Chapter Five: Owen

The scent of thousands of freshly cut roses clashed with the cool night air on the rooftop.

I adjusted the oval-cut diamond in its velvet box, feeling the weight of this lie.

If we were going to be a believable couple, we had to play the part well. And as the initiator, I

had to give it my best so she could follow through accordingly.

When Tessa called me earlier that day and asked for a wedding ceremony. I quickly thought that

the next best thing was to plan a proposal.

Something cliché and romantic that would sell it to the public eye that I was a man in love. An intentional man as they would like to speculate.

My personal assistant had done well. An exclusive rooftop to overlook the busy city, a massive diamond ring, and a colossal lit-up sign screaming ' Will you marry me?'

But to be fair, none of this would have been possible on such short notice if I couldn’t afford it.

The doors to the terrace opened and my eyes fell on Tessa.

She was perfect. Almost as if she knew this was happening.

She was dressed to the nines- a vision in a dark red sleeveless silk dress. It clung to her curves, and a dangerous thought flashed through my mind.

I could rip that fabric off her body with ease. I had prepared a back-up outfit just in case, but she was more than ready.

Owen, focus. I told myself.

This night had to be perfect.

“Mr Carter,” she said, cutting through my thoughts. Her voice had a rhythmic melody. She seemed excited and flustered at the same time.

I let my mouth lift up in a soft grin.

“Ms Hayes. You clean up nice.”

“You do too.”

Our eyes met for a brief second and I felt what resembled a spark of electricity. I knew she felt it

too.

But we weren’t here to dwell on butterflies and idiocies. There was a performance to be staged.

I took her hand in mine. The softness of her palm against my seemingly rough ones was a

beautiful contrast.

Standing in front of the sign, cameras in place, I did not have any words rehearsed, so I went straight to the point as I went down on one knee and took out my ring box.

Once again she gasped at the sight of the glimmering diamond.

“Ms Hayes, will you marry me?"

I watched her swallow. I saw the hesitation in her eyes as she quickly turned to look at the cameras.

It almost seemed like she was rethinking everything at that moment.

“Yes,” she finally said to my utmost relief. I’ll marry you, Owen Carter.”

I grinned slightly, slipping the ring on to her slender finger. It was a perfect fit.

I rose to my feet. The camera flashes were momentarily blinding.

“Do we have to kiss now?” She asked softly.

“We should. It’ll make it more believable."

Gently, I pulled her closer, leaned in and pressed my lips against her soft ones. It was a slight kiss but deeply satisfying nonetheless. Enough for the media to feast on.

~

We settled down for dinner after the picture buzz died down. The photos would be edited and released by the next day.

I noticed Tessa had grown quiet.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

“It just dawned on me that we’re really doing this.”

I smirked. “Yes we are. Having cold feet?”

“Not yet."

“Hmm,” I took a sip of my drink. “It’s just one year. I’ll stay out of your way I promise.”

I handed over an envelope. “That’s a copy of your contract. Go through it and sign. Then give it to me the next time we meet up.”

She took the envelope and opened it. “It’s not as bulky as I anticipated.”

“I like to go straight to the point in my dealings.”

“Nice.” She looked impressed.

“You have something…” I didn’t finish the statement before I used the pad of my thumb to wipe off the food particle by the side of her mouth.

Our eyes met again. That simple intimacy was going to be the undoing of my self control.

That was when I resolved that for the next one year I’d have to keep my distance from her as much as possible.

~

“What is this?” My brother, Aiden, stormed into my office that morning, wielding his tablet like a weapon as he slid it across my table.

I looked down despite knowing what he was fussing about. It was the headline announcing my engagement to Tessa.

“You can’t read?”

He fumed. It was moments like these that I saw the spitting resemblance we stared. The only difference was our eye colour.

Despite being a few years younger, Aiden liked to act like he was the older one sometimes.

“I had no idea you were dating anyone.”

“Well I am. And now we’re engaged.” I said, casually leaning back in my chair.

Aiden took a long look at me, and his eyes sparked in realization.

“You’ve lost your mind.” He stated flatly.

I glared at him. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t think you do. If anyone else catches on to this, we’ll all go down for it.”

“That’s why you should keep your mouth shut and be a nice brother-in-law.”

“You didn’t even tell mom about this.”

“It’s a surprise.” I shrugged.

“Just so you know, you’re in trouble.”

“She’ll get with the program sooner or later.”

I pulled stunts like these all the time. She would surely understand.

Or maybe not.