Gemma looked him up and down and if there wasn't a devilish grin on her face, he might be fooled into believing that she was considering his suggestion. However, he knew from his interaction with her from the last couple of days that what was about to leave that mouth was the most venomous remark one could ever hear. He decided to evade it. "On second thought, I will no longer be nosy." "So you do know that you are nosy." She smirked. It was not amusing. "Well, I was just worried about you, ma'am. But now that I think about it with a clear mind, even the devil is scared of you. Dealing with a nutcase detective will be a piece of cake." "The devil is afraid of me." She repeated his words with a raise of her eyebrows. "Why is that? Because I'm too innocent and good?" It was amazing that there was someone who thought so. He was definitely blind. But his next words proved that he wasn't. On the other hand, he must be the most ballsy employee

Gemma felt something odd about Livian. Why did he look uncomfortable when she asked him to follow her to her room? He made it feel kind of wrong. Thinking that it was probably because he was scared that he could have done something wrong and upset her, she led the way and kept some distance so he would be comfortable. Whatever she was about to tell him was not something that could be discussed in the kitchen. Not with the Black family snooping around for ways to end her life. They could thwart her plans and before she dealt with them, it was best to be cautious. Her room was nothing like Livian imagined. He had imagined a feminine room with warm tones of gold, red and perhaps white, which would suit her taste from the past. However, her room was filled with silver and black. How cold. This was probably in line with Ethan's taste and she had not changed it. Did she love the bloke that much? She locked the door and sat on the fluffy couch, an arm's length aw

Trying out the wedding outfits was nothing like Livian had imagined. It felt magical. The gunmetal gray suit haunted him when he looked at it on the mannequin earlier, but when he wore it, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. It was just him in front of the mirror with a grin of disbelief across his face. He was really getting married to the woman he loved. For a moment, he wanted to forget that this whole charade existed. Forget that it was all fake. Forget that it would all come to an end after six months or even worse, as soon as she recognized him. The thought made his heart clench but he soon let out a breath. The most important thing right now was to make sure she didn't end up with a stranger who might as well be a swindler or a serial killer in the name of a contract marriage. What made her go down this route anyway? Knowing that he had no right to ask, he decided to be there for her nonetheless. If she ever wanted to talk about it, he would be there

Gemma had chosen a private garden to be the venue of their wedding. There was a cottage and a front yard that wasn't too large, filled with at least five kinds of flowers. It would have been a jumbled mess of color if the garden had not been well taken care of. The flowers were in good shape and the hedges and grass perfectly trimmed. It must be her hideaway. He loved it as soon as they arrived and to be fair, he would have loved it even if it didn't belong to her. They didn't have many guests—Cora was her bridesmaid as well as her only guest, while his guest was Heidi—the woman who had taken up the role of his grandmother when this whole charade began—and her grandson. It was a stretch to say that she and her grandson were his only family but one thing about it was true. He considered her his family. Heidi had been his nanny when he was little so he was closer to her than he was to his real family. Her grandson, Blake, had agreed to be his groomsman under

Not catching the hint of mischief in his tone, she proceeded to open the next box. The content was a ruby bracelet. If she wasn't lost in admiring it, she would have realized that the man beside her had tensed up while waiting for her reaction. She ran her fingers along it gently. "This is beautiful. I don't and don't know who the sender is but it looks familiar." He swallowed beside her. Of course it was familiar. He had given it to her as a gift on her nineteenth birthday. She had worn it for a while before he spoke ill of Ethan, then she'd returned it to him as a sign that she no longer wanted anything to do with him. He watched quietly as she checked it over and over. Part of him wanted her to figure it out, but part of him dreaded the outcome. What would happen once she found out? Would she kick him out? It was too soon for that to happen… But then again, she was going to figure it out sooner or later and she would be mad at hi