7

"Who are you?" Sophie asked, stunned.

"Nice to meet you. I am Gérard Durand, miss."

My sister couldn't hide her astonishment, although her eyes then glinted with a malevolent gleam, the same one I saw when I found her in bed with my ex-fiancé.

"Incredible, you're the famous Gérard Durand. Is the company going to introduce you with money, Juliette?"

"Rather, I am supporting my future wife," the man replied.

The whole room fell silent, unable to believe Gérard's words.

"Very good joke, I almost believed it," Sophie laughed, not amused. "It's impossible that Juliette could be the girlfriend of someone as important as you, besides, weren't you supposed to be very much in love with Bastian, sister?"

Seeing Sophie mock me gave me a lot of courage and I impulsively said,

"It's not a joke, Gérard and I are a couple."

"Please, Juliette," she mocked. "Do you expect me to believe such a lie? It's impossible for someone like Gérard to be with someone as pathetic as you."

Gérard positioned himself between us, protective.

"Miss, I forbid you from speaking to my lovely girlfriend in this manner. Moreover, Juliette has everything I love in a woman. She is extremely beautiful and very intelligent; any man would be lucky to have a girlfriend like her," he said without hesitation.

The shock on my sister's face was evident, but she quickly recovered and forced a sardonic smile, crossing her arms.

"Well, well, apparently you are not as naive as I thought, sister," Sophie said after overcoming her bewilderment. "Don't be fooled by Juliette, Mr. Durand, deep down she is a frivolous and selfish woman."

Gérard's face hardened.

"Don't worry, I can easily distinguish that kind of woman, but Julie is totally transparent and unique."

This did not please my sister, as she clenched her teeth and sniffed, failing to win this exchange of words.

I had enough of her venom and abuse, so once again, I impulsively grabbed my boss's arm, who looked at me so intensely that it made me shiver.

"Gérard, let's go, I don't want to keep listening to my sister's nonsense."

I didn't even give them time to respond and quickly left, pulling the man beside me by the arm, who followed without hesitation, like a moth drawn to a flame.

"I apologize, Mr. Durand, I promise this won't happen again. It's just that..."

"Julie, no need to apologize, besides you just accepted our relationship," he said with that perfect smile.

"I was upset with my sister, that's why I said such a thing," I said, embarrassed. "And please, don't call me like that."

He sighed.

"Look, Juliette, why don't you accept my proposal? I can find the best doctor in Italy for your father and pay for the operation."

"I already gave you my answer, for me, marriage is not a game. Please just give me a loan, I promise to work hard to pay you back, I will be eternally grateful."

He refused.

"No, I already told you the conditions, you must marry me, Juliette."

"I thought you were a good man," I told him, somewhat indignant.

"And I am, but I am also a businessman, and I can't let this opportunity pass by."

"Tell me the truth. Why do you want to get married?"

"Alright, in short: my grandfather Simon Durand has threatened to remove me from the management of all Durand companies if I don't get married soon. As you can see, I can't allow such a thing to happen."

"Well, now it makes more sense that you're in such a hurry to get married," I admitted thoughtfully.

"Well, let's make a deal, you, Juliette, save my position in the company, and I save your father. What do you think?"

Wow, I was in a difficult situation, but my father's life depended on this operation, so I couldn't be so selfish.

I took a deep breath, quickly thinking about everything that would come with being the wife, even a pretend one, of a man as famous and important as Gérard.

"I only ask for two conditions, Mr. Durand."

"I'm listening."

"First, I want a simple wedding, so I don't want anyone to know that we're married. I don't want them to think that I'm only in the company because I'm your wife."

"I can promise to be discreet at first, but sooner or later, they will find out, don't you think?"

"For now, I only want our close family members to know about our marriage."

"Agreed. And the second condition?"

"Separate bedrooms."

He grimaced in disgust, which made my heart beat faster in my chest.

"No, Juliette, if we sleep in separate rooms, my grandfather will realize that it's an arranged marriage, but I promise to respect you and not touch you if you don't want me to."

Wow, this is a complicated situation, sleeping next to Gérard. Just thinking about it makes me very nervous and makes me blush, reminding me of that night we spent together.

I shiver just thinking about sleeping in the same bed as him.

"Alright. I accept your proposal," I sighed. "Now, please, save my father's life."

"Of course, I just need to make a few calls and everything will be arranged, don't worry, your father has a long life ahead of him," he smiled at me.

"Thank you, Mr. Durand."

"Don't forget to call me by my name now, I am Gérard to you," he smiled widely. "I'm leaving, little doll."

Gérard rubbed his hand on my head, smiled softly, and left. I couldn't help but shiver when his hand made contact with my skin.

For some strange reason, I felt like I had already lived this moment.

***

Gérard's POV

After leaving Juliette, I decided to do as promised.

I gave the hospital the order to plan the surgery for my future father-in-law and gave clear instructions to the hospital staff to be quick, as Mr. Moreau's life was in danger.

I had a lot of business to take care of and needed to return home, so I left it to Bruno to handle paying Mr. Moreau's hospital expenses.

On the other hand, I was pleased to have Juliette's consent to marry me. I needed a woman like her and the truth is, I couldn't get her out of my mind for a second.

I took a deep breath and tried to refocus on my unfinished business.