I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 68 - 66: Taking Her to Get a Marriage License
Mia Grant felt like there were some fragmented details she had overlooked at the beginning.
She tried to recall everything that had happened over the past few days.
The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
Neither the original novel nor the current turn of events had ever mentioned a feud between Yates Donovan and Kian Keller so deep that they’d have to kill one another.
At most, they became romantic rivals late in the original story. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
But right now, Yates Donovan’s feelings for her were likely still in the ’just for fun’ stage. He wasn’t so deeply in love that he would go this far for her.
The two families were on very good terms. In fact, the friendship between the Donovan and Keller families was even deeper than the one between the Donovans and the Grant Family.
Therefore, Yates Donovan and Kian Keller had known each other since they were very young. Logically, their relationship should have been better than Yates’s relationship with Silas Grant. But as it turned out, their personalities clashed completely, and they never got along.
Yates Donovan thought Kian Keller was painfully pretentious and utterly boring.
Kian Keller thought Yates Donovan was like a hyperactive husky, with no sense of personal boundaries.
But that was just it—they didn’t get along. Nothing more.
’It shouldn’t have escalated to... wanting to kill each other.’
The elders of both families were constantly running into each other in their social circle. For Yates Donovan to act so recklessly was tantamount to pushing the Donovan Family into a pit of fire. There was no benefit in it for him.
Her train of thought broke off there.
’Does Yates Donovan really act with a complete lack of logic? Especially in a matter like this?’
’Is he really doing this just for fun?’
If the Donovan Family investigated, he would be in trouble too.
Thinking along these lines led to a dead end, so Mia Grant tried to work backward.
’What if... this chaotic situation is exactly what Yates Donovan wants?’
’If he wants to see a rift form between the Donovan and Keller families, a complete falling out, to the point where the Donovan elders are too preoccupied to deal with anything else...’
’If that’s the case, then Yates Donovan wasn’t just using her from the very beginning.’
’She was just an insignificant excuse.’
’The person he was truly using... was Kian Keller.’
As the sole heir of the Keller Family, if anything happened to Kian Keller, the Kellers would certainly not let the other party off easily.
’So, he isn’t trying to counterbalance or get revenge on Kian Keller. Kian is just a pawn. The one he’s truly targeting is... the Donovan Family?’
It all clicked for Mia Grant.
The answer sounded a bit absurd at first, but it held up.
A chill ran down her spine as she realized what was happening.
She stared at Yates Donovan, wishing she could take back what she had just said, but it was too late.
Yates Donovan’s expression clearly faltered for a second, then the smile on his lips slowly widened.
A glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.
Mia Grant’s breath caught.
She regretted it.
’I was too quick to speak!’
’Sometimes, exposing the truth isn’t necessarily a good thing for you!’
"Ah." He let out a sigh that was part lament, part resignation, yet his tone was as jubilant as the taut, throbbing veins on his arm. "You’ve figured it all out."
"..."
Glancing around, her eyes fell on the slogan on the wall: "Serve the People, Ensure Safety." Mia Grant was incredibly thankful that she was at the police station right now!
"Ahem." Mia Grant cleared her throat. "I was just guessing. Whether it’s true or not, I won’t tell anyone."
"Too late."
Yates Donovan pinched her earlobe, kneading it gently. "You already know my entire plan."
"What should I do?"
"How should I... deal with you?"
"..."
The man caressed her earlobe, savoring the continuous shiver running through her body.
This didn’t arouse any protective instincts in him at all. In fact, he found it even more amusing.
’He just loved seeing her like this.’
’Putting on a brave front, acting as if she feared nothing. In reality, though, her body was honestly begging him for mercy, again and again.’
Taking a deep breath, Mia Grant reminded him repeatedly, "We live in a society ruled by law. It’s wrong to kill someone to silence them."
"I can pretend I don’t know anything. No, wait, I don’t know anything to begin with. Didn’t you say I was dumb last time?"
"If all else fails... maybe I can just run my head into a wall later and give myself amnesia?"
Mia Grant pleaded with him, trying to talk him down from the brink. "In short, we can negotiate anything. Please don’t do anything extreme!"
"Who told you to be so smart? I didn’t say a thing, and you guessed everything."
"You could have denied it!"
His expression turned sorrowful. "I was afraid you’d hate me if I kept lying."
Mia Grant’s mouth twitched. "...I hate you just the same right now."
That tactic didn’t work. She immediately switched strategies and grabbed his hand.
"Maybe you don’t have to silence me!"
"Then whose do I silence?" Yates Donovan rested his head on his hand, smiling as he watched her struggle.
"Nobody’s! We’re in the same boat!"
"Are we?"
"Of course! Now that I know your plan, I’m implicated. I’ll stick with you through thick and thin!"
"Ah? So you’re saying, no matter what happens from now on, you’ll stand by my side unconditionally?"
"Yes!"
"Oh~" Yates Donovan mused. "But how can you guarantee that?"
"I can swear an oath!" Mia Grant said through gritted teeth. "If I don’t, may I die old and alone!"
’This trick never failed.’
"Those words don’t work on me," he said, thoughtfully pointing her toward a better solution. "Why don’t you swear on Hayes Hughes’s life instead?"
"If you fail to keep your promise, may Hayes Hughes’s body be left in the wilderness to rot and be devoured by wild beasts, and may he never be reincarnated."
Mia Grant’s pupils widened.
’You bastard, you really are vicious.’
"What, can’t bring yourself to say it?"
"No... I just think it’s a bit unethical to use him in an oath. After all, this is between the two of us."
"Is that so." Yates Donovan sat up a little straighter. "Then let’s not make an oath. There are other ways to achieve the same goal."
"What other ways?"
"Don’t worry, you won’t lose out."
Mia Grant swallowed hard, staring at the smile on his face. The longer she looked, the more sinister it seemed.
’He was like someone who had carefully dug a trap, just waiting for her to jump in willingly.’
’God, could she call the police?’
"Tell me what it is first, so I can consider it."
"You don’t have a choice anymore."
"Well, I at least have the right to know what I’m getting into, don’t I?"
Gazing into her shimmering, watery eyes, Yates Donovan fell silent for a long moment before suddenly asking, "Do you have a lot of classes tomorrow?"
Mia Grant nodded.
"The day after tomorrow?"
"About the same. Why?"
"Then when are you free?"
Mia Grant thought for a moment. "I’m free on Sunday."
"That won’t work."
"?" She didn’t understand. "What are you planning? Are you asking me to dinner?"
He still didn’t answer her question. "Monday will be fine."
This time, he didn’t give her a choice, settling on the time directly.
"Monday morning, free up an hour. I’ll pick you up from campus."
"Where are we going?"
Yates Donovan put a hand on her shoulder and used his other to pinch her chin, forcing her to look out the window. "Do you know what that office building across from the municipal police headquarters is for?"
She shook her head.
Yates Donovan lowered his voice, his laugh muffled and indistinct:
"It’s the Civil Affairs Bureau."
’The Civil Affairs Bureau?!’
Mia Grant was instantly terrified, a look of horror on her face. "You can’t be thinking..."
His eyes confirmed that she had guessed correctly.
Yates Donovan tilted his head and kissed her cheek. "Binding yourself to me for life is much more useful than an oath, isn’t it?"
