Chapter 0004

Vincenzo POV

I was sitting at my desk in the office, trying to figure out things and how to solve them. We have been trying to bring down the video for the past three hours now, and it's not giving any results. The best thing is to find the source and make the person pay seriously for it, but to find the real person among all the people who reposted is quite annoying.

"Argh!!" I slammed my fist on the table for the umpteenth time.

"I have scheduled a meeting with the board members, and they are already waiting for you," Jackson called his attention.

The more this matter escalated, the more I became hungry to taste the blood of the person who started all this. I was so determined to make the person pay with his or her skin piece by piece.

"Schedule an urgent meeting with the Gang this night and tell them to wait at the penthouse," I uttered as I stood up from my desk.

Jackson nodded. "Sure, big Boss,"

I walked away from my desk and headed out to confront the board members of my company. If any of them tries to misbehave, it's obvious they will be served the punch of their size.

After the day's meeting, I was exploring the town to clear my head and probably have a better perspective of what was happening. Then I took notice a familiar figure on the road, walking absentmindedly. After taking a close look at the figure, I realized that it was Sarah.

Then, at that instant, I saw her heading down a dark road, so I parked my car and followed her secretly. Soon, she got to an abandoned, uncompleted building, and I followed her still, only to discover she was planning to end her life.

"Are you that stupid? Huh! It's easy to understand that you are such a weak human, but it's annoying to see someone giving them what they want. Stop this annoying stuff!" I scolded, as I have been trying my best to hold myself back, but she keeps fueling it the most.

How can someone think of dying because of a hard time? It's so annoying to me! "No matter what life throws at you, it is better to face it than to run away from it. It's hard to move around when you are in distress or when your loved one hurts you, but you have to stay strong and show them they made a mistake by hurting you. If you kill yourself now, they are the winner! They win over your life and everything! Try to think before acting helplessly!!" I reprimanded her while venting those words out of my mouth.

Then, she suddenly began hiccoughing, breathing as she tried fighting her tears back. "Please just let me go! I know that I am weak! Just let them win, and my life would be out of reach." She tried to get my hand off her.

"No," I said firmly. "I won't let you do this to yourself."

I pulled her away from the edge, leading her towards the center of the roof while she resisted weakly as her body became numb with despair.

"I hate myself," she sobbed, her voice cracking. "I wish I were dead."

With that, I stopped as I turned to face her. Then, looked at her with a mixture of pity and anger as I couldn't pretend to be caring at that moment. I hated things like this. The people who deserve to die are the set of people who pushed her to the verge of ending her life, and that got me mad.

"Instead of wishing yourself dead, why don't you do something else? I have a proposition for you," I uttered to her, as my words piqued her interest, maybe this is my chance to push it to her.

With that, she stared at me, her eyes red and swollen. "What?"

"A contract marriage," I replied, my voice steady. "One year. In exchange, I'll give you ten million dollars after the contract is over."

Sarah stared at me, dumbfounded. "Why?"

"I need a wife for appearances. My company is in crisis after everything that was shown on the internet, and I need to make them believe that you are my girlfriend to shut them down. If we go on a contract marriage and keep this low, I will figure out the person behind the setup," I explained. "Also, you need a way out of this mess. This money will be enough to set you up for life."

"Are you not the one who took advantage of me? Why are you sounding like a saint right now?" Sarah demanded, it seemed like I was trying to play her

So, I released a deep breath. "Do you think I have a choice in this? I am doing both of us a favor with this contract marriage, so what do you think? Will you take the offer and save yourself from being called a bitch? Or would you continue living miserably while your tormentors enjoy even a bit of it?”

“Make your choices wisely, and I am ready to give you time to consider my offer, the money is enough to set your life in the future, and I assure you that you have nothing to lose.”

“So…” I paused as she interrupted my words, though her voice was barely audible.

"One year?" she asked.

"One year," I confirmed. "And complete confidentiality. After that, you're free to go."

I could see hesitation in her eyes for a moment, then all of a sudden, she nodded slowly. "Okay," she said, her voice filled with a mixture of relief and anxiety. "I agree."

“Great! Since you have agreed, you must promise not to be fragile again. Take this contract as an avenue to challenge your family and make them fall at your feet. Don't be fragile," I warned, as my gaze didn’t shift for once from her.

With that, she took a deep breath before replying. "Yes, I promise! I won't be fragile but stay strong."

I nodded. "Good"

While leaving the building, I led Sarah to my sleek, black car, then I opened the back door and handed her a large shopping bag.

"Change into this," I said, my voice business-like. "We need to go to the civil affairs office, that’s where the marriage registry is located."

Without any question, she opened the bag, her eyes widening in surprise. Inside was a beautiful gown, elegant and understated, along with a pair of delicate heels.

She looked at me with a question in her eyes.

"I had a feeling you might need something to wear," I said, a hint of a smile playing on my lips as she nodded, grateful for my foresight. Then, she slipped into the gown in the back of the car, as the soft fabric turned a comforting contrast to the harshness of the day.

After a few minutes of wearing the dress, she emerged, and I must say, I was mesmerized by her beauty, but business is business.

"Let's go," I said, my voice turned low. "We have a marriage to arrange." With that, we both made our way to the car and headed to the civil affairs.

Immediately we arrived, we made our way into the building, and within the blink of an eye, our marriage was processed due to the kind of reputation I have. "Congratulations, you are now Mr and Mrs Bruno," The marriage registrar announced.

Hearing this, Sarah smiled and the photographer close by took a picture of us, and the instant our picture came out, it was truly perfect.

However, not too long, I received a message from Jackson stating, “Big boss, the gang is waiting in the penthouse.”

With that, I grabbed Sarah's hand and headed into the car. Once we entered, I turned to her and said, "Mrs. Sarah Burno,” I began, “Are you ready to fight the people who caused you pain?"

At that moment, I could see it took a moment to think about her pain before clenching her fist. "I am ready to cause them pain," She responded, as her voice was filled with so much rage and hate.

Seeing this, I smiled as I ignited the accelerator and headed to the penthouse. Knowing I was ready to show Sarah my second identity and train her to become hard instead of soft.