Chapter 4

DAMON

I gripped the neck of the bottle in front of me and lifted it to my mouth, enjoying the way the liquid burned my throat as it rushed down. It was six days already since the day I'd found out that I had to get married in less than three months and stay married for three years. My life had taken a dive since then.

"It's not fair for your dad to have tried to control you like that." Shayla voiced out from where she sat beside Jake. We went out to a club like we did every Friday night. I finally decided to disclose what had gone down in the meeting I'd had with my father's lawyer.

Their reactions weren't surprising to me. They didn't know the kind of man my father had been. He hadn't wanted me to make a name for myself. Luckily, I wasn't someone who could be pushed around. I'd grown up trying to live up to his expectations as the only child.

It didn't take long for me to realize I would never be able to match his expectations of me. He would always see me as less than him. After It had dawned on me how much of my life I had wasted on him, I decided I was done with that shit.

Jake was silent, sipping his vodka and gauging my expression. It was of no use though. He wouldn't be able to tell where my head was at except I wanted him to. He dropped his bottle to the table with a clang. "So what's the plan?" He asked.

My eyes darted between Shayla and him. He was asking me what the plan was? Wasn't that the whole point of sharing my problem with them? Shaking my head, I scanned the room. "I don't know, man."

I picked up my phone, taking note of the time. Usually I'd be leaving Jake and Shayla to themselves by now, a hot and bothered woman on my arm. My eyes scanned the room again. I locked gazes with a few women who looked ready to get right on with it but none piqued my interest.

"I have an idea," I brought my attention back to my table at Shayla's voice. My eyebrows pinched at the barely disguised look of excitement she had written all over her. I folded my arms across my chest, preparing myself for one of her schemes.

Jake threw an arm around her shoulder, dragging her closer to his side and planting a kiss on the side of her head. "What's going on inside that head of yours?" He asked her.

"I think you should have a contest."

Jake and I instantly locked gazes, both of us wanting to make sure we had heard her right. There was no way in hell she could have said what I thought I heard her say, right?

"I'm sorry, what?" I prompted, causing the grin on her face to grow even wider. I loved being in the spotlight. I liked when people gave me their attention, their time. I loved being the topic of discussion, with people trying and failing to get into my head and figure my thoughts out.

But this was a bit too much, even for me.

"Babe?" Jake called out to her, a mild look of concern on his face. He put some space between them so he could get a good look at her. "A contest? For what exactly?"

She shot him a playful look that said he should keep up. "For him to find his future wife, duh!" She turned to fix her attention on me. "You can put it on the news..or better still put it up as an ad in the papers. You want a wife in less than three months, right? I'm sure- "

I raised my hands, signalling for her to calm down a minute. "Shayla," I started as calmly as possible. The last thing I wanted her to do was see this as a challenge of some sort because hell would freeze over before she dared to back down. "What are you going on about?"

She dramatically inhaled and exhaled, as though praying for patience. Her blue eyes bounced as she divided her attention between Jake and me. "You need a wife in less than three months, right?"

I nodded tentatively.

"So the fastest way for you to get one is to put it out there that you're searching in the first place." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "But they'll be too much," She continued. "Because who wouldn't want to get married to the Damon Trent?"

I looked over at Jake, wondering why he wasn't putting an end to this crazy line of thinking. He was the only one who could stop her when she'd put a wild idea in her head. For a moment, I considered asking if she had ironed things out with Jake but then decided against it. I didn't want to start up a fight between them if she hadn't.

"So we'll make it a little difficult," She was practically glowing with excitement now. "Put them through a series of tests which we would look into later," She seemed to be taking in my expression now. "If you agree to it, of course. Basically we'll be testing them in literally everything."

She paused in her little speech when the waiter came to refill our glasses. I ran my hand down my face, trying to make sense of all that she was trying to say. I still didn't know why I was even indulging her at this point.

Put up an ad that I was searching for a wife? Who even did that shit these days?

"At the end of the day," She said, carrying on after the waiter had moved to another table. "You would not only have gotten yourself a wife but someone who was worthy of the title as well."

I watched as Jake fell back in his seat, processing everything that she had said. He was easily the most logical amongst the three of us. I waited patiently for him to speak up even as I mulled the idea over in my own head.

He tilted his head and fixed his attention on her, staring at her with something that looked a lot like pride. Shaking his head lightly at her, he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

My eyes rolled on their own accord. After all these years, I was still getting used to them making out in front of me. Shayla was my cousin's cousin after all.

Jake finally broke away from her and pinned me with his stare. "It's not a bad idea," He divulged, shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows, maybe everyone would realize what a huge dick you are and no one would turn up." He stated, his lips tilting in a smirk. I flipped him off.

"Or maybe," Shayla interjected, hitting his arm. "Everyone would realize that they had an opportunity to be the one you finally settled down with."

Settled down.

I didn't like that word. Suddenly, it all clicked and I knew exactly what I had to do. Pushing myself up in my seat, I studied their reactions for what I was about to say.

"What if the end of the contest really is a legal marriage..." I trailed off. "But like a contract marriage? It would only need to last for the three years it would take to gain possession of my father's properties."

I could already tell by the way Shayla was looking at me that she strongly disapproved. "You want people to sign up for a contract marriage?" Her voice was dripping with disbelief. "You think someone who is worthy, truly worthy of being your wife would want to get into a contest that would end in a temporary marriage?"

Even Jake was looking at me like I'd lost it. "You really hate the thought of being tied up to one woman, huh?" He was giving me that look again. The one that said he wanted to figure out what was going on inside of my head.

They would never understand. I've seen how foolishly people could behave in the name of love. How people let themselves remain bound in an abusive marriage that was worse than a prison because of some silly vows and stupid promises.

My mother had been one of such people.

"I won't let it out then," I informed them, sidestepping Jake's intruding question. "It would be nobody's business but whoever would end up winning, and by then I'll be sure to compensate her enough that she'll agree to go through with it."

They both said nothing, but their expressions showed where they stood on the matter. Too bad this was my life and not theirs.

We were rounding up when I glanced up at the bar and took a pause. It was the same lady. The mouthy one from the sidewalk days back. She seemed to have come to the club with a friend. I leaned back in my seat, studying her.

Her blonde hair was still in the waves it had been in the day I'd accidentally splashed mud all over her, only now the waves looked stylish. I could only see the side of her face from where I sat and it was all I needed to see to know that she would rather be anywhere but here. I let my gaze shift to the shorter livelier woman beside her, quickly guessing that she had been the one to initiate their going out.

She reached for her coat then, taking it off and nothing would have prepared me for what she wore underneath. A short red dress tightly to her body and hugged her curves in a way that made me want to rip it off her and take her right there on the table. Her back was bare, with just two thin straps crossing at the back of her neck.

I felt myself harden instantly and I almost groaned.

I'd been sitting in the bar for almost two hours and no one seemed to have caught my attention but the very woman who I knew I should stay away from for obvious reasons.

I couldn't stop myself from raking my gaze from her sexy as sin body down to the fuck me heels she had on. My gaze trailed back up the length of her, my eyes eating up every inch of skin I could find. I saw her hold back a shudder and I couldn't stop myself from smirking, already knowing what I would find.

I felt a surge of pleasure when I realized I was right.

Her eyes were now fixed intently on mine. She had obviously seen me checking her out and it had caused her to shiver. Her eyes narrowed in irritation when she took notice of my smirk. It was good to know I wasn't the only one who already hated whatever this was between us.

I downed my drink in one go, pushing myself to my feet and asking Jake and Shayla to excuse me for a sec.

Keeping our gazes locked, I took a step in her direction.