The mansion was strangely quiet except for the soft buzz from the TV. It felt like a place of secrets for Lauren. Her eyes roamed all the corners of the room but, yet, she couldn't find anything that made the large room homely.

Her heart beat wildly against her chest. The weight from the earlier discussion she had with Alex's cousin still haunted her. She should have stood back.

Alex's business wasn't hers. She wanted this marriage to go smoothly and be invisible to most of the members of the family. But she had just dug her grave. Now, Jake would make sure she regretted ever coming to this side of the world.

The door finally creaked open to reveal Alex, wheeling himself in. His dark eyes immediately landed on her before he glanced away from her.

Lauren felt a strange heat, flow through her body. Her heart tugged with a strange desire, but she quickly dismissed it.

“You're still here,” Alex spoke up, as he went towards the window that had a nice view of the landscape outside. His back was turned to her.

“Where else would I be?” she asked back.

Alex was quiet. His eyes remained on the window, his body stiff.

“Did I do something wrong?” The words dropped out of her mouth before she could stop it. She had felt Alex was mad at her for stepping up like that and speaking so rudely to his cousin. Maybe that was the regular way they bantered with each other, and Jake's insult hadn't actually meant anything to Alex. Now that she had stepped in, he was furious.

This wasn't the husband she had expected to meet. Yes, she wasn't expecting him to welcome her with an open arms, the marriage was only based on business transaction after all. But still…this place, his attitude…it was just too cold. It felt like if she said one wrong thing, he would break her.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

Lauren sighed. She swallowed the word at the tip of her tongue and said something else instead. “What do you want from me?”

Alex turned to her, his eyes staring at her with a strange expression. “Wasn't it stated earlier? I'm offering you a way out of this predicament you seemed to have found yourself in.”

“I know. But what do you get out of this? It seems like I'm the only one getting the whole profit here.”

“That's none of your business. The only thing you should focus on right now is how to go about getting your mother the treatment she deserves,” Alex said coldly.

Lauren raised a brow, confused. She was perplexed about this man's temperament. She really didn't mean any harm. So why was he treating her like she was the enemy?

“The deal was always simple. This was just a business transaction between two parties who needed the other’s help. I will give you everything you want. A check has been prepared. In it is your mother's treatment, and everything that could help you get through this life for another 8–10 years. You will not have to worry about begging from your family,” he said simply.

Lauren's breath hitched, her hands trembled by her side. Was this real, or was she just misinterpreting his words?

“What are you trying to say, Alex?”

“I'm giving you your life back… I don't need it. You're a free woman, but now you have more than you could ever earn from a petty job in ten years. Your service here is done.”

This was it. This was why she had gotten married to him in the first place. She is getting the money required for her mother's treatment, not only that, he's giving her more. An amount that could sustain her for about seven years.

This was more than she asked for. But it came with a price. A price that she should grab with her two hands and not look back. He was releasing her.

But something tugged in her heart. She wasn't happy, that much was clear.

“You want me to leave?” She asked, but her eyes refused to stay on him. They darted across the room like she was trying to hide what she was feeling inside. “You're just going to let me go like that?”

“Is there a problem with that? Isn't that what you wanted?” His voice had turned even more cold than the last time. “You had agreed to this marriage to get money for your mother's treatment. You offered me your hand in return for my money. Why are you acting surprised?”

Lauren winced and jerked back. His words were harsh…but, nonetheless, true. That was what she came for, so why is it so hard for her to accept the freedom he's handing to her?

Was there something else she was trying to hold on to or was it because the deal felt too good to be true?

She went for the latter. The former just seemed too complicated for her poor brain and heart.

He looked at her, indifferent. “Take the money and leave. You have no business with me anymore. In four days, you should be out of this house.”

“Four__ four days?” Her voice shook.

“Yes. There's a ball you'll need to attend with me. I will announce you as my wife publicly. That was the reason I got married to you in the first place. I needed to sign a deal that required a married status. After the party, you can leave.”

Lauren suddenly laughed, realization hitting her. “Of course, you're not just a good Samaritan who I was fortunate to meet. You're using me for the sole purpose of your business. But then, I can't complain. I'm doing the same thing to you,” she scoffed, her eyes meeting his. “But I'm not abandoning you to be humiliated like you're doing right now. You can't just marry me and dispose of me like a thrash because you're offering me enough money to last me for almost a lifetime.”

“I'm not a commodity, Alex. Tell me, what is so wrong with me that I can't stay as your wife? I'm not asking for your love or attention, but I came into this marriage thinking I could have something stable with you, even if we had started on the wrong foot. I was desperate, okay? But I won't let you treat me like this.” She narrowed her eyes on me.

Alex stared at her, his face Stoic.

“This was always a business transaction. It was made clear from the onset. I don't want you. You're not Marissa, so you'll never have a place in my heart or my house. The only thing holding us together is the contract,” he said, his face calm, a complete contrast to the storm that brewed inside him. “This world…my world doesn't belong to people like you. You wouldn't survive a week in this place.”

“You don't even know me enough to conclude that?”

“Oh…don't I?” he chuckled darkly, before he wheeled his chair closer to her. “Are you not the same weak Lauren who shares the same McCarthy name with the wealthy Melissa but is treated like dirt in her father's house? You clean their shoes and scrub their back like the little rejected princess that you are,” he said, grabbing her chin from where he was seated. Even in the wheelchair, he still towered over her with a significant difference.

“You're weak, Lauren. From the moment you stepped into that courtroom, panting like a dying dog, you already signed your death warrant. You think you already found your way in by challenging my cousin? Oh, Lauren!…you really don't have an idea what you've gotten yourself into,” he said before releasing her. He wheeled back, creating a good distance between them.

Lauren suddenly felt cold. Not from his hurtful words but from the lack of proximity.

“You should leave this marriage while you still have time, Lauren, because I won't be there to save you when the wolves come.”