CHAPTER FOUR: Ten Million Reasons

It smelled expensive here—like leather, steel and the kind of silence that could make your skin crawl.

Maybe it did.

Adele stepped into the penthouse feeling like a trespasser, every inch of marble and glass reminding her that she didn't belong.

She took a deep breath as her eyes focused on Julian's. He wore a white polo shirt with

‘I LOVE NYC’ printed across its chest and dove gray sweatpants. Strands of dark brown hair flopped into his face when he turned his neck. His strong jawline was matted with small specks of hair.

He looked boyish in this fit, just like the Julian she remembered.

The one she fell for.

She wrapped her arms around herself when he offered to take her coat, and sank into one of the plush sofas while he poured himself a glass of bourbon. None for her. She couldn't afford to get drunk with this man again.

She felt his eyes on her as he settled into the sofa opposite her.

Sure enough, when she looked up, he was staring. His eyes settled on her face, then slowly travelled down to her hands clasped in front of her. A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“How have you been, Adele?”

She laughed bitterly.

“What does it look like?”

“Honestly, not good from where I'm sitting.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Why am I here?”

“I want to apologise for the mess. I never meant for you to get dragged into my chaos.”

“Damn straight.”

He paused and raised an eyebrow.

“I'm taking responsibility here, but I'll like to remind you that you kissed me back. We both played a part in this.”

Adele scoffed and shifted uncomfortably. He was right. She did kiss him. She wondered if he remembers the kiss the way she does. Maybe he doesn't.

“I was drunk, so I'll blame it on the alcohol. But I do not accept your apology. Your messy story got me sacked. Nobody wants to work with me now.”

Frustration built up inside her.

Julian leaned forward, his eyes filling with sincerity.

“I'm really sorry.”

Silence hung in the air.

“You vanished after the fire. I never saw you again after that night. How have you been since then? Before the whole…thing with me?”

“You say that like I had a choice. I lost my dad and brother that night. There was nothing left for me there.”

“I'm sorry “

Adele met his eyes. She didn't know whether to be honest or not. It's been a while since she really talked about her feelings. She didn't know whether trusting Julian at this moment was the best thing, but her emotions were running high.

She sipped her water. He waited.

“My mom was sick. I had to take care of her.”

“Did she get better?”

“No. But she will be.”

“I'm sorry.”

“It's okay.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I'm fine. I just want you to clear this thing up so I can get my jobs back. Her hospital bills won't pay themselves”

She rubbed her temples and sighed.

Julian tapped his index finger against the rim of his glass and chewed his lower lip. Adele looked down at her hands. It felt intimate, watching him like that.

“Here's what's going to happen. I will clear your name, and I will foot your mother's hospital bills. But you have to do something for me.”

Adele kept her poker face on. If Julian was offering to do something so huge for her, he was definitely taking his pound of flesh. Nobody does anything that huge without collecting.

Not even Julian. The self acclaimed philanthropist.

“What's the catch, o great fisherman?” She asked, bluntly and unimpressed.

Julian stood up and turned his back on her, pouring himself a drink.

He turned around, glass in hand

“You will marry me.”

*****

ADELE'S POV

He's joking. Anything but that.

He's not.

I can see it in the determined set of his jaw, the straightness of his shoulders, the way he took on the boardroom pose.

I blink.

“You're joking.”

He sipped his drink quietly.

“So let's say you get around to it. What will you stand to gain?”

“ If I get married some things stay buried. You don't need to know the details. Just take it. It's a good deal.”

“What things?”

“Just focus on doing your part. It's not a forever thing. It's 2 years. Just long enough for it to look convincing. Then you can slip away in the middle of the night if you want. Of course I will pay for your time.”

My ears roared like sirens. Did he really just offer to buy me like I was... property? Did he think I'd wear his last name like a collar?

“Let’s get one thing straight, Adele,” he said, his voice steely. “This isn’t a joke. I’m offering you ten million dollars to marry me. And before you ask, no, I’m not insane.”

“Ten million,” he said flatly. “Five to invest, five to transform. Clothes, car, apartment—whatever it takes to look like a billionaire’s wife. I’m not marrying someone who looks like she’s struggling to survive. You’ll stand beside me, not beneath me. Understood?”

My throat dried. I wasn’t sure which part hit harder—the money or the insult.

That was it.

I stood up abruptly, startling Julian. He stayed seated, eyeing me cautiously.

Rage built up in my throat. How dare he!

“Is this why I'm here instead of looking for a job? Because you want to make me your toy for two whole years?”

“Point of correction, Miss Rivers. I will be making you my wife” he smirked.

“You haven't changed one bit, still think the world spins around you. You think you can just puppeteer people however you like? Use them to your satisfaction and throw them away?” My voice rose steadily.

“As a matter of fact,yes, I do think the world revolves around me. I can use people to my satisfaction. But what I also do is pay them handsomely.”

“You're insane if you think I'll agree to this.”

“I'm asking for your help. I've offered to help you, now you have to help me”

“Was this your plan all along? To get me in this mess so you can show up like the knight in shining armour and save the day? So I can be indebted to you? Well newsflash! I don't need your money. Keep it. I'll make my own.”

“With what job? Doesn't seem like you're in a hurry to be anywhere.”

My palms itched to wipe that smug smile off his stupid face. I felt so insulted.

“Like I said, I don't want your money. Find someone else to put a lid on your ‘mess’. I'm out of here”

I whirled around and headed for the elevator.

“The offer still stands. But not for long. Think about it”

Yeah right.

I pressed the button shakily.

The cold outside air knocked the oxygen out of my lungs as I hurriedly walked towards the sidewalk. The realisation hit me and I slowed down. I didn't even have the money for a taxi.

Behind me, Elliot stepped out and wordlessly opened the passenger door of his Tesla.

I got in, my face burning with embarrassment.

The road stretched out endlessly in front of us.

Elliot stole a glance at me and shook his head.

“I'm sorry. That was not how he meant for it to go down.”

“Of course.”

“I'm serious. He might sound like a giant asshole right now, but that is because he's desperate. And it's not in my place to say this, but you seem desperate too. You need that money. You owe it to your mother to do whatever you can to save her. If she was in your shoes, don't you think she'll do the same in a heartbeat?”

“Thank you for your concern, Elliot, but I can manage.”

When he pulled up in front of Ronnie's house, I reached for the door handle but he stopped me.

He dug in his pocket and took out a business card and handed it to me

HAWTHORNE GLOBAL HOLDINGS

“Please think about it. This could be a turning point for you”

I took it politely and got out. I looked down at the card as he drove away.

Then I walked up the shallow stairs and locked the door behind me.

*****

Something was off.

She could tell it in the way the nurses slithered past her, tight smiles pasted on their faces. Her mother was seated on the hospital bed, all packed and ready to go.

“Early discharge” her mother called it, but she knew what it was.

The doctors called her aside and repeated the same thing she had been hearing for the past 7 months, only with more severity.

Her mother's health insurance could no longer cover her treatments. She was being discharged immediately.

Adele smiled and nodded her head, but she felt pins and needles in her chest as she sank to the ground beside the vending machine, burying her head in her hands and sobbing painfully.

Today met yet another job rejection, and she was falling off the deep end.

She dabbed her blood shot eyes on her shirtsleeve and sulked into her mom's hospital room.

Margaret Rivers sat perched on the bed, clutching her small bag of necessities and staring at the dull painted walls. She turned when Adele stepped into the room. Her face was drained of all colour and her hair was bald in several places. She had refused to cut it when she started chemotherapy, and Adele made sure the doctors respected that.

Looking into her eyes, Adele saw herself in the next couple of years, and the thought brought tears to her eyes.

“Oh honey…don't cry. C’mere”

Margaret patted her lap softly, and Adele crumpled to the floor in front of her, laying her head on her thigh. Her tears seeped through the weak cotton material, and Margaret cooed and patted her hair like she used to many years ago, before cancer made her a hollow shell of herself.

“Don't you worry mom. I will work something out.”

“No.” Her mother said sternly.

“You have done everything you can for me. Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. It's time for you to take care of yourself now. Live your life! Don't feel tied to me. I'm a big girl. Look after yourself,baby. Please “

Adele shook her head and wiped her tears. She knew what she had to do.

“I'll be right back mom. Let me make a call. Do you need anything?”

Margaret stared at her with watery eyes and shook her head. Adele kissed her frail hands and stepped out into the hallway, digging her phone out of her coat pocket.

She leaned against the vending machine and retrieved Julian's card from the case.

She hated him. She hated that she needed him. But she also hated the faraway look in her mother's eyes.

She dialed and held her breath.

“Hawthorne Global Holdings, how can I help you”

A crisp female voice answered on the end of the line.

“Yes erm…put me through to Mr. Hawthorne. Tell him it's Adele.”

A pause.

“Do you have an appointment, ma'am?”

“No. Just tell him it's Adele.”

She shifted on her feet impatiently.

“Please hold.”

Static filled her ear and she counted the seconds nervously.

A click.

“Miss Rivers! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Adele bit her lips and swore silently. She could picture him sitting in his cozy office, smirking from ear to ear.

“I'll do it. But you have to cover my mother's bills now. They…they want to send her home “ her voice cracked and she tried to steady her breathing.

“Hey…are you okay? Where are you?”

His voice deepened with concern.

“At the hospital. I'll text you the address. Just…do it now, please?”

Silence.

One mississippi. Two mississippi.

“I'll get right on it. I'll send my driver to take you home”

“Don't worry about me. I can find my way home.”

“I insist. I will call you tomorrow with more details. Thank you, Ads”

She breathed a sigh and her shoulders sagged with relief.

“Thank you, Julian.”

There's no going back now. This is the only way.