GENESIS
"You were so good today—way better than me and Calista," Stacy said, glancing down at me with a grin. Her arm was slung around my shoulders as we made our way toward the studio doors after class.
My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and before I could do anything, Calista jumped in. "Hey! I wasn't that bad!" she huffed, folding her arms across her chest in an exaggerated pout. I looked at her, worried they might think I believed I was better than them. I reached for her arm just as Stacy turned me around gently.
"Don't mind her," she said with a playful eye-roll before turning to Calista. "Nobody said you were bad. Genesis was just really good today."
Calista's pout melted into a smile. "I know, I know—I was just teasing." She looked at me with affection. "Our little cutie killed it today."
She ruffled her hand through my hair, and I laughed, pushing her hand away.
We were only a few steps from the exit when Stacy reached for the door—but then a voice called my name from behind.
I turned, spotting Jaden jogging toward us.
But before he could reach me, a sudden commotion erupted ahead.
Voices—loud ones—calling my name.
My eyes widened.
A crowd had gathered just outside the studio doors—dozens of people with cameras, microphones, and flashing lights. As Stacy grabbed my hand, we took a hesitant step forward—and they surged toward us like a wave.
My heart thundered in my chest. Lights flashed. Microphones were pushed in my face.
"Look over here, miss!"
"Are you really Genesis Caldwell?"
"Are you married to Kieran Blackwood?"
"Where have you been all these years?"
"You were at the charity event last month! Why didn't anyone recognize you?"
"Is it true your father gave you to Mr. Blackwood in marriage when you were a child?"
Their questions slammed into me like a storm. My chest heaved, my throat tightened. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Then—
"Hey! You just stepped on me! Are you blind?" I heard Calista shout.
"Get your damn microphone out of her face!" Stacy barked.
"Back off!"
Suddenly, a firm hand grabbed mine—and just like that, the fog lifted.
Three large men, Kieran's men, pushed through the crowd and shielded me. They didn't speak, just moved with practiced ease, clearing a path.
"How I hate the paparazzi," one of them muttered.
I stayed pressed between them as they guided me toward a sleek black car. The crowd still shouted behind us, questions flying, cameras flashing.
As we neared the car, the back door opened—and Kieran stepped out.
The noise tripled.
"Mr. Blackwood! What do you have to say about the recent news?"
"What about the rumors?!"
Kieran didn't respond. He just scooped me up and carried me straight into the car. The door slammed shut—right in the face of a woman lunging forward with a mic.
Two of the men climbed in after us. The moment the car pulled out of the driveway, I looked back.
My classmates stood frozen on the sidewalk—eyes wide, mouths open.
I spotted Jaden next to Stacy and Calista. He stared at the car, his face unreadable.
I turned around, breathing hard, trying to slow the rush in my chest.
Kieran's hand gently turned my face toward his.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice low.
But my eyes went wide.
Daisy.
Where was Daisy?
I looked frantically around the car—but the seat beside me was empty.
Panic rose in my throat.
He didn't notice?
I turned to him and began signing, my hands trembling.
D-A-I-S-Y.
N-O-T.
H-E-R-E.
He blinked, confused. "What?"
I repeated it again, slower, clearer.
Daisy. Not. Here.
I pointed at the empty seat beside me.
He stared at my hands, then at the empty seat beside me—and finally, it clicked.
"Daisy?" he muttered, then cursed under his breath. "Shit. No, no—she's not missing. She's in the other car."
I blinked at him, my chest still tight, my fingers trembling in my lap.
"I had her moved to the second vehicle," he added, already reaching into his coat and pulling out his phone. "She's safe. I promise."
He dialed quickly, holding the phone to his ear.
"Yeah? She's with you?"
A pause.
"Good."
He ended the call and turned back to me. "She's fine. I didn't forget her. I will never forget her."
Relief washed over me in a shaky breath. My shoulders slumped, and I slowly leaned back into the seat. But even as the panic faded, something still didn't sit right.
He leaned closer, brushing his fingers down my arm, his touch soft. "I'm so sorry about all of this, princess."
I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't even sure how I felt.
Who were those people?
Why had they been waiting for me?
And most of all... why were they asking those kinds of questions?
One line kept repeating in my head, like a song stuck on a broken loop.
"And is it true when your father died, you were given into marriage even as a child to Mr. Blackwood?"
What kind of question was that? Why would anyone ask such a thing?
My confusion must have been obvious, because without saying another word, Kieran gently lifted me and placed me on his lap. His arms came around me like a protective shield.
He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and looked me in the eyes. "There's something I haven't told you. Something I need you to know."
I nodded slowly.
"You do know not everyone was aware I was married to you, right? But now... they all know."
I frowned.
They didn't know?
But—how? He was famous. Even Stacy and Calista always joked about how they'd seen him online, calling him the most handsome man alive—or something close to that.
So how could they not know?
Still… it kind of made sense. Stacy and Calista didn't realize he was married until they met me.
He continued, voice low. "I didn't care that it wasn't public before, but now things have changed. That's not the real issue though. It's something else…"
I tilted my head, watching him.
He went still for a second. "Your step family. They're trying to ruin mine. They're twisting the truth. She's trying to bury everything she did—to wipe it away."
She couldn't do that. She couldn't erase the truth. I remembered.
Then he smiled, but it wasn't a gentle smile—it was something else. A spark.
"That's where your revenge starts," he said quietly. "How would you like to begin… by taking your father's company?"
My breath caught.
For a moment, it felt like my heart just... stopped.