Chapter 3 A deal with the princess

 Nova's hand flew to her chest as she scanned the stranger that was sitting beside her.

    He was a young man dressed in a tailored charcoal gray suit, the jacket perfectly fitted to his broad shoulders. His jet-black hair was meticulously styled, framing a chiseled jawline and piercing blue eyes.

    He smelled heavenly and despite his youthful appearance, there was an air of confidence and sophistication about him, befitting a millionaire. Or a billionaire.

    Maybe he was one.

    He looked like one.

    And goddamn, he was so handsome.

    "Who are you?" Nova asked.

    "Who am I? You're in my car, young lady," he retorted.

    Realizing that he made a valid point, she became calm a bit, adjusting her demeanor and her tone. "Oh... Sorry... I'm so sorry. I should be the one explaining who I am. I'm Nova. Nova Sinclair."

    "What are you doing in my car?" He didn't seem to be interested in what she had just said. And he sounded harsh.

    "Where do I even start from?" She scratched her head, returning her gaze to him. "I ran away from home. Today is my birthday and my father tried to get me engaged to someone without letting me know. I don't want that life. He's doing it for the company and that's why I ran away. The bodyguards were after me and after I saw a man come down from this car, I thought I should hide here for a while."

    "That is none of my business. You can get out now." he answered nonchalantly, adjusting his suit and himself properly.

    Was he kidding her right now?

    Didn't he hear what she just said?

    "Excuse me? I just told you what my father tried to do to me and you are saying that it is none of your business. Do you even have a heart? What if this happened to your sister?"

    "I have no sister."

    "Then what about your daughter?"

    "I have none," his voice deepened as he answered her, his irritation clearly evident in his tone.

    "But you would in the future and one day, she would grow up to be a woman like me. You don't even know if you will be alive by then and then someone decides to marry her off to someone to save the company. Maybe an autistic person to make matters worse."

    "You have no right to speak to me like that, young lady. Get out of my car, now. I prefer not to converse with women, and I have no interest in your story, so leave," he declared sternly.

    Nova sensed the gravity in his voice as she met his piercing blue eyes. She knew he had no obligation to help her, and she couldn't compel him to do so.

    Why did everything seem to be going wrong on her birthday? All she wanted was to be with her family and find some happiness.

    Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at the stranger who spoke so harshly to her. She quickly wiped them away, refusing to show weakness.

    Turning to open the door and leave, she hesitated. Overwhelmed, she buried her face in her hands and cried out. She didn't want to marry a man she didn't love, forced upon her by her parents. Where could she possibly go from here?

    With a last streak of hope, she pleaded. "Please..." she sobbed into her palms. "Just take me away from here, I beg you," she pleaded, wiping her tear-streaked face with the back of her hand. "I won't be a burden to you. I just need to escape this place and clear my head. I promise to repay you. I'll do anything you ask, I swear. If I step out of this car, my life is over. I'll remain a pawn in my father's hands. Please."

    "Anything I ask, you say."

    "Yes. Anything. But you just have to take me away from here."

    The young man looked at her and met a pair of green eyes that welled up with tears. He wondered what would have happened in there and how inappropriate for her parents to treat her that way on her birthday. If her story was true of course.

    It was not like he cared for her anyway. It has always been him against the world. Despite his good looks and wealth, he had been taken advantage of in the past by the women he bore himself to.

    But the last experience was the one that broke the camel's back for him, and since then, he has developed a deep hatred for the opposite gender. All except his mother of course.

    "Deal. But under one condition," he held up his index finger and Nova turned to look at him, a streak of hope evident in her eyes.

    "What is it?"

    "You are going to sign an agreement to back up your promise because I do not trust you. You have a lot going on in your life obviously and I do not want my reputation to be stained with scandals."

    "Alright. Deal. Thank you so much Mr--"

    "Bentley," he completed, turning his face away from her as quickly as possible.

    The look on Nova's face changed to that of confusion. "Bentley? You are named after a car?"

    He shot her a death stare in response to her silly talk.

    Of course he didn't need anyone to remind him that he was named after a car. He remembered confronting his mother when he was younger about the choice of his name and he remembered his mom telling him that she chose it because she found it to be cute and lovely. Cute and lovely indeed. He would be teased for the rest of his life as long as that name was concerned. As a matter of fact, he decided that he would change his name as soon as he became an adult.

    But none of that happened since the things he thought would happen never happened. Even his schoolmates while growing up loved his name and they all claimed they would name their toys and future kids after him. Maybe it was because he was rich, but he was never bullied for having the name, Bentley. The ladies loved it as well.

    But here came a woman who teased him for the first time concerning his name. A stranger for that matter.

    "I didn't mean it that way. It's just that-- Never mind," Nova said. She didn't want to say anything that would ruin his mood and make him change his mind afterwards.

    "Did I look angry?" He asked, and for the very first time since their conversation, with the calmest tone she had heard.

    "Umm... I don't know. But it seemed for a second like bullets were gonna come out of those blue eyes of yours."

    'Blue eyes. Hmm.' He thought.

    "I mean, those dangerous looking eyes of yours," She corrected herself.

    "You don't need to explain yourself. You've made your point and that's enough. Lucas, take us home.”