Lauren couldn’t sleep that night.

She kept tossing and turning on the unfamiliar mattress, despite how comfortable it was.

Earlier that evening, two maids had suddenly approached her after the heated argument she had with Alex. He had wheeled himself to his study while she sat down on the couch, looking stupendous. They told her Alex had instructed them to take her to her room.

She trailed behind the maids, passing different rooms until they stopped at a room with large double doors.

The master’s bedroom.

The room had a king sized bed and mosaic paintings as dark as the owner. Before Lauren could utter a word, some men came in rolling 2 queen sized beds.

She watched as they rolled the king sized bed out and put the two beds at either side of the room. They didn’t say a word, just quietly setting everything up with precise efficiency before slipping out.

The whole day, Alex didn’t speak to her.

He didn’t offer any explanation about the sleeping arrangements and she didn’t ask either. They only ate lunch together in silence.

And now, it was past midnight but she still couldn’t sleep.

Lauren sat up, hugging her knees. The sheets felt too clean and the room felt empty. She glanced at the other side of the room and as expected, Alex's bed was empty.

He still hadn’t come in.

She draped a cloth around her shoulders before slipping out of bed.

She tiptoed to the wooden doors, her hand hesitantly grasping the handle. Would it be normal to check up on him? He had been avoiding any sort of proximity with her. Maybe he just wanted to be left alone.

Lauren turned back, deciding to go back to bed. It was way better than spying on him.

The doors creaked open and Lauren skin almost jumped out of her body. She was just in time to see Alex wheeling himself into the room. His expression was stern and unreadable.

Their eyes met and she quickly looked away.

‘’You should be asleep’’ he said gruffly, voice low from fatigue

‘’I tried to.’’ She replied, her voice just a tiny bit louder than his.

“You weren’t in bed either.”

He said nothing as he made his way toward the corner and poured himself a drink. She watched his hands tremble slightly, but he steadied them quickly, like he hated the idea of looking vulnerable.

Lauren walked back to her bed and sat on it. ‘’Is this how we are going to be?’’ She asked.

Alex raised a questioning brow.

‘’Are we going to just avoid each other until the gala, then act like the perfect couple in front of everyone?’’ She continued, not bothering to sugarcoat anything.

Alex took a sip of his whiskey, his eyes still meeting hers. ‘’Isn’t that what you wanted?’’

“No. I didn’t want this.” She said firmly.

His eyes finally met hers. “What exactly do you want Lauren? That I’d fall for you overnight? That we’d magically build a life together and forget the reason we’re here?”

“No. But I expected better than this!’’ she snapped. “I expected to be treated like a person and not a placeholder for someone you obviously haven’t moved on from!”

Alex growled, pushing the glass aside. “Don’t you dare bring Melissa into this—”

“Why not?” she interrupted, her voice rising. “You already did! You made it clear that I’ll never be her. That no matter what I do, I’ll always be the desperate girl who sold herself for her mother’s survival!”

He flinched, but only slightly. Then his face hardened.

“You said it yourself. You’re not asking for love or attention. So why are you mad that you’re not getting either?”

Lauren stood from her bed, taking a step forward. “Because you’re being so cruel with me.”

Silence fell between them.

His gaze pierced into her, sending unknown shivers down her spine. There was something in the way that he looked at her. Something unreadable yet weighty that made her chest tighten.

‘’You think I’m cruel? ‘’ he repeated, almost like he was offended by her words.

She didn’t answer.

He breathed in deeply and turned away, muttering incoherent words under his breath. ‘’You have no idea.’’

Lauren didn’t know what he meant by that but she stepped forward, heart pounding. ‘’I don’t want to. We have an agreement. The least you can do is treat me like your partner!’’

He didn’t speak. His jaw tightened, his chest heaved. But no word came.

Lauren took a shaky breath and looked away, feeling like she had said too much. “Forget it. Just…forget I said anything.”

She turned to walk back to her bed, but Alex’s voice stopped her.

“You don’t get to psychoanalyze me just because I didn’t fall for your doe eyes and sob story.”

She whipped around, stunned. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said flatly. “I didn’t bring you here because I wanted a therapist or a bleeding heart. I needed a signature, and you gave me one. End of story.”

His words cut deep into her chest but her expression gave nothing away. “Fine,” she said, nodding. “Then let’s make something else clear.”

He raised a brow.

‘’I may be here because I need your help. But don’t forget that you need mine too. I didn’t sign up to be degraded daily or humiliated every dying minute. If you want me out in four days, I’ll leave. But until then, I’m not going to keep pretending like your tantrums don’t affect me.’’

A tense silence followed.

Then Alex gave her a cold smile. “Duly noted.”

He turned his chair and rolled past her without another word.

Lauren didn’t sleep much after that either.