Chapter Three.

Reyna's POV.

"Make that four extra shots. Bills on me," I heard a deep voice state calmly behind me.

Surprised, I shifted my gaze to the owner voice and saw a tall figure settling on the stool next to me. He flashed a quick breathtaking smile at me, revealing the silver braces he had on his shiny white teeth.

His sharp manly features was complimented with thick brows, dark orbs that sparkled under the multi-colored clubroom as his lips formed a thin line, few wild strands of his silky curly hair ran down his face, making him look like a seductive warlord.

I tore my gaze away, my eyes still lifeless as the bartender slid another shot across the counter and I didn't wait a second to down them one after the other.

My vision turned blurry, and my head spun due to the side effect of the vodka I drank to numb the feeling of heartache In my chest, but it doesn't seem like it was working cause the intimate scene between Alexander and Chloe kept playing fresh in my memory.

‘Cant i just forget those betrayers?’ I thought, tugging tightly at my hair.

It was even obvious that Alexander didn't give a damn if I walked out of his life and the consistent remembrance of the truth hurt me deeper than ever, the realization that I had been wasting my time on a man who didn't value me and only sees me as a machine that was meant to be tied up in the kitchen doing chores and nothing else other than that!

A part of me had the uprising urge to prove to Alex and everyone else who had looked down on me wrong, to make them see and know that I was worth much more than they thought.

'I promise you, Alexander Cage, you will come begging on your knees for forgiveness but I swear to God, Alexander, I will never forget what you did. I will never forgive you!'

I vowed in my heart as tears unconsciously rolled down my cheek. I was prepared to take out my makeup wipes to wipe the tears off when I felt a finger lightly graze across my cheek, making my breath seize.

I slowly looked to the side and the stranger had his gaze fixed on my salty tear drop on his finger.

I didn't know why he did that, nor did I have the strength to start up a conversation, so I ignored him, returning my focus to the bartender and yelled in a drunken voice as I banged the counter excitedly, "Bring in more shots, Mr. Make that snappy!"

"No more shots.” The stranger's words caught me off guard, and I whipped my head to him, giving him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Why are you bent on drowning your tears in liquor all because of a man who isn't worthy of you?" He asked, flicking the teardrop away from his finger. "This isn't the right way to control your emotions, and you know that."

"You don't tell me what to do. It's my choice to get drunk and I'm not trying to run away from reality," I scoffed at him, turning my gaze away.

"When did I make mention of you running away from reality?" He asked with a smug face, I palmed my face in embarrassment as the realization hit me that I had unknowingly poured out my reason for getting drunk.

I was indeed trying to escape the reality of things, to stop the pain I feeling and to forget everything, even if it was going to be for one night, especially when I was fully aware that getting drunk wasn't the best way to handle my feelings but I still did it.

"I go by Theo Hudson, but you can call me Theo for short," He said with an outstretched hand, which I gave a glance, then turned my gaze away to the bartender because I was in no mood to hold a conversation.

"Where's the shot I asked from you?!" I demanded, slamming my palm on the counter, but the bartender didn't give as much of a reaction as I expected.

" 'No more shots' says my boss. So, I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't give you that," He apologized, then turned away to attend to other customers.

I shot Theo a hard glare, to which he chuckled while sliding a white document across the counter.

"You know drinking liquor won't help matters neither would it stop your aching heart from bleeding. You'd only bring more harm to yourself if you continue taking more shots of vodka." He warned in a concerned tone then paused before locking his gaze with mine.

"But if you agree to sign these documents and be married to me for three years only, then I promise to treat you better than he has ever treated you," He offered with a sincere look in his eyes, but it sounded like a big joke to my ears as I laughed it off.

"You know what I think of you men?" I asked as I struggled to hold in my laugh. "You men are all the same. They promised you heaven and earth but ended up doing none of the things they promised." My laughter came out more like I was in a traumatic pain.

"But what if this deal comes with a 30% share of my properties into your name once you sign the marriage papers?" He asked and I gave him an unbelievable look. Why the hell would he give me such an offer?! It sounds too good to be true.

"It's clearly stated as a clause in the documents, you can read it if you don't believe me." He suggested it but I didn't want to confirm it yet. What I wanted to know was what he would benefit from all these. I needed to know why he didn't see anyone else to choose but me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, unable to accept that this could be real. "I mean, there are lots of other girls out there who would jump at this offer but why did you choose me?" I questioned as I smiled bitterly.

"I am just a worthless housewife; I don't have any usefulness in anyone's life except being trapped in the kitchen, doing the dishes and cooking meals every day. I am sorry, Sir. I can't accept this," I rejected, sliding the documents to him.

"He made you believe that shit?" He scoffed, shaking his disappointment before he returned his gaze to my face. His voice was low and he sounded as if he knew the person I was brooding for.

"I am not sorry to say this, but just know that he is a dickhead and you will continue to be seen as someone worthless if you don't accept my offer, Princess," He slid the documents to me again, still refusing to give up and I knew deep down that he was right.

The urge to prove to them that they were wrong began growing within me again and I sighed deeply before looking up at him.

"Fine then." His eyes gleamed at my consent. "But I won't be signing these marriage papers." His lips fell open slightly and I guessed he must be wondering why.

"I can't get married to you because he has refused to divorce me for his self-fish reasons. I can only pretend to be your wife before the eyes of everyone, but you must keep in mind that we are not legally married, and I am doing this because of the clause stated in the documents." My voice was stern and he nodded slightly, wearing a reassuring smile.

"Good. You'd need to make another contract that doesn't include getting married to you and only has the clause in it." I added.

"Sure, that's still fair enough," He chuckled, stretching forth his hand for a handshake. "So is this a deal? Mrs Theo Hudson" He asked and I accepted his hand with a dramatic eye roll.

"Deal."