CHAPTER 8: MARRY ME

“Thank you, Mr. Sarton,” I said as I shook his extended hand.

“Please call me Eric, and I hope you don't mind me calling you by your name.”

“No, I don't mind,” I said, realizing I was still holding his hand. I withdrew mine and sat down.

"Okay, let's get down to business. I am fully aware of what has happened to your family so far,” he said.

“How did you get to know who I am and how to find me?” I asked, feeling suspicious.

“I don't know if you are aware, but your family’s case still remains one of the uncracked cases. I am interested in it because I know I can help you solve it.”

“How?”

"I am a lawyer, and trust me, I know who killed your parents.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The people who killed your parents are also my enemies.”

“Then why don't you just finish them off? What do I have to do with this?” I wanted to know his intentions.

"I'm not a bad person, Miss Lillian Anthony,” he said, using my full name.

“I suggest you forget about our benefit and think about yours; I mean, he can help you get your father's company back, and you can finally find the people who killed your parents,” Alex added.

“But I have to pay you back in one way or another," I said, still considering that these two men sitting in front of me were willing to help me without requesting anything in return.

“Okay, will you be willing to let my company run your father's company until we are able to settle things?” Was he being serious right now?

That still doesn't count as a benefit; in fact, having his law firm work with my father's crime-fighting company is like giving it the look and publicity my dad always wanted.

I'm still going to be the one to benefit. But why do I care? I will be getting everything I have ever wanted. Why should I care if they have a benefit or not?

"Okay, fine. Once I have the company, I will sign it over to your firm.”

“Good, then you might want to go through this and sign it,” he said, placing a document in front of me.

**Eric's POV**

I stared at her as she went through the documents. I know I haven't mentioned the most important part of this deal, but I just couldn't say it.

Alex gave me a look; I knew he was urging me to tell her about the part we excluded from the contract.

“And also, Miss Anthony.” I can't believe I still can't call her by her name.

“There is another thing you need to know that is not in the contract. But I have it printed out; once you agree, I will hand it over to you for signing.”

“Okay, you can tell me.”

“Alex, why don't you help me with this?” I said, pushing the responsibility over to him.

“Okay, Lilly, for all this to be possible, you will have to marry Eric,” Alex said as we both stared at her, waiting for her response.

“What!” Here goes my hearing; I knew this was going to happen anyway.

**Lilly's POV**

“You both are joking, right?” I asked, but they just stared at me. Alex had a look that said, "What is the big deal?" while Eric was just emotionless.

Since I got here, he has not smiled, laughed, or shown any form of emotion. He just stared at me blankly.

I took their silence as a no; they weren't joking. I have to marry Eric Sarton. Oh God, this is not happening.

“Don't worry; it is just until you both achieve what you want. Look, we could make it a fake marriage, but he is famous. Reporters are going to come poking their noses just to know if he really got married or if it was just a fake,” Alex said.

“But why must we get married to make this work?” I asked curiously.

“Because I can't wake up one morning and walk into your father's company just to file a report of stolen property without having any connection with you. But if you are my wife, the public will see it as a husband fighting for his wife,” Eric said.

What he said made sense, but getting married and divorcing later—is that not going to be another problem?

“But won't it cause more trouble when all this is over?”

“Don't worry, we will only have our marriage registered. It's not going to be that big of a deal.”

It's not like I have any other option; I'm here, and I have to face every single consequence that comes with this.

“Fine, let's get this started.”

“Good, now let me give you the details. You both will need to go public, at least for a month before the marriage. We need to convince and leave the public curious about you,” Alex said.

“Why? It's not like Eric hasn't been seen with other ladies before."

"Actually, he hasn't ever been seen in public with any lady. That's why the news about both of you is going to go viral. People have been curious about the type of woman he will date, but since this dude sitting beside me has chosen to date his work instead of women, people are beginning to think he is gay. And that is drawing unnecessary attention towards me since we are normally seen together,” Alex said with a frustrated look on his face, while Eric frowned. At least I finally get to see a little bit of emotion on his face.

I'm guessing he doesn't like the fact that people think he is gay. I couldn't help laughing at the expression on his face.

“Okay, when you mentioned going public, what exactly do you mean?” I asked Alex, unable to figure it out myself.

“Like being seen in public together and making physical contact in public. We need both of you to be all over the news. I want the reporters to be curious about the lucky lady who won the heart of Eric Sarton.

Alex said, "Look at me; I am so d*mn lucky indeed." All this time, I was waiting for Eric to say something, but it looked like his mind was elsewhere.

“Okay, so when do we begin?” I asked Alex.

“How about now? We are going to start with getting you a room and settling you in. Then we move on to making you up to his standard.”

I looked at myself and understood what Alex meant by that. I just nodded, indicating I was up for anything.

“Let's not forget you signing the contract,” Eric said. I really forgot he was here since he wasn't saying much.

I took the book and signed it before giving it back to him.

“Let's get started.”