Alexander watched Alyssa as she sat on the bed, lost in thought.
Her brow was furrowed.
Her lips were pressed together.
She was biting the inside of her cheek, a habit he noticed when she was nervous.
Is she going to say no?
The thought unsettled him.
He wasn’t used to rejection.
Most women would have accepted without hesitation.
But she was hesitating.
He had asked his assistant to investigate her while she slept.
The report came back quickly.
Alyssa Moore.
Twenty-two years old.
He knew about the mountain of debt her late father had left behind.
He knew her mother was working herself to exhaustion trying to pay it off.
He knew Alyssa was struggling in the entertainment industry, taking every minor role she could find just to survive.
She was desperate for money.
He knew that.
So why is she hesitating?
He leaned back in his chair, studying her.
Her stormy blue eyes were distant, unfocused.
She was wrestling with something inside herself.
Is she playing hard to get?
The thought irritated him.
He didn’t have time for games.
He had offered her a solution, a way out of her financial nightmare.
All she had to do was say yes.
Compensation, he reminded himself.
That’s what this is.
He had taken something from her last night.
Her virginity.
He didn’t remember it, but the evidence was there.
The blood on the sheets.
The soreness in her body.
He owed her for that.
And if this marriage also solved his mother problem, then it was a win-win.
He waited.
Alyssa raised her head.
Alexander was already looking at her.
His grey eyes were steady, patient, like he had all the time in the world.
She took a breath.
“Two hundred million.”
The number hung in the air between them.
Alexander didn’t blink.
“Is that all?”
Alyssa stared at him.
Who the hell is this man?
She had said two hundred million to scare him off.
To make him realize how ridiculous this was.
No one paid that kind of money for a fake marriage.
No one.
But he had looked at her like she had asked for pocket change.
Is he really that rich?
Her heart pounded.
She had thought the number would end this conversation.
Instead, it had only made her realize how out of her depth she was.
She swallowed.
“I would like to say something.”
“Go ahead.”
She took another breath, steadying herself.
“Can you make our marriage a secret? During that one year, no one can know. And also…” She paused, meeting his eyes.
“There should be no feelings attached.”
Alexander’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Isn’t that supposed to be my line?
He almost laughed.
She was beautiful, sitting there in his bed, her hair messy, her eyes fierce.
No feelings.
No strings.
Just a contract.
“Okay,” he said.
Alyssa blinked.
“Okay?”
“Okay. I agree to your terms.”
She stared at him, her lips parted.
She had expected a fight.
A negotiation.
Something.
But he just said okay.
What have I gotten myself into?
She didn’t know.
But she had said yes.
Or rather, she had named her price, and he had accepted.
There was no turning back now.
Alexander reached into the bag he had brought with him and pulled out a document.
He handed it to Alyssa.
Alyssa hesitated.
Then she stretched her small hands out from under the blanket and took the document.
She opened it and scanned the first page.
A marriage contract.
With rules.
She looked up at him, her brow furrowed.
“Why are there rules?”
Alexander sat back down in the chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“To make sure we both stay out of each other’s business. And so we can live in harmony as a couple during these twelve months.”
Alyssa looked at him flatly.
“Fake couple, by the way.”
A small smile tugged at his lips.
“Of course.”
She turned her attention back to the document.
Clause One: Party B must stay out of Party A’s business, including his relationship life.
So will party A.
She blinked.
Relationship life?
Does he have someone?
She shook the thought away.
It didn’t matter.
She didn’t care.
Clause Two: Party B must be home before 10 PM.
Alyssa’s eyes snapped up to him.
“Is this a marriage or a prison sentence? Are you trying to cage me?”
Alexander didn’t flinch.
“It’s for appearances. My mother will be watching. If you’re out late, she’ll get suspicious.”
Alyssa pressed her lips together and looked back down.
Clause Three: Party B must only obey and listen to Party A in the house.
This also includes the family house.
Obey?
Listen?
Her fingers tightened on the paper.
She wanted to argue, but she bit her tongue.
She needed the money.
She needed this.
She kept reading.
Clause Four: This marriage shall remain a secret.
At the end of one year, both parties shall divorce after Party B bears Party A’s child.
If Party B fails to conceive within one year, Party B shall compensate Party A with three hundred million.
Alyssa’s hands folded under the blanket, the paper crinkling.
I have to bear his child at all cost.
The weight of that clause settled on her chest like a stone.
She had agreed to this.
She had named her price.
But seeing it written down, in black and white, made it real.
Clause Five: No romantic feelings shall be involved.
Party A and Party B are free to pursue relationships outside the marriage during the duration of the contract.
He can see other people?
She didn’t know why that stung.
She had asked for no feelings.
She had asked for this.
But seeing it written down, knowing he could be with someone else while she carried his child…
Clause Six: A sum of an additional 500 million will be paid to Party B if she fulfills her duty during the one year.
Alyssa looked up at Alexander.
“So I get 700 million for carrying your child?”
“Yes. Including other benefits.”
Alyssa stared at him.
Who the hell is this man?
She didn’t know.
But she knew she needed this.
Her late father’s debt.
Her family’s future.
It all rested on her shoulders.
She raised her hand toward him, palm open.
Alexander looked at her hand, confused.
“What?”
“Pen,” Alyssa said.
“Oh.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sleek black pen.
He handed it to her.
She took it.
Without another moment of hesitation, she flipped to the signature page and wrote her name.
Alyssa Moore.
She closed the document and handed it back to him.
Alexander took it.
He uncapped the pen and signed his own name beside hers.
Alexander Blackwood.
He stood up, pulled out a small shopping bag from the bag he brought with him and handed it to her.
“Wash up. Get dressed. We’re going to the marriage bureau.”
Alyssa’s eyes widened.
“Now?”
“Now.”
She took the bag, but she didn’t open it.
Instead, she looked at him, her eyes narrowing.
“You investigated me, didn’t you?”
Alexander didn’t deny it.
“Yes. I did.”
Her jaw tightened.
She hated when people went through her background.
Hated the idea of strangers knowing her secrets, her struggles, her failures.
“What do you know about me?”
Alexander looked at her for a long moment.
His grey eyes were unreadable.
Then he spoke.
“You’re an actress. And your broke boyfriend cheated on you last night.”
Alyssa’s face went red.
The heat spread from her cheeks to her ears, down her neck.
She wanted to disappear.
She wanted to throw something at him.
But he had already turned around.
He walked toward the door, his steps calm and measured.
She watched him go, her hands trembling around the bag.
He knows.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Alyssa sat alone in the enormous hotel room, the silence pressing in around her.
She had signed a contract.
She had agreed to bear a stranger’s child.
And he knew everything about her.
What have I done?