Chapter 9: Fire Alarm

Jessica sat up on the bed, stretching her arms sleepily. The birds were chirping, and the sun was already up—it was a beautiful Sunday indeed.

She turned to see the other side of the bed empty. William must have woken up earlier than her. As she got out of bed, a maid knocked before slightly opening the door.

“Good morning, Ma'am. Your presence is needed downstairs; we have some visitors,” the maid said.

“Visitors?” Jessica thought. “Okay, I'll be downstairs in a few minutes,” she replied.

Heading to the bathroom, she quickly freshened up and decided to wear one of William's shirts.

As she descended the stairs to the dining room, Jessica halted when she saw who the visitors were—Louis and his family.

Charles, who was entertaining the guests, paused when he spotted Jessica.

“Jessica,” he smiled warmly.

Jessica quickly composed herself. “Good morning, Father,” she greeted.

“William, is she the one?” a beautiful lady whispered to William, who was sitting nearby.

“Yes. Uncle, Cecilia, I'm sure you might have heard about it from Louis. Meet my wife, Jessica,” William said before turning to Jessica.

“Jessica, meet my uncle and my second cousin, Cecilia,” William introduced.

Jessica smiled politely. “It's a pleasure to meet you,” she said before going to sit next to William.

She stared down at the plate before her as though it was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. Nervous? Yes, she was.

But Cecilia wasn’t the cause of her nerves. Known for her kind and compassionate personality, Cecilia seemed to have been rewarded by life with a good husband and a child.

No, it wasn’t Cecilia. It was Roland, Louis's father. Louis, being someone she used to fantasize about a future with. Of all people, this man was the last person she wanted to meet—especially not in this situation.

To make things worse, Roland hadn’t taken his gaze off Jessica since she entered the room. He looked at her with an undecipherable expression that left her unsure of his thoughts.

“It’s nice to finally meet the woman who stole my nephew’s heart. I must admit, it came as a surprise to me. Mind telling me a few things about yourself?” Roland asked as the maids began serving the food.

“Well, I’m an actress and a part-time model,” Jessica replied.

“Really? Why don’t I seem to have heard of you? I did some research on popular actresses but found nothing on you,” Roland said, feigning curiosity.

Jessica glanced nervously at William. “Uhh... Umm...” She bit her lower lip.

“Actually, my wife just graduated from acting school and is training to become a professional actress,” William interjected smoothly. “She recently entered the industry, but I assure you, you'll hear a lot from her as time goes on. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been keeping a low profile in our marriage. She’s always been the kind of person to build her image through hard work. Right, love?” He placed his hand over Jessica’s on the table.

Jessica slowly nodded, smiling. “Yes, that’s true.”

“Enough talking. Let’s enjoy our breakfast,” Helena said cheerfully.

As they ate, Roland discussed business with William.

Jessica couldn’t help but stare at William. Roland’s subtle questions about her background, William’s smooth cover-up for her, and the ease with which he discussed business—it made her realize how far apart their worlds were.

She wondered what William truly thought of her. Did he see her as unworthy of being called his wife? He must have met countless classy women born with silver spoons, so compared to them, she must feel like a downgrade.

She hadn’t realized how long she’d been staring at William until his gaze met hers, snapping her back to reality.

He cupped her cheek, taking her by surprise. “You look really tired, my love. Must be due to last night’s... activity,” William said.

Louis immediately looked up from his plate. Jessica’s eyes widened as her cheeks flushed pink.

“We’ll be taking our leave. She still needs some rest, right, love?” William said.

“Oh... Yes, indeed,” Jessica stammered as they stood. Her gaze briefly met Louis’s, she had almost forgotten he was in the room.

Turning back to William, she saw him extend his hand for her to hold as they left.

Once they were in their room, William released her hand.

“Thanks for helping me out, but you didn’t have to say that. What if your mother starts thinking something actually happened between us?” Jessica said.

“Would you have preferred sitting there answering all the questions my uncle threw at you?” William retorted.

“You make a point,” Jessica muttered, sighing as she sat on the bed.

“Did you and Louis have a romantic relationship in the past?” William suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Jessica looked up at him in surprise.

“During my parents’ anniversary, I overheard your conversation with him. Is he the reason you were nervous?” William pressed.

Jessica looked down, biting her lip.

William sighed, turning toward the door. “Never mind. Forget I asked this question.”

“We dated for two years—or so I thought. On our anniversary, I found out he was getting engaged. Turns out he was just using me, and when he decided I was no longer useful, he broke up with me,” Jessica admitted bitterly.

“Is that why you agreed to marry me?” William asked.

Jessica looked up and shook her head. “I agreed to marry you strictly for my career. I want to achieve my dream of becoming a top actress, just like Louis–bigger than Louis. I want to prove to him that I don’t need his love or pity to make a name for myself. I want to steal his spotlight—his and my sister’s.” Her tone was determined.

“But you still have feelings for him, don’t you?” William asked indifferently.

Jessica went mute. Her silence was enough of an answer.

Looking away, William said, “Even though he’s my cousin, I won’t interfere with whatever you want to do. Revenge or whatever—it’s your business. My concern is my uncle. Just like my parents, I don’t want him finding out this is all a contract. So, we have to play the perfect couple until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, they’re staying here for the entire day.”

“What?” Jessica exclaimed before sighing deeply. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten. She was so nervous that she forgot to actually eat.

“Umm, I can’t go out there. Please, can you get me something to eat?” Jessica pleaded with a pout.

William frowned. “What do you mean? It’s Sunday—the maids have already left to visit their families. What am I supposed to do?”

“Well...”

_____

William sighed for the umpteenth time. “How the hell did my life get to this?” he muttered, leaning on the counter with his arms crossed as he watched Jessica attempt to cook—or so it seemed.

“Ahh!” Jessica shrieked when the frying pan caught fire.

“I thought you said you knew how to cook?” William asked calmly, eyeing the mess she’d made of the kitchen.

“Well, I watched YouTube videos,” Jessica said, trying to blow out the flames, which only made the fire angrier.

“Ahh!” she scurried back in fear, bumping into William, who instinctively caught her before she could fall.

Jessica clung to William as the fire alarm blared, and moments later, the sprinklers activated, soaking them both.

She slowly looked up to meet William’s gaze. Water dripped from his blonde hair, which clung to his face. Her cheeks flushed as she noticed his gaze drop to her lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.

Jessica swallowed hard, “I–I'm sorry, I–”

“Stop looking at me like that...or I won't be responsible for what happens next.”