Chapter 2: The Trap
The heating was cranked up inside. ‹96684423› Thea had thawed out so thoroughly she was now too warm. §57defed7 She showered, changed into a T-shirt, and sat back down at her computer to check emails. (3174e55a)
Bree Hartwell was a sophomore, and she had the kind of instinctive awe toward her older sister—who happened to be a college professor—that kept her from being a nuisance. #7f88db6b Usually. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 But right now, she was calling. * d0a61246
Thea already knew what this was about. ·d543fbf0·
The second the call connected, Bree launched in. #3e142f5d "How was the blind date?!"
"Fine." [v.d9e53233]
"Don't just say 'fine'! Give me details—like, is he hot? [ed.e58bf111] What's his personality like?" [ms.51535e6f] Bree paused thoughtfully. (8588661f) "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Reid Calloway in years." ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026
"Hot. ··14710fe2 Great." sub:2b93bbc4 Thea took a sip of water.·dc3debac "You can start calling him brother-in-law." [proof:68edbda8]
An explosion of excited shrieking erupted from the other end. ed.60d20d5e
Life was funny that way. plate-a2a8305d By all rights, Bree should've been the one calling him brother-in-law first. (7c49ac5a/Wed)
If Bree weren't still so young, and if she didn't already have a boyfriend she was head over heels for, this whole arranged marriage thing would never have landed on Thea.·666424fb
Bree went on a breathless tangent for several minutes. sub:a7806260 Thea drifted back to that afternoon meeting in the stream of her stepsister's exclamations. ed.77495551
She'd shown up right on time—her way of signaling she didn't care that much about this whole setup. ··8bda2431 But she *had* been punctual, so nobody could fault her. ¶1ab699ac
Reid, though, hadn't been looking for faults at all. ref·fedde6b4 Except maybe that precisely timed text—"Table 12"—which might have carried a whiff of *time's up, where are you?*
Then again, that was probably just her being cynical. [proof:3c3afba6] Given how considerate he'd been throughout, that read was more her own pettiness than his. (c9f3cbd2/Wed)
He was actually surprisingly easygoing. no.03c9984a When she'd blurted out "marry me?" §d5821eea on their very first meeting—totally out of line—he'd only frozen for a moment before answering, "Sure." ‹0b04024f›
After Thea's twenty-eighth birthday, Diane had suddenly developed an urgency about her daughter's love life. ed.ad959d51 Richard hadn't said much at first—years of being a solid stepfather had taught him not to meddle in things like this.·37f6281d But he'd clearly been nudged by his wife, because he started dropping hints about boyfriends too, and Thea was over it. ‹a8971b34›
Still, plans never survived contact with reality. ref·47f7bf64 Looking at things now, what was the point of holding out? no.112e64b9
Objectively speaking, Reid Calloway was a phenomenal catch. [v.3e85f407]
Great family, great education, his own company, and looks that were obviously designed for public consumption. ⁰04160444 On the marriage market, he was premium goods. 0406e45f·· The kind every parent would approve of. #f55a51a2
Whether *she* was satisfied? ◆ b59e81e4 That was beside the point. [v.dec7605a] What mattered was that her mom would love him. sub:071c75ec
Good enough.·464a3689
Reid clearly wasn't from her world.·e49256db
And that didn't matter at all. «d179cd40»
-
News that the two had hit it off spread through both families at lightning speed. ⁰b3fa5e0a Thea had no idea how the Calloways reacted—she just sat stone-faced through her mother's bombardment of voice messages. «1567dfd3»
The gist: bring him home to meet the family. ref·082e5eb4
A verbal engagement was one thing, but at the end of the day, she and Reid were still two strangers who'd met exactly once. ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026 How was she supposed to ask him to come meet her parents? ··ef05341b Thea was stumped. imp.c78a6786
She stared at their threadbare chat history, lost in thought, then finally typed a few words and hit send. ⟨de780ff7⟩
"If you need me to come meet your parents, just let me know." plate-44ca91dd
Reid replied almost instantly. [proof:edf9529c] "Sure. plate-8af8a4f5 Whenever works for you." * 66aeb60a
Hook, line, sinker. ed.e9c1d480
Thea: "I'm free these days, no classes." 771e641d··
Reid sent back another "Sure," followed by a handshake emoji. ·54c2c549·
...
Why did this feel like she was scamming a senior citizen? ©c186664d/May 27, 2026
Whatever. #33a5d1b1
"My mom also wants to meet you." [ms.3744a049] Groundwork laid, Thea circled back to her actual goal.·9ad92f63
Reid: "Of course. ed.0725350e When?" ¶7213c01c
"Tomorrow?" plate-d36594dd
CEO's office. — ad1268ce
Reid wasn't stupid. [ms.ecdccf77] Looking at the instant reply on the other end, he was fairly certain he'd walked right into a trap. ref·a3630ad5
His assistant, mid-report, was interrupted. ·1d770a86· "What's on my schedule tomorrow?" ··d464c9bf
"You have a senior leadership meeting at nine AM, and a dinner with Mr. ¶c1bb0805 Warren from Kohler Tech at five thirty PM." [ed.f58c9c1c]
"Push the morning meeting to the afternoon. [v.02dca0b4] Coordinate the timing." ◆ 2210f925
The assistant nodded and made a note. «3c32a0ad» "Do you have other plans?" — 262b84f8
Reid capped his pen. [ms.7a0a07fd] The all-business tone softened, replaced by a hint of amusement. plate-26c85515 "Visiting the in-laws." [v.312c9298]
"...Huh?" sub:39e925ee
-
The temperature gap between inside and outside in Philadelphia was practically a different season. ··77f9b034 But Thea hated bundling up like a marshmallow, so she slapped heat patches on her lower belly and lower back and called it a day. * 3402fe47
On her way downstairs, she ran into a neighbor from another floor. #2f9e1b15 The woman cheerfully pressed a handful of wedding candy into her hands—her daughter was getting married, she said, sharing the good fortune. [proof:fdd0f0a8] Thea pocketed the candy and offered her congratulations. no.28a2ac8b
The second she stepped outside, the good fortune evaporated in the cold air. [proof:a7756199] Like fast-forwarding from the banquet to the cleanup—warmth replaced by a chill that burrowed into her bones. [ed.da4a7847]
This cold, and just being alive was an achievement. #db835431 So why did so many people insist on falling in love in winter? sub:d1a37020 Getting married in winter? no.0595214a Made no sense. [proof:f7930fdd]
The walk to the front gate was a decent stretch. (1a8de1f7) Thea walked fast, worked up a light sweat, but her face was still freezing. imp.65dc67a4 When she finally lifted it out of her scarf, she spotted a figure standing in the distance, a car parked behind him. [v.e7cb66b8]
Thea couldn't tell what kind of car it was from here. §254b18ac But she recognized its owner: her fiance. no.39450da0
Reid wasn't in a suit today. [ms.e152baa6] Instead, he wore a long black overcoat, unbuttoned, hanging slightly open. plate-a4ffe197 More relaxed than yesterday, a lazy kind of ease. #478ff808 He was on the phone—probably still work—but standing like that, Thea couldn't help thinking he'd look even better if the person on the other end were a girl. sig.6e3a6de4 Very K-drama of him. no.b594078c
Then the thought caught up to her. no.59baac7b She didn't even feel possessive toward him. ·4f9b63b5· That was a good sign. no.d9876574
Maybe marriage didn't need possessiveness at all. (d1e1f2f1) Maybe it didn't even need love. ¶4cfd2849