Chapter 7: Wedding To Plan

Hailey's POV

I called him at 2 AM.

Forty-seven hours and twenty minutes after he'd made his offer. I'd spent two sleepless nights calculating every possible outcome, every potential disaster.

He answered on the first ring.

"I knew you'd call." His voice was unsurprised.

"Where do we meet?"

"I'll come to you." He paused. "Text me your address."

An hour later, my apartment felt different with Maxwell Kingston standing in it. His expensive suit and polished shoes looked almost foreign against my modest furniture, even if it was all new.

His eyes swept over everything with clinical assessment: Gio's toys organized in bins, crayon drawings hung in frames on freshly painted walls, the life I was trying to build.

"Nice place," he said, it sounded genuine.

I gestured to the dining table. "Gio's asleep, so we'll need to keep our voices down."

Maxwell set his briefcase on the table, removing the contract.

"Read it first." He slid the document toward me. "Every word. I don't want you claiming ignorance later."

I pulled it closer, forcing myself to focus despite exhaustion clawing at my brain. The terms were surprisingly fair: Six-month minimum term. All financial assets were to remain separate. It covered every possible scenario.

"We'll have a wedding in three days." Maxwell settled into the chair across me, his suit jacket open, tie loosened just enough to show the strong column of his throat. God, he was unfairly handsome. "The kind of spectacle that makes headlines and silences every doubt."

"Three days isn't enough time." I argued, eyebrows pulling together.

"It's plenty." His eyes held mine. "I have people who handle these things. You just show and play the role."

"What role?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"A woman in love." His mouth curved slightly. "Shouldn't be too difficult. You've done it before."

The words landed, but I refused to let get to me. "And the rules?"

He stood up, moving around the table. "Publicly we're devoted. In love. The world needs to believe this marriage is real." He paused for a second. "Privately, we're business partners. I won't touch you unless absolutely necessary for show."

"And Gio?"

"Stays with you. I'll play stepdad when needed. But I'm not trying to replace anyone." Something shifted in his expression. " I'm just making sure Floyd can't use him as a pawn in whatever guilt-driven redemption arc he's writing for himself."

The way he said it, so cold, certain, protective, made heat coil in my belly.

"I should..." I grabbed the pen, signing my name with shaking hands. "This is insane."

"It's necessary." He took the contract back, his fingers brushing mine.

A sound from the hallway froze us both.

"Mommy?"

My heart stopped.

Gio stood in the doorway of the living room, his dinosaur pajamas rumpled. hair sticking up, rubbing his eyes with one small fist. Then his gaze landed on Maxwell, and he went completely still.

"Baby, what are you doing up?" I moved toward him quickly. "It's the middle of the night..."

But Gio wasn't looking at me. His eyes, those violent-blue eyes, were locked on Maxwell with an intensity that made my chest tight.

" Mommy." His voice was small and curious. "Why does he have my eyes?"

My heart was pounding so fast. "Sweetheart, let's get you back to bed..."

"No." Gio took a step forward, his head tilting in the way he did when solving puzzles. "Look Mommy. He has exactly my eyes." He took another step. "Lily at school says everyone gets their daddy's eyes."

The air left my lungs.

"Gio..."

But he was already moving, crossing the living room, stopping directly in front of Maxwell.

"Are you my daddy?"

The question exploded in the silence.

Maxwell stood completely still. His expression unreadable as this tiny boy stared at him with naked hope.

"Gio, no...." I reached for him. "Baby, that's not..."

"But he has my eyes!" Gio's voice pitched higher and desperate. "That means he's my dad, right?" He looked up at Maxwell. "Right? You're my daddy?"

"Maxwell." My voice cracked. "Say something. Explain..."

But before Maxwell could speak, Gio launched himself forward, his small arms wrapping around Maxwell's legs with blind hope.

"Daddy!" His voice broke. "You came! Mommy said you were gone, but you came back!"

Maxwell didn't speak. Didn't move. Just stood frozen as my son clung to him.

"Gio, stop." I tried to pull him away. "Baby, that's not...."

"Yes, he is!" Gio's grip tightened, his face pressed against Maxwell's leg. "He has my eyes! That means he's my Daddy!" He looked up again, and the look on his face destroyed me. "Right? You're staying? You won't leave like everyone said?"

The silence stretched, it was suffocating.

Then Maxwell's hand moved, slow and deliberate, settling on Gio's head.

"I'm not leaving." His voice was quiet.

My blood turned ice. "Maxwell...."

"Go back to bed, Gio." He didn't look at me. "We'll talk in the morning."

Gio eyes were teary. "But..."

"Go to bed." His tone was still gentle, but with steel underneath. "Now."

Gio's lower lip trembled, but he nodded, releasing Maxwell's legs reluctantly. "Promise? You'll be here in the morning?"

"I promise." Maxwell crouched slightly. Voice softening.

That seemed to satisfy him. Gio looked at me, his eyes shining with something between joy and uncertainty, before shuffling back down the hallway to his room.

The moment his door clicked shut, I exploded.

"What the hell was that?"

Maxwell finally looked at me, his expression unreadable. "A child needing reassurance."

"You just let him think..." I couldn't even finish the sentence. "You didn't correct him. You just let him believe you're his father!"

"I didn't confirm it either." His voice was maddeningly calm.

"You said you weren't leaving!" My voice cracked up. "He's five years old. He doesn't understand subtle details. To him, you just became his dad."

"It's better that way." Maxwell's jaw tightened. "Let him believe it. It makes this easier."

" Easier?" I stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "You can't just...."

"Can't what?" He stepped closer, and suddenly the room felt too small. "Give him the stability he's desperate for? Let him feel safe for the first time in his life?" His eyes burned into mine. "That boy is terrified of abandonment. I saw it the second he looked at me. And I'm not going to rip away the one thing making him feel secure."

"By lying to him..."

"By protecting him." His voice dropped to something dangerous. "We can explain the truth later. When this mess is stable." He tilted his head. "Or would you rather I crush his hope now? Send him back to bed knowing that even the man with his eyes doesn't want him?"

The words made my stomach twist.

"That's not fair."

"Nothing about this is fair." Maxwell's expression was cold. "But it's necessary. So yes, I'm letting a five-year-old believe I'm his father. Because in three days, I will be. Legally. And that's close enough to the truth."

I ran a hand through my hair. "You're insane."

"I'm practical." He moved to gather his briefcase. "I'll let myself out. Get some sleep. We have a wedding to plan."

Then he was gone, leaving me standing in my living room, shaking with rage and something else I couldn't name, staring at the space where the man who'd just stolen my son's heart had stood.