kylan. She was doing this for Kylan. Because even if he wouldn't admit it, she knew this was important. She knew this conversation needed to happen, for his sake.

"You've known Kylan for a long time. She was surprised by how measured her voice was coming across. She gripped her glass between her fingertips, watching trails of condensation trickle down the cup, painting the tabletop with small rings of water. "I know he would never admit it out Joud, but 1 also know you're an important person to him."

James shifted in his seat, looking as uncomfortable as she felt. "Maybe I was a long time ago, but I'm not anymore. Kylan and I have a complicated relationship now." His words were strained and quiet, barely making their way to her ears over the roar of traffic passing behind her.

She frowned at him, watching him shift and move like he wanted to leave. To get away from her. Or from his own ghosts, maybe.

Perhaps she would let him leave, were it not this moment. This pivotal moment. This deciding moment.

She straightened up in her chair, leaning toward him a fraction on her elbows. "No, you're still important to him." She was firm. Steadfast. Hopefully leaving no room for him to rebuttal. "I don't know everything that happened between you. I won't pretend to understand thr.. Confusion and frustration that came with Yasmin dying. But I will-"

"Don't." James abruptly cut her off, speaking through sharply clenched teeth. "Please, don't talk about her. Don't talk about something you weren't there for. You weren't a part of"

"I wasn't there, no, I didn't know Kylan then. Hell, I wouldn't meet him until six years after everything. Ended. She shook her head, fighting back a sigh "Look, I wasn't there. I don't understand, like I said. But I didn't ask you to meet me to argue about Yasmin." She tried to redirect the conversation, ignoring the way her heart stuttered in the walls of her chest

"Then why did you invite me here!" James snapped at her, ignoring the waiter entirely when they brought his tea. He made no move to touch that.

"Kylan and I are getting married in two weeks. In New Zealand." This wasn't the way she practiced this. None of this was.

James gaze fell to her ring once more. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you." He didn't sound sincere. Not even a little bit.

She frowned at him, ignoring the probably misplaced anger that was building to a crescendo inside of her. "He would never say this, but I know he would love it if you were there, James He... He's lou a lot. He's been through a loc. I know you know all of that. I know you blame him for what happened to Yasmin, bur. It isn't fair." She held up a hand when James opened his mouth to probably protest. "I understand wanting to blame someone, anyone, when a terrible thing happens. I get it. I really get it. I blamed myself for my mom leaving for years. I'm sure I still do, on some level. But I know it wasn't my fault. I know she made that decision because of her, and not because of me." She licked her lips, forcing herself to continue speaking, even though she wanted to leave. To apologize for ever asking him to meet her, and to forget the whole thing ever took place.

"Yasmin had an undiagnosed heart condition. She would have had the heart condition, with or without the argument happening with Kylan. And that's all it was, James. An argument. An argument because Kylan had feelings for Yasmin, and Yasmin wanted to be with you. I don't know if Yasmin ever returned Kylan's affection, and that isn't what's important. Not really. Not anymore." She laughed bitterly, shaking her head, and then running

hand down the sweaty expanse of her face. She met James' gaze, realizing her eyes were swimming with emotion.

"You both cared for Yasmin. But Kylan also cared for you. You guys were with each other all the time. You were instrumental when his mother died. All of that. Those memories: They don't go away. You might never be what you were before, and that's okay. I understand that some things.... Some things change and shift in ways that you can never come back from. I get why that happened between you and Kylan. But, James, Kylan mases you. I know he does. I can tell he does" Sull holding his stare, she reached into her purse next to her and withdrew a large, white envelope. She set it on the table in front of Jaimes and then retracted her hand, ignoring the way that she was trembling.

"There are two plane tickets in there, along with hotel and rental car reservations for you and your girlfriend." She took a deep breath, pretending she didn't see the way James eyes widened as he looked at the envelope on the table. "It would mean a lot to Kylan if you were there. If you came. If you saw him get married," she finished speaking, allowing her shoulders to slump a bit now.

James was silent for a few minutes, and the made no move to say anything else. She let him think. She let him procesi.

Katrina didn't know if she was out of line. She didn't know if she got her point across the way she intended to. She wasn't sure if she just royally f*cked up the already tumultuous relationship between Kylan and James

Katrina wasn't sure what she would do if the worst-case scenario happened, and James lost her shit.

Sull. She didn't feel any regret. She couldn't regret trying to make Kylan happy like this. Not when he worked every day to make her happy

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Chapter 101

And then James laughed. Hard, and loud. And it was her turn to look at him with wide, confused eyes.

You know, I never thought Kylan Ross would get married. Never. He thought the entire notion was preposterous. He turned his nose up to the idea of monogamy and love. Even with his feelings for Yasmin, I don't think he would have ever allowed himself the space to honestly act on anything more than what he did. He just wasn't. Like that. He always kept the most vulnerable pieces of himself close to his heart, tucked away where he thought they were safe."

James smiled at Katrina, but his eyes were sad, filled with the kind of memories the knew Kylan also shared.

"With that being said, I understand why he's marrying you. I get why you're the one who was able to break through his thousand layers. You're good for him, Katrina 1can already tell that, just from this one conversation."

James took hold of his iced tea smearing the excess moisture along the glass with his fingertips. "For the record.. I never truly resented Kylan for having feelings for Yasmin. I knew about them for a long time. I knew that they kissed. I knew that Yasmin returned his feelings, at least on some kind of level." He shrugged, brushing a piece of his bangs away from his sweat slicked forehead: "It didn't bother me. Yasmin loved me. She wanted to marry me. She would have accepted my proposal that day."

He smiled grimly, turning his head to look down the street, his expression far away and his jaw drawn taut. "I know it isn't fair for me to harbor resentment for Kylan. I can't imagine what he went through the night Yasmin died. I can't imagine how broken he was after.. After all of it. I only know bits and pieces of how difficult it was for him. I was drowning in my own grief. I know that's selfish. That it isn't fair" He sighed, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes. "But it's what happened." His shoulders slumped, mirroring her own when he looked at her again.

"I miss Yasmin. Every f*cking day, even though its been ten and a half years since she died." Katrina could hear him swallow hard. She could see liquid pool at the corners of his eyes. "I miss Kylan, too. He was a big brother to me. An annoying, grumpy, older sibling." He laughed bitterly. wiping away a tear that just managed to escape.

Katrina discovered in this exchange that James has a soft heart

He took hold of the envelope she gave him, turning it over in his hands

"Things will never be what they were, Katrina. You seem to understand that, and I'm grateful" He paused for a moment, his gaze searching for and Bading hers. "It isn't painful, thinking about Kylan getting married. I'm not resentful. I'm not angry. Any anger I had. It died a long time ago, I want. I want Kylan to be happy. He deserves to be happy. Of course, he does." He opened the envelope, skimming the contents inside. "If it would make him happy. If it would help him replace more of the peace he's been lacking in his life since before I ever knew him... I'll go to your wedding. I'll watch him get married and I'll even smile while I do it" He offered a smile now, and Katrina felt herself grinning back before she knew what she was really doing.

Relief. It flooded her. Consumed her and took the place of every other emotion, every discomfort she had been harboring since she first reached out to James

mean to him. How much it means to me, too. Kylan has layers, like you said. But the ones he's broken down "You have no idea how much this will me with me, and for me. I know this will mean a lot to him. The relief flooded through her words next, but she did nothing to hide how glad she really was.

James laughed, finally taking a drink of his now watered-down tea. "He doesn't know you came to see me, does he?" he mused, quarking a brow at

her.

Katrina shook her head, every bit of lingering tension leaving her body as she did. "Absolutely not. He would be furious with me, she admitted with

"I'm impressed. You really are exactly who Rylan needs in his life." He reached for her hand. "May I?" he asked kindly, and she nodded eagerly. placing her hand in his so he could inspect her engagement ring, "It's beautiful Katrina. It really is." He sounded reverent, and she took a chance and squeezed his hand lightly.

Thank you, James. Really, thank you" She meant it she meant all of it.

James returned her squeeze and then let go of her. "You don't need to thank me for asking me to set aside my pride." He hununed, sighing as he did. "Now, tell me your love story. I want to hear all of st" Her heart fluttered in her chest for an entirely different reason now, and she cleared her throat, sitting up more fully in her chair before she began speaking.

Katrina couldn't believe she was talking to James. She couldn't believe he agreed to come to their wedding. She couldn't believe how easily she spoke with him. How effortlessly the conversation flowed.

As she recounted her relationship with Kylan, as she told her every detail she thought Kylan wouldn't get mad at her for, and maybe some extra bit he probably would. She felt happy. Praceful Excited. The ring on her finger no longer felt heavy, and the blazing sun no longer bothered her quite as much