The Billionaire's Arranged Love Game

THE MEETING Emily's heart thumped uncontrollably as she walked down the hallway of the hotel the Knights had chosen for their meetup. Her every step is heavier than the last one. Her father walked beside her, his presence dominating and suffocating. The venue was as she expected, imposing and extravagant. It was one of the hotels owned by the Knights, her parents had agreed to the chosen location. The atmosphere gave her chills as she hugged herself lightly. Today, she would meet James Knight, the man her father had chosen to be her husband. At the very end of the hallway stood two tall closed doors. She tried to keep herself calm, hiding the different emotions that were going through her and the dominant one being anger. Her mind replayed stories she had heard about James and his reputation for being ruthless and unnecessarily rude, he was a man she only knew from a story she had heard and none of them seemed to comfort her aching heart at that moment. She turned as her father pla

THE VOWSThe hall was filled with influential people from all over the state, each one of them eager to see the union of the two most powerful families in the city. Every inch of the hall was beautifully decorated, there was flowers at every corner. Emily was seated in front of a very large mirror in the bridal suite, delicately touching her gown. Beside her was her best friend and bridesmaid, Cassandra carefully arranging the veil that flowed down her back.Cassandra looked at Emily's reflection from the mirror and sighed.“Are you really doing this Em?” She asked gently. “It doesn't really matter anymore Cassie, this is about my family now. Nothing else.”She said with a forced smile.“But it should, though.” Cassandra said with a breaking voice. “You deserve a real wedding, Em, not some business transaction.”Emily looked away, trying to hide her frustration from her friend. She could not afford to have a breakdown today, not when she's gotten to this level. There was no going bac

SHADOWS OF THE PASTEmily's heart sounded in her chest as she looked down at the picture of Evans Royce, she had searched for a long time on the Internet before she got his picture. His sharp eyes stared back at her, she had an unsettling feeling about this man, his name alone sent chills down her spine but she couldn't fathom why. She knew that his involvement with the Knights was deeper than James was letting on. James stretched from his chair, reaching out to grab the phone on the table and stared at the picture intensely. “If Evans Royce is involved in this, then this isn't about some petty grudge, he doesn't seem like someone that will do something like this because of a slight grudge. This is something bigger.” Curiosity piqued Emily. “You said before ‘I remember him’ and now it feels like you're speaking from past experience, you're not telling me everything James. What did your father do to him?” James loosened his tie and sighed . “A couple years ago, my father funded Evan

WE ALL WEAR MASKSEmily stood in front of her mirror, adjusting the emerald green gown that hugged her body perfectly. That was the fourth time she had adjusted it. She looked stunningly beautiful but she could not bring herself to care as she kept her mouth in a straight line. Today was the first time her and James were going to attend a public event as a married couple, but ever since that day she and James had that conversation, he had not spoken a word to her and now, he was completely ignoring her.Behind her, James stood by the door with a perfectly tailored suit that complimented her dress. He looked undeniably good looking and put together but his expression was uneasy. “Ready to go?” He asked his tone sharp and firm.Emily turned to him, her frustration surfacing. “Oh I'm ready to pretend to be a happy and loving wife to a person that hasn't said a proper sentence to me in days.” James's face hardened, but he didn't take the bait. He just extended his arm to her. “Shall we?

AFTER THE SPOTLIGHT The events of the fundraiser felt like something that happened ages ago but James could not stop thinking about it. It consumed his thoughts or rather, someone did.Emily. The public had seen them publicly and they were completely praising the little act they pulled. But James found himself unable to focus. He would've been in his office, drowning himself in work as he usually did but here he was pacing in his library with just sweats, thinking about Emily. The kiss had meant to stop whatever rumour against their marriage being fake and a plot to save their families. But everytime he closed his eyes, Emily's lips were the only thing he saw and it ignited flames in him. And the way she reacted to it didn't seem like an act.And that was a very huge problem. Controlling his emotions and separating personal matters from business matters, but Emily had managed to cross those lines. She wasn't just another one of his business projects anymore. She was something mor