Clayton Grey left the restaurant early, as planned, to attend his fiancée’s singing competition.
What he didn’t expect was the chaos waiting for him there.
The moment he walked in, he could sense the tension in the room.
Everyone hated his fiancée and the judges’ bias was so obvious it made his jaw tighten.
He wanted to stand up, to call them out right there in front of everyone, but Miles, his ever-practical assistant, stopped him.
“Not here Mr Grey,” Miles had whispered.
“You don’t want your name in this mess.”
And Miles was right.
Clayton didn’t need bad press, especially not when his sudden interest in the new contestant, Maeve, had already raised eyebrows.
His family was already asking questions.
Especially since Maeve had just recently divorced his nephew.
That stupid bastard!
He has no idea what masterpiece he was messing with.
Miles knew his boss too well.
Clayton was fascinated by Maeve now, but he doubted it would last.
Just like the other girls he had dated in the past.
They were even more beautiful and hotter than Maeve.
There was nothing truly special about her, at least, not from a business point of view.
Just a trail of scandals, emotional outbursts, and a reputation so damaged it would take a miracle to fix.
Still, Clayton couldn’t look away.
Something about her, her defiance, her fire, the way she refused to break even when the world turned on her, stirred something inside him.
He has never been this impressed in a long time.
Miles sighed, already calculating damage control.
His solution was as ruthless as it was clever, a contract marriage.
Since his boss wanted to be stupid.
He would prepare the agreement and make sure she never goes away with his boss’s money.
He’ll never allow that.
She might be compensated for her time but she’s never taking anything else.
Miles was so fond of women like her.
Who wouldn’t want to be with Clayton Grey?
“Give it a name that benefits both sides,” Miles had said.
“If it works out, fine.
If not, you walk away clean.”
It was cold logic, but that was Miles.
To him, everything, even love, was a deal waiting to be signed.
Love was a myth when it came to his boss.
Clayton Greg would sell his own lover if it meant sealing the next billion-dollar contract.
After the outbursts of humiliation, attacks, and cheers, Clayton had demanded to see his fiancée.
The one who had boldly proposed to him before the entire world.
The woman who shouldn’t have mattered, yet somehow did.
But he heard Maeve had locked herself in a room.
For someone who had singlehandedly shut down the entire world tonight, she sure was a case.
Miles said she was probably waiting for her car to arrive so he waited.
He didn’t care if it would take all night for her to come out because this night was either going to end with him seeing her or end badly for everyone who got in his way again.
And when she finally appeared, she was being pelted with rotten tomatoes.
Rotten tomatoes?!
They were being thrown at her by foolish ingrates!
Just how much did they pay these fools to mess with HIS?
He saw her try to run and she crashed into his arms.
(Her rightful place).
Clayton clenched his jaw as he held her still.
How dare these people hurt what is his?
His guards surrounded them immediately, spreading an umbrella as they shielded them from the attack ahead.
The angry fans didn’t stop throwing the tomatoes at them.
Maeve held his clothes, her eyes shut so tight as she was scared it would touch her.
This man was her saviour.
But was Becky saved too?
Maeve tried to lift her head, but he held her face down.
“Make them disappear Miles, I don’t want to see them anymore.
Also, I want this on the news.” Calyton said and Miles nodded.
He went to work immediately.
Clayton’s guards surrounded the anti-fans packing them like a sack of tomatoes, while he led Maeve away from their eyes.
When they got away from the crowd of people, Maeve stopped moving.
She took her hands off his, stepping away from him a little.
Who the hell are these people who had saved her?
At first, she had thought it was Fred, but his cologne smelled different from Fred’s.
She looked up at him and almost choked on her saliva.
She staggered a little backwards, eyes turning wide.
Clayton’s eyes found her.
Slow and deliberate.
He took his time to stare at that beautiful face now coated with rotten tomatoes.
Maeve was still so shocked that her heart stopped beating for a while.
This man…
“Y…
You.” She pointed at him.
He’s the same man from that night.
The man who had stolen her chastity in this life and the last.
She stood there, dazed, tomato juice dripping down her arm, her breath coming fast.
Clayton’s gaze softened for the first time that night.
Clayton took out his suit and wrapped it around her.
“Come with me Miss Davis,” he murmured, his voice dropping low enough for only her to hear as he pulled her away.
….
In a corner of the event center, stood Mirabel and Ama as they stared at the person who had saved Maeve.
They tried to get his face, but they just couldn’t see his face.
Who’s the nobody bastard that has come to save Maeve from their plans tonight?
They had been the ones to set up these anti-fans for Maeve, since she had defeated Rae tonight.
Mirabel clenched her fist and started walking away.
Ama followed suit too.