Naomi

Waking up the next morning was torture.

I could barely open my eyes or lift my head—it felt like it weighed a ton.

“F**king hell…” I muttered, holding my forehead.

The sunlight streaming into the room didn’t help either, making me squint and intensifying the throbbing in my skull.

It felt like there was a band in my head, playing a series of discordant tones at full volume.

If it were up to me, I would’ve gladly stayed in bed until I mustered enough energy to get up, but the pain was unbearable.

Plus, I needed to visit the bathroom.

Slowly but surely, I pushed my tired body out of bed and into the bathroom.

After relieving myself, I grabbed some medication from the counter and practically crawled back to my room.

Luckily, I had designed my room with all the essentials I would need if I ever couldn’t be bothered to go downstairs.

There was a fridge, TV, and a fully stocked snack bar.

I stopped at the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, then popped two aspirin tablets and washed them down.

As I lay in bed, waiting for the meds to kick in, I tried to recall anything from last night—but I came up blank.

The only thing I could remember was chugging down on alcohol excessively and…

The shrill ringing of my phone cut through my thoughts, making my head throb worse.

Groaning, I reached for it without checking the caller ID, already annoyed.

“What?!” I snapped.

“Is this Miss Sinclair?” Julian’s deep baritone came clearly through the speaker, instantly wiping the sleep from my eyes.

I sat up straight, glancing at the caller ID to make sure I heard correctly.

Holy sh*t. Why was Julian calling me?

It took me a full minute to respond. “Ye...yes, this is her.”

“Okay, great." I tried reaching out to you last night to confirm if you got home safely, but you never picked up,” he said, only confusing me further. “Anyway, I just called to inform you that the document is ready, and I’ll be waiting for you at the office so we can sign it.”

I pulled the phone from my ear and checked the ID again, utterly bewildered.

“What document are you talking about?” I rasped.

“Don’t you remember the discussion we had last night?” Now he sounded confused.

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Hold on—you're telling me we met and talked last night?”

It felt surreal, like he was talking about someone else. I had no memory of that—just getting sh*t-faced drunk.

“Listen, I don’t know if this is some sort of game for you, but I’m expecting you at the office,” he snapped. “Signing a contract marriage deal isn’t something to joke about.”

Now I went bonkers.

Marriage? With Julian? How? Why? When?

It was a lot to take in at the moment.

Surely, that’s a myth, right?

It had to be—or I was completely out of my mind about agreeing to a contract marriage or whatever the hell he was talking about.

“Look, Julian, I’m sure you’re mistaken,” I said softly, trying to reason with him. “I would never agree to that sort of thing, no matter—”

“It seems you’re the type to go back on your word once a deal stops being convenient,” he cut in, his voice like steel. “Unfortunately, I won’t make it easy for you to back out. If you’re not in my office in the next two hours, I’ll have no choice but to involve myself in the law.”

I swallowed hard, reading between the lines.

I wasn’t sure if I should be pissed that he was threatening me—or terrified because I had no idea what the hell was going on.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say a word, the call ended with a click.

With a scream of frustration, I tossed my phone onto the bed, cursing extensively while locking my hands in my hair, searching for answers.

Fueled by a sudden burst of energy, I got up and started pacing around my room, trying to rack my brain.

Now that I think about it, I can recall faint flashes from last night…

Me giggling uncontrollably…. My hands around his neck.

A man—probably Julian—carried me into a car.

Mortified, I stopped by the windowsill and buried my face in my hands.

What should I do?

I had no clue what deal we’d struck, as my brain was still blank about what happened last night, but one thing I knew about Julian Hart was this: he was a ruthless business person. He would not hesitate to follow through on his threats.

Just as I resigned myself to heading to his office, my phone rang again.

A rush of hope surged through me. I dashed toward the bed and grabbed the phone.

“You don’t need to call again to threaten me—I’ll be there,” I said curtly, annoyed that he was trying to browbeat me into a decision.

“Uh, Naomi…”

The voice on the line wasn’t Julian.

It was my lawyer-turned-friend, Daniel Burton.

“It’s me, Daniel.”

I slammed my eyes shut, mentally cursing myself for not checking the caller ID—again.

“Oh! Hi, Daniel! Sorry, I thought it was someone else. How are you?”

“I’m great!” he chirped, then lowered his voice. “Uh, listen, I wanted to reach out. I heard what was happening with the company. It can’t be easy—working there for years and now watching it dissolve and sell.”

I replied on autopilot, the weight of his words only hitting me a few seconds later.

“Yeah, thank you, I—wait, what? What are you talking about? What’s being dissolved?”

There was a brief pause, like he realized he’d said too much.

“Oh… I assumed you knew. A friend of mine told me the board of directors is calling a meeting tomorrow to discuss the company’s dissolution.”

Oh, no…