CHAPTER SIX

The sound of my phone dragged me out of a restless sleep. I groaned and blindly reached for it.

Without opening my eyes, I put it on silent and buried my face deeper into the pillow. 

Two seconds later, it rang again. I frowned. Whoever was calling this early clearly had no respect for human life. I collected the phone from the bedside table.

"This call better be important," I muttered.

Silence greeted me. I pulled the phone away from my ear and checked if the call was still connected.

It was.

"Hello? If nobody speaks, I'm hanging—"

"My driver will arrive in five minutes."

I froze. That voice, cold, deep and controlled. Every trace of sleep vanished instantly.

"Mr. Kingsley?"

"Get ready."

The line went dead. I stared at the screen for a while…

"Good morning to you too."

I dropped the phone onto the bed, and with a groan, I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed and ready.

Before leaving, I checked the locks again and again. The thought of someone entering my apartment last night without my knowledge made my skin crawl. Only after checking every window and lock did I finally step outside.

A black Rolls-Royce Cullinan was already waiting, and a man stood beside it. Tall, neatly dressed with a friendly smile. The complete opposite of Liam.

"Good morning, Miss Quinn." He opened the rear door.

I hesitated for a brief moment and considered running away, then I remembered I had signed up for this mess.

"Good morning." I slid into the car.

The man closed the door before taking the driver's seat. The ride to Kingsley Holdings was painfully quiet. The thoughts of last night refused to leave me alone. The note, the break-in, the contract, the humiliation. The fact that I was willingly driving toward a man I barely knew was because my life had become a disaster.

"God help me," I whispered.

"Are you alright, Miss Quinn?"

I nearly jumped. I had forgotten the driver was there.

"Yes." I forced a smile. "I'm fine." I lied.

The lie sounded weak even to me. The rest of the journey passed in silence and soon the massive Kingsley Holdings building came into view. I developed cold feet immediately.

The car stopped, but I remained seated. The driver waited patiently, and after several awkward seconds, he finally spoke.

"Mr. Kingsley dislikes waiting."

That got me moving, as I quickly stepped out.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

A few minutes later, I found myself seated inside Liam's office again. Liam sat behind his desk reviewing documents, completely focused and ignoring me. Five minutes passed, ten.. I folded my arms and unfolded them, crossed my legs and uncrossed them, still nothing. I regretted every decision that brought me here immediately.

 I cleared my throat. "Hmm."

Nothing, I frowned.

"Mr. Kingsley." 

Still nothing, my patience snapped.

"Mr. Kingsley!"

His head finally lifted slowly, like speaking to me was interrupting something important. His gray eyes met mine, and for some ridiculous reason,  my heartbeat skipped.

"Miss Quinn."

"I've been sitting here for thirty minutes."

His expression didn't change. "Have you?"

"You didn't notice?" My face became serious.

"I noticed."

I blinked. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't say anything either."

I opened my mouth, but words couldn't come out. I hated that response because he was right. Liam closed the file.

"You may call me Liam."

“Mr Liam—”

“Liam.” He corrected me. 

I ignored him. Amusement flickered across his face, then disappeared. 

“I know I called last night and might have sounded desperate, but I just gave it a thought because Mrs Sophia talked me through it.” 

The lie slipped out easily, but I didn't care, I needed a good reason for coming back after rejecting the offer in the first place. 

His gaze remained fixed on me without a word from him.

A  knock interrupted us, and the driver entered with another man carrying a thick envelope.

"Good morning, sir."

Liam ignored the greeting. The envelope was placed in front of me.

"Collin Foster," Liam said.

The driver gave me a polite nod.

"My personal assistant."

The other man extended his hand. "Arthur Hayes. Legal counsel."

A lawyer, wonderful. 

Arthur pushed the envelope closer. "The marriage contract."

The room suddenly felt smaller. I swallowed, then opened it. Liam wasn't exaggerating. Everything was written. Every detail, every condition and responsibility. I began reading page by page carefully.

The room remained silent except for the sound of turning pages. After several minutes, I stopped. I reread the paragraph just to be sure.

"Open marriage?"

Liam didn't look surprised. "Yes."

I looked up. "You mean I can date someone else?"

"Yes."

My eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Discreetly." He leaned back. "The public image remains intact until the divorce."

I stared at him surprised. "Who agrees to this?"

"I do."

"With all this money involved, no normal person would agree to this."

"I'm not interested in being normal."

I almost laughed, instead, I continued reading. The contract clearly stated the marriage would last exactly one year, and at the end, we would divorce peacefully.

No emotional expectations, romantic commitment, and no interference in each other's private lives. The entire thing felt less like a marriage and more like a business merger. I looked up again.

"Are you human?" The words slipped out before I could stop them.

"Not according to most people." Liam's expression remained unchanged.

I couldn't tell if he was joking. I continued reading. The financial section nearly gave me a heart attack again, even though I had seen this part before. I looked up slowly.

"Do you always throw money at your problems?"

Collin coughed, and Arthur looked away.

Liam simply folded his hands. "No."

"Then why are you doing it now?"

"Because I value results."

I stared at him. This man spoke like a machine, no unnecessary words or emotional speeches, just cold facts. Yet strangely, something was reassuring about it.

Unlike Ethan, Liam wasn't pretending this was love, He wasn't promising forever or feeding me beautiful lies. Everything ugly sat plainly on the table, waiting for me to accept it or walk away.

Liam sat on his chair like a king patiently while I continued reading. Eventually, I reached another clause. My eyes widened and I looked up at him immediately.

"We are not sleeping together."

Collin almost choked, Arthur adjusted his glasses.

Liam remained calm. "As you wish."

I blinked. The contract clearly stated intimacy would only occur if both parties willingly agreed. I looked back at him.

"You actually put that in writing."

"I put everything in writing."

That answer somehow reassured me more than I expected, because Ethan had made promises but Liam made contracts, and contracts don't lie.

I finished reading the final page then flipped back to the beginning. Liam watched silently as he reviewed several sections again.

Collin seemed impressed when I finally looked up.

"Most people don't read everything."

I frowned. "Why would I sign something without reading it?"

Liam studied me for a while. "You read every clause."

"It's my life."

Something unreadable crossed his face. Respect maybe. For the first time since meeting him, I felt like he wasn't looking at me as a problem to solve, he was actually seeing me.

The silence stretched before Liam spoke again.

"As long as you are my wife, no harm will come to you."

The room went still… the break-in flashed through my mind. The threats, the fear. I swallowed hard.

"Can you really stop them?"

"Yes." His voice filled with confidence and for some reason, I believed him not because he was kind or comforting… because he wasn't. But because he never promised what he couldn't deliver.

Slowly, I reached for the pen, which felt heavier than it should have. My fingers trembled as I wrote my name, Nora Quinn. The ink dried within seconds and my old life ended with it.

"Congratulations, Miss Quinn," Collin said.

I nearly rolled my eyes. Congratulations? It felt more like I had signed away my freedom.

Arthur collected the documents immediately.

"We'll process everything in two—."

"Today," Liam corrected.

Arthur nodded. "Today."

The lawyer left, Collin followed leaving me alone with Liam. An uncomfortable silence settled between us.

I stood up.

“I should leave too.” I pushed back my chair and stood up quickly. 

Liam raised an eyebrow. 

I stopped subconsciously. He stood, towering over me and I suddenly remembered why people found him intimidating.

"We have a wedding to plan, and as my wife, there are things we need to prepare."

The word wife hit me square in the chest."

I froze. "A wedding?” My eyes widened.

"This weekend."

My jaw nearly hit the floor. "This weekend?"

"You'll be meeting my family tonight."

I blinked. "Your family?"

"Yes."

My stomach dropped. I would rather face another hundred job interviews than meet the family of the man I had agreed to marry.

Liam grabbed his suit jacket and headed for the door. "Come along.”

I swallowed. "What now?"

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "You need to look like my fiancée. 

My heart sank.

“We're going shopping.