Chapter 2

I followed him to a room in the corner, my heart pounding. The man there was dressed in a tight black suit, slouching over as he sipped his whiskey. Older than me, but not quite, early thirties I guessed.

Those ice-blue eyes drilled into mine, piercing, searching.

"Sit," he said casually.

I remained standing for a second before sitting down.

He stared at me for a moment. "You don't belong here."

I swallowed hard. "I needed the money."

"For what?"

I panted unsteadily. "My brother. He needs to have a surgery done."

His gaze clouded marginally. "And you figured this was how?"

"I have no other options." I said in my defence.

"I need a wife."

"What?"

"Just for one year. No strings. You'll receive the money you need and after a year, we part ways."

“Excuse me, what?” I asked again,totally confused.

“I don't like repeating myself woman.”

I stared at him. "Who are you?"

He took a deep breath, looked me ib the eye and spoke with undaunting confidence.

"I am Adrian Sebastian."

My heart came close to a stop. I knew him, his name actually. The billionaire CEO of Sebastian Industries. Ruthless, powerful, cold Adrian.

And he was offering to make me his mistress.

"look, I need a lot of money, I.."

“How much are we talking about? I am sure it's a drop in the bucket" He sneered.

"2.5million by the end of the week"

He just stared down at me and slightly. "and you wanted to get that here? How dumb are you?"

I didn't say a thing, just kept my head down thinking thesame thing but angry that he spoke to me in that manner.

"Don't talk back Val, you need the money." I said to myself.

“Give me your account number, or are you having second thoughts?” He questioned, noticing the shift in my mood.

My hands shook. This was insane.

"I will do it."

Adrian grinned. "Good choice."

……….

The courtroom was vacant but for myself when I signed the paper turning me into Mrs. Adrian Sebastian. The pen felt heavy in my hand, but I didn't flinch.

“This is for Ollie,” I reminded myself as I signed.

When it finally concluded, Adrian pressed a ring onto my finger. "Congratulations," he murmured.

The ride to Adrian's home was very silent. I sat stiffly at the back seat of his gleaming black Rolls-Royce, hands clasped in my lap. The ring on my hand was a gorgeous, chilly weight, just as the man beside me, thumbing through his phone like he hadn't just committed himself to a complete stranger.

Last week, I was a desperate woman with no other options. And now, I am Valentine Sebastian, wife to one of the wealthiest men, a man I barely knew. Tied to a future that felt like a dream.

Adrian had said nothing to me since we left the courthouse. No word at all.

I snuk a glance, my breath stalling at how effortlessly authoritative he seemed. The harsh angles of his jawline, the hard blue eyes that saw right through anything, the manner in which he walked. He was a man who never lacked anything, as opposed to me.

His driver, a gray-haired middle-aged man, stood out in the rearview mirror. His expression was blank, but I could sense he was interested in knowing just who I was to sit in the same car as his boss.

What was I doing sitting beside Adrian Sebastian? I was wondering the same thing.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked, my voice almost a whisper.

Adrian did not look up from his phone. "Home."

Home. As if the word was supposed to mean something to me.

I gazed out the window, watching as the city flew by. The farther we traveled, the more affluent the neighborhoods became.

Glittering glass skyscrapers and penthouses towering above the rest of humanity. When the car finally came to a stop, I dry-swallowed.

The Sebastian estate was like a fortress. A massive iron gate loomed in front, and behind it was a mansion that looked like something ripped right out of a fantasy.

Marble columns, enormous glass windows, huge gardens that looked too beautiful to be real.

A shiver ran down my spine. I didn't belong here.

The gate creaked open silently, and the car moved forward.

"Remember," Adrian whispered silkily, at last pushing his phone into his pocket. "You're my wife now. Act like it."

I clenched my fists. "Trust me, I don't need the reminder."

His lips curled. As if my defiance entertained him. Before I could say anything else, the car stopped.

As soon as we dropped from the car, I sensed the weight of a hundred eyes on me. Servants lined up along the corridor, all dressed in crisp black uniform. Their faces were stone-hard, their postures perfect. But their eyes spoke volumes.

Curiosity,Suspicion, maybe judgement.

A maid emerged, her blonde hair drawn back into a strict bun. "Mr. Sebastian," she addressed with a polite nod, to me. "Mrs. Sebastian."

I swallowed hard. The title was more than I could handle.

"This is Margaret," Adrian told me. "She runs the house. If you need something, ask her."

Margaret smiled up at me, a tight little smile. "Welcome, ma'am. We weren't anticipating Mr. Sebastian to come back so soon."

"Neither was I," I muttered under my breath. Adrian shot me a warning look.

Margaret cleared her throat. "Dinner will be served in a moment. Would you prefer to freshen up first?"

I nodded greedily, wishing for a few minutes to myself. "Yes, please."

"Follow me."

I caught one last look at Adrian, but he was already heading inside, his phone clutched in his hand once more, as if I wasn't there.

My stomach churned. What the fuck had I just gotten myself into?

Margaret led me through a maze of corridors, each one grander than the last. The house was massive, cold, and eerily quiet, except for the faint clicking of my heels against the marble floors.

"You’ll be staying in the east wing," she informed me, pushing open a set of doors.

I stepped inside and nearly forgot how to breathe.

The bedroom was bigger than my entire apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows faced the gardens, and a king-sized bed took up the middle of the room, draped in silk sheets. There was a vanity, a fireplace, and a walk-in closet that I knew would never be filled with anything of mine.

Margaret eyed me cautiously. "Do you need anything, ma'am?"

I hesitated. "Do I… do I share a room with Adrian?"