Chapter 5. Deal?

[Phil]

For a brief second, Bianca found everything happening around her absolutely unbelievable.

From the way she stared at me, the confusion in her eyes, and the shock written all over her face, it was obvious that she was completely stunned.

She looked as though she was in pain, yet that pain was mixed with overwhelming surprise as she forced herself to speak.

"Who are you?" she asked. "And what the heck do you mean by saying I should get married to you for five million dollars a month?"

I looked straight into her eyes and let out a scoff.

"Bianca..."

My voice softened slightly.

"I finally found you."

The confusion on her face deepened.

Fifteen years ago, my stepbrother plotted to kill me. He wanted to take over the family company, so he set the company building on fire, hoping to trap me inside.

But a young delivery girl saved me from that burning building.

She carried me out, helped me escape, and took me somewhere safe.

Back then, I was badly injured and unconscious. I couldn't see her face clearly, so I never got the chance to know who she was. However, there was one thing I remembered.

"The birthmark on her neck."

When I woke up the next day, she was gone.

I searched the entire place for her, but she had disappeared without leaving any trace behind.

The only thing she left behind was her amulet."

I spent years searching for that girl.

I searched across the country. Across the continent. Across the world."

But no matter how hard I looked, I never got to see her again..

Until today when my personal assistant, Joe, brought some documents to me.

"Mr. Landon, we have news for you! We finally found the lady you've been searching for, and today happens to be the day she's getting divorced!"

"Gather the men. We're going to pay her a visit."

And that was how I ended up here.

From the look on Bianca's face, it was obvious that she didn't remember me. Then again, I couldn't really blame her. Fifteen years had passed.

But whether she remembered me or not didn't matter.

I owed her my life.

She had saved me when everyone else had abandoned me, and now it was my turn to repay that kindness. I was going to help her get revenge on every person who had hurt her.

And the only way I could do that was by marrying her.

Maybe one day, she would finally realize who I was.

"Hey! Mr. Handsome? I'm talking to you!"

Bianca's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I quickly composed myself and shrugged as though nothing had happened.

"So?" I asked. "Are you ready to accept the offer?"

"Accept the offer?" Bianca repeated in disbelief. "How exactly do you expect me to accept an offer to marry you? You're someone I barely know! Someone I've never met before just shows up in front of me and asks me to marry him, and you expect me to say yes?"

She let out a nervous laugh and shook her head.

"Oh my God. This is unbelievable."

"I'm serious."

My voice cut through her words instantly.

"Look here, Bianca Riley. I know everything about you."

The smile vanished from her face.

"I know your husband, Richard Riley, cheated on you with another woman. I know he divorced you. And most importantly, I know he played you for a fool even after you donated one of your kidneys to save his life."

Bianca froze.

Every word hit its target.

I took another step toward her.

"I'm giving you a chance at revenge, Bianca.

"All you have to do is marry me... and get paid for it."

Bianca stared at me from head to toe as though trying to determine whether I was insane or simply making everything up.

The skepticism in her eyes was impossible to miss.

Several seconds passed.

Then, just as she finally parted her lips to respond, another voice suddenly rang out.

"Go on, whore! Sign the papers and become a useless housewife for the second time!"

Bianca's body stiffened.

She immediately turned toward the source of the voice.

Standing a few feet away were two people wrapped around each other as though they couldn't bear to stay apart.

The man was unmistakably her ex-husband, Richard Riley.

And the woman hanging onto his arm could only be his mistress, Zoey Raven.

The color drained from Bianca's face the moment she saw them..

Meanwhile, Zoey curled her lips into a smug smile and deliberately ran her fingers through Richard's hair in a seductive manner, as if she wanted Bianca to see every second of it.

The provocation was obvious.

And judging by the look on Bianca's face, it had worked.

"Look here, Rich!" Zoey said mockingly. "Your stupid ex-wife thinks she's won the lottery by marrying some security guard who's driving his boss's car. How pathetic is that?"

Richard smirked and slowly looked me up and down.

Then he laughed.

"And you?" he sneered. "Who exactly do you think you are? How much are you even worth that you believe you can convince a fool like Bianca to marry you for five million dollars a month?"

I said nothing.

But he continued.

" If I were you, I'd stay away from women like her.. Because she's manipulative. She'll only drag you down and..."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Mr. Riley."

I cut him off before he could finish.

The smile on Richard's face instantly vanished.

Anger flashed across his eyes as he took a step forward, clearly intending to attack me.

However, Zoey quickly grabbed his arm and held him back.

She gave him a confident wink, silently telling him she could handle it.

Richard reluctantly stopped.

With a smug smile on her face, Zoey strutted toward me.

"Listen to me, young man," she began. "Even though you look poor and clueless, and you're obviously driving a borrowed car, I'll still give you a piece of advice."

She folded her arms.

"Never marry this pathetic woman."

"First of all, she only has one kidney. Her attitude is terrible, and she's incredibly lazy. No skills. No job. No achievements. Nothing to her name. And above all, she's walking around with just one kidney in her body. The worst mistake you can make is marrying someone like her."

Then she shrugged.

"But if you still want to go ahead and marry her, be my guest. After all, both of you are complete idiots."

The moment she finished speaking, she and Richard burst into laughter.

The two of them laughed so hard that they nearly doubled over.

But then Bianca spoke.

"What was it you said again, Richard?That no man would ever marry me?"

The laughter slowly faded.

"Of course, Bianca." Richard Replied. "Just look around you. Even this married man who wanted to marry you has already changed his mind. He doesn't want this marriage anymore."

"So get used to it. You'll remain single forever because no man will ever be stupid enough to marry a dumbass like yo—"

Before Richard could finish his sentence, Bianca suddenly grabbed a pen.

Without a moment's hesitation, she signed the marriage contract.

The scratching sound of the pen against paper seemed unusually loud.

The laughter disappeared from Richard and Zoey's faces.

Bianca calmly capped the pen.

Then she stretched the signed papers toward me.

A victorious smirk appeared on her lips.

"Here you go, Phil."

Her eyes sparkled with determination.

"We can officially call ourselves husband and wife now."

She waved the signed contract slightly.

"I've already signed the marriage papers."

Richard and Zoey froze.

The shock on their faces was priceless.

Neither of them could believe what they had just witnessed.

They simply stood there blinking.

But Bianca wasn't done.

She stepped closer to me until we were standing side by side.

Then she lifted her chin and spoke firmly.

"You still remember your side of the bargain, right, Phil?"

"In exchange for this marriage, we're bringing the Riley family down."

She extended her hand toward me.

"Is that a deal?"