Faye’s POV

“I brought an opportunity.” He said. “A six-month agreement. You’ll play the part of my fiancée. Attend events. Smile for the cameras. In return, I’ll pay off your debts incurred from your ex-husband in full or even get you a lawyer to avoid it, fund your next two projects—completely—and make sure your name is on the lips of every high-profile developer in the city.”

I should have walked out and never looked back. But the numbers… the power of what he was offering... A debt-free life. A new firm. My name in lights—not because of the man I married, but because of me.

Still, I didn’t trust it. Didn’t trust him.

So I let him talk. Let him pitch me his cold, calculated future like it was some kind of dream.

“I want someone who can’t afford to fall for me,” Neil said, his eyes sharp but oddly sincere. “Someone who won’t chase the spotlight, or mistake politeness for affection.”

“And that’s me?” I asked, arms crossed.

“You don’t want love.” He said simply. “You want silence. You want control. I can give you that. You’ve been burned before. So have I. Let’s help each other and get out before anything catches fire.”

He wasn’t wrong. That scared me more than if he had been. However, his surety about that fact made me narrow my eyes at him.

“Confident, I see.”

“Cautious.” He replied, shaking his head. “I know what I don’t want.”

“And if you do fall for me?” The corner of my lips raised this time.

“What?” He blinked like he hadn’t heard me right. That couldn’t be right but I ignored it nevertheless.

“It would be a hard task for you to not fall for me, given that my looks and characteristics are all on point and I don’t really lack anything but a lot of money.” I said, nodding slowly. “So what happens if you do fall for me?”

I noticed he fought back a smile and used a scoff to try to cover it up. “I actually think I should be asking you that question instead.” He cleared my throat, pushing back the laugh that threatened to come out. “But if that happens on either of our parts, we terminate the contract and the benefits remain.”

My lips twitched. Almost a smile. Almost at the most obvious answer. I looked down and suddenly another question made its way into my head again.

“Alright, so what happens when the six months are up?”

“We part ways. I will make a public statement. You get your exit. Your name will be gold in design circles. And my grandfather will finally take me seriously.”

“Your grandfather?”

“He wants me to get married so I can take over the company, and I have to be married within this month, so at the end of the next quarter, six months time, I will get what I want.” I explained with a small shrug at the end.”

“And if your grandfather finds out it’s fake?” I leaned in a bit as I asked out of curiosity.

He leaned forward as well, making the space between us even less than I expected. “He won’t. Not unless one of us talks.”

“And money?” I asked, but right then, my gaze landed on the page where it was boldly stated and my eyes widened. “Five hundred…” I trailed off as shock ran through me.

“Five hundred billion dollars.” He finished the sentence for me. “Half now. Half when we shake hands and walk away.”

I drew in a soft breath as I stared at the page again. “You even highlighted the payment clause.” I mumbled.

He shrugged. “Figured you’d want to see the numbers first.”

“You’re very sure of yourself.” I nodded, acting nonchalantly as I continued flipping the pages.

“No.” He leaned back slightly. “I’m very sure of you.”

I shook my head. “I need time.”

This was definitely not something I wanted to rush into headfirst even though my mother was breathing down my neck.

He nodded, slid a business card across the table like this was just another transaction. “Take it. But don’t wait too long. Every second you hesitate, someone else gets ahead.”

The line echoed long after he left.

***

The next day, I tried to bury myself in work. Didn’t help. For the umpteenth time that day, my phone buzzed with a message. I looked at it even though I already knew who it was from and what it would contain.

Mum: I have another blind date arranged for you this evening. It’s at…

I turned the phone upside down before I could finish reading the entire message. She wasn’t giving it a rest even after I had walked out on them yesterday and it wasn’t driving me insane. For a second, the thought of reaching out to Neil crossed my mind. However, I shook it off as I thought about how desperate I would look if after all the talks of thinking it over, I suddenly made a decision less than twenty four hours later.

“I would just have to wait a bit longer.” Making that decision, I forced myself to focus on work.

I was in the middle of finalizing prints for a luxury townhouse project when I heard his voice outside my office door.

“Nice space.” He said casually to my assistant. “I’m here to see Faye Martin.”

I shot to my feet just as he opened the door, not even bothering to wait.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped, marching toward him as horror filled me at the thought of everyone at my company talking about this.

“Closing a deal.” Neil said smoothly, stepping inside like he owned the place. “And making sure you don’t overthink it and talk yourself out of something smart.”

I shut the door behind him, hard. “You think you can just show up and what—pressure me into signing your twisted marriage contract?”

His eyes gleamed with something unreadable. “You don’t strike me as someone who folds under pressure.”

“Don’t try to play me, Neil.”

He took a step forward. “I’m not playing. I’m offering you everything your ex took and more. You’re the one pretending this doesn’t appeal to you.”

I shoved him—not hard, but hard enough to say back off. Big mistake. In the next second, I was the one backed against the wall, his hand braced beside my head, his body close enough to make my breath hitch.

His voice dropped low. Controlled. Dangerous. “Tell me no… and I’ll walk. Right now. But you’ll regret it.”

I stared at him, heart pounding, lips parted. His eyes were burning, not with anger—but challenge.

He leaned in just an inch more, breath warm on my skin. “Say it. No. And I’ll disappear from your life like I was never here.”

I didn’t say it. I couldn’t, not when my mother was on my neck.

Instead, I whispered. “This doesn’t mean I like you.”

“I’d be concerned if you did.” He said, taking out a paper.

I looked at him for a few seconds before taking it from him. It was the contract. After going through it thoroughly and seeing that it was all we discussed, I picked a pen from my desk and signed the necessary parts.

Once he did the same, he smirked and stepped closer to me again. For a second, I forgot how to breathe as the scent of his perfume entered my nose.

“Engagement announcements will be on soon but could have been done much earlier.” He said.

I stepped back slightly. “Don’t get cocky, Lancaster. You might be rich, but I bite.”

He smirked. “Oh really? We’ll see.”

As he walked out of the office, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.