Chapter 7

"Carlos... That really doesn't sound like a good name."

"You can say that again."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, gazing out the window as the city faded into the night. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, but now that I was a little more relaxed and my mind had cleared, I felt the weight of my actions.

"Do you think getting married is that easy, Sebastian?" I asked honestly.

"No, like I told you, I hope to marry for love. I rejected many options that my mother foresaw for me," he answered almost immediately.

"I see..."

"And you?"

I turned to look at him.

"What about me?"

He looked me in the eyes for a second and then looked back at me.

"Don't you believe in marriage for love?"

"My mother died when I was a child, and my father never dated anyone else... But it wasn't for love... He himself said it was out of respect for their relationship," I said. "I've never had any intention of getting married."

"Really? Never? Not even with these two exes you have?" he said, sounding curious.

"Never. I never felt the urge to stand before an altar and exchange vows with them," I blurted out.

"Wow, that's interesting," Sebastian replied.

"Do you think I'm beyond help?" I said.

"I don't know, there are all kinds of people in this world. Maybe you're just a hidden gem."

I smiled. I watched Sebastian drive. He not only looked perfect from the front, but in profile he had that bad-boy vibe that no one could compete with, the kind of guy who could be the villain in his own saga. But at the same time, he seemed like an easy person to approach. He dropped me off at my apartment door and said a casual "See you soon."

I went upstairs without looking back, got to my apartment, and just threw my things on the floor as I headed to my laptop in my room. Thousands of emails to check, thousands of things to analyze. Talking to Kathe and Sebastian today gave me clarity on many things I hadn't been able to figure out before. I had to think carefully about a strategy and make sure everything went smoothly; I had to secure my company.

I stayed up until the early hours trying to make backup plans, trying to make everything I had to do from now until 30 days onward make sense, even though it was all chaos. I stayed up looking at venues that could work for a small wedding, analyzing costs and all the variables. All that was missing was... the groom.

I logged into my social media and started scrolling through my followers. Among them, I found his profile.

I clicked to see what he'd been up to lately, and it was precisely what I expected. A tall, athletic man, he exuded strength and elegance at first glance, regardless of his attire. His dark brown, almost black, hair framed a face with striking features and a defined jawline. He seemed the perfect man, yet he had the unfortunate habit of believing he was the center of the universe.

Unfortunately, I had no other option but to talk to this arrogant jerk.

I sent him a short, polite message: "Hi, can we talk?"

Almost immediately, I received three message notifications. I rolled my eyes; honestly, at this hour of the morning, I didn't have the energy to do anything else, so I set my alarm for 7:00 a.m. and collapsed into bed. I barely felt rested when the alarm jolted me awake. The cold shower helped me feel better. I tried not to dress according to how I felt, and put on what I normally wear: dark pants and knee-high boots. I was leaving my apartment when I noticed a car parked outside. I frowned and tried to continue on my way, but a voice distracted me.

"Sofia!"

I laughed. "What are you doing here?"

Sebastian was inside the car, with a serious but flirtatious expression.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride."

I hesitated for a second, but got in the car.

"You know I'll have to announce that we're cousins ​​so no one gets the wrong idea, right?" I joked.

"They won't believe it; look how attractive I am," he said with a sly smile.

On my way to work, I checked the messages I hadn't wanted to read in the early hours. By this point, I had five messages from Carlos. I sent him a message with the time and location, and he immediately replied that we'd meet there. I sighed.

"Bad night?" Sebastian asked.

"No, bad ex-boyfriend and bad life."

Sebastian kept joking the whole way and made me feel better about myself. He dropped me off at the company entrance, and I went straight to Kathe's office, giving her all the updates on what had happened yesterday.

"I told you Roy was an idiot," she blurted out immediately.

"I know, but I had to try."

"So... you and the handsome guy... are cousins?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure about that either. Mrs. Blake didn't sound very confident, but I'll let it go for now. If there are more secrets of my father's that I have to uncover, I'll die right now."

The rest of the day was very uneventful: casual emails, brief meetings with clients and suppliers, and a few other things I had to take care of. But overall, nothing too crazy happened. I didn't have time to waste, so I would talk to Carlos tonight and ask him for help. And as if I'd expected it, it went even worse than my meeting with Roy. He showed up wearing an old jacket he'd had for over 20 years, and he looked completely disheveled. Even so, I tried to remain composed as I explained the details of what he had to do.

"So I get goods and an unlimited credit card to help me out, right?" he said, disinterestedly.

"Yes, in short, that's what you get, along with 2% of my company's stock, all for temporarily marrying me."

He wrinkled his nose, as if trying to make a gesture of disdain, but in the end, he didn't do much more.

"How soon?" he said arrogantly.

"In 30 days. I've already picked out the venue and the main guests. You can bring whomever you want, and obviously, you'll be involved in every detail."

He just nodded at everything I said with an arrogant smile. Then he left first, leaving me sitting with a feeling of irritation I couldn't shake. Sitting there, I waited for Roy to suddenly sit down in the chair across from me, rushing in and telling me he didn't mean what he'd said yesterday. He and I had planned a whole life together. We'd been living in the same place for two years while we graduated and looked for something better. For a brief moment, I did consider getting engaged to him, until he asked me to take some time so he could sort out his family problems in the best way possible.

I was really thinking about him...