CHAPTER 6 - Are you sure?

“Are you sure you want to do this, man?” Isaac asked, staring at Liam with doubtful eyes.

Liam and Isaac have been friends for the past 3 years, and Liam has always found a way to surprise him in everything he does.

“I know that I am probably the last person you want to hear this from, especially because of how my marriage ended, but marriage is meant to be sacred and taken seriously.” He continued.

“I have no choice, man; you know how important this deal with Mr. Ross is to me. Besides, she started the whole mess by creating the scandal, and I am sure that she would be more than glad to become my fake wife.” Liam said he was trying to convince Isaac.

Isaac looked at Liam, his best friend since childhood, with a mix of concern and skepticism. He understood the importance of the deal with Mr. Ross, but he couldn't help but worry about Liam's emotional well-being. "I get that this deal is crucial for your career, but are you sure entering into a fake marriage is the right solution? I know that you have been anti-relationship and anti-love ever since Bree, but this is not going to be any better, man. A relationship like this doesn't always end well; you will only make each other miserable."

"Trust me, man, I know what I am doing," Liam replied.

The decision to get into a contract marriage with Ashley had been very easy for Liam. He knew that the guilt of having to lie to everyone, including Mr. Ross and his family, would settle in later, but right now he needed to be a smart businessman.

He believed that this arrangement would benefit both of them financially and help him secure a successful future. However, deep down, Liam couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that he might be sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of his ambitions.

He couldn't afford to think about his happiness, though, because the business world has no place for a weak man who thinks with his heart every time. He had been shown this several times when he was just starting out his business.

“Alright then, if you are sure. This is the first draft of the contract; you both can review it and add more clauses to it when she agrees. Just know that I do not approve of this, but I will support you,” Isaac said to Liam before working out.

“You know he is right; we really shouldn’t be doing this. Who knows how dangerous this girl could be if she could actually come up with this bogus scandal overnight?” Blake said immediately as Isaac walked out of Liam’s office.

Blake had been quiet and observing Liam throughout the whole conversation with Isaac, and he was also very much against the whole arranged marriage idea.

His reasons differ from Isaac's because he doesn’t feel like the girl could be trusted.

Blake and Liam had spent the whole day yesterday trying to find everything they could about her, and they almost couldn’t find anything.

What the media and the private investigator said about her made her out to be like a sweet person who is lonely, but Blake doesn’t believe that for a second. He had grown up with celebrity parents, unlike Liam, who grew up with working-class parents and knew that he shouldn’t allow people into his life easily because most of them come into his life with an ulterior motive.

Blake's skepticism stemmed from his past experiences with people who had tried to take advantage of his family's fame. He had learned to be cautious and not easily trust others, especially those who seemed too good to be true. Despite the positive image painted by the media and the private investigator, Blake couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to this girl than met the eye. He decided to keep his guard up and dig deeper into her background before fully trusting her.

He was not about to let what happened with Bree happen again because Blake knows that, as much as Liam wants to believe that the marriage would be fake and that they would not have anything to do with each other outside of public appearances, Liam has always worn his heart on his sleeves, and he would not be surprised if he ended up falling for her.

After all, the only thing that caused this whole mess in the first place was because Liam found her amazing. That wasn't about to change because they found out that she was the daughter of the most ruthless businessman in America.

"Not you too, Blake; can you guys just trust that I have this whole thing under control?" Liam said, feeling manipulated. He knows that his friends are just worried about him, but he needed them to trust him.

"I know better than to allow her woman to fuck me over again, which is why I am going to make sure that this contract is ironclad and she wouldn't be able to break it without damaging consequences."

"Alright then, I am going to trust you."

Liam hoped that by expressing his confidence and determination, Blake would understand that he had everything under control without further escalating his concerns.

He also knows that he is going to have to be very candid about keeping her out of his head, but he didn't tell Blake that because it would only make him more worried.

He has not been able to get her innocuous and enchanting look out of his head since that night, and for some reason, even though it was quite obvious that she was behind the whole scandal and had probably planned the whole thing, some part of him still wanted to believe that she was not someone like that.

Liam couldn't help but think back to their exchange at the gala. He had felt so at peace and calm in her presence, a feeling that he had not being able to feel in a while.