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“This isn’t an actual marriage, remember? I’ve got things to do. And you can tell me about the man threatening you. I want the entire story. Then we can figure out a way to stop him.”

“Wait a minute.” My heart raced, and I held up a hand. “You’re helping me stop him?”

“Isn’t that what you want?”

Do I want that?

I’d wanted to use his social status so Emmanuel would back off. No one would get hurt. I never expected him to help me with whatever he had in mind.

“I was hoping he’d just leave me alone knowing I was married to you,” I sighed. “It’s not your business to intervene.”

“As you pointed out, youaremy investment. We have a business deal. This marriage is a business contract, isn’t it?”

I thought about it for a moment. To my dismay, he was right. My marriage with him had many strings attached to it. I wasn’t thinking properly when I offered the proposal.

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll discuss it later.”

Fear and hesitation nibbled at me. How much should I reveal about myself to him? I didn’t want him to know everything. What if the truth was too much for him to handle? Would he divorce me?

A thought occurred to me. I looked at him, horrified I hadn’t thought about it earlier.

“Are you . . . with anyone?”

“Don’t you think it’s too late to ask about that now?”

Silence hummed in the air. Not knowing what to say, I chewed on the inside of my mouth.

He broke the silence. “I’m not with anyone. I wouldn’t agree to this marriage if it didn’t benefit me.” He looked at me. “I require a one-of-a-kind painting from you when this marriage is over.”

“Then I require something at the end of the deal too,” I said. Why should he be the only one to get something?

“What do you want?”

I didn’t know what I wanted at the moment. I needed the time to think clearly. He obviously had a list of things he wanted from me. All I wanted was for my mother to get out of prison so we could start over where people didn’t know us. But that was something I wanted to do on my own.

“I’ll let you know when the time comes.”

We arrived at a house outside of Providence. It wasn’t a mansion like I had thought, but one of three brick Colonials in the cul-de-sac. He pulled into the driveway, got out, and grabbed his cane from the back seat. I was about to open the door, but he met my gaze, shook his head, and mouthed, “Stay.”

A second later, he stood outside my door and opened it for me.

I got out. “You didn’t have to open the door for me. I’m capable of doing that.”

“This isn’t about capabilities, Vanessa,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath sending heat skipping down my spine. “We’re playing our role as husband and wife. My family will be looking out the window. If I’m introducing my fiancée to them, we need to play our part.” He offered me his hand.

This was all happening too quickly for me. I didn’t realize it required so many details. Attikus seemed to be a man who already had the map spread out in front of him. He saw miles ahead and understood what was required to make this fake marriage successful. I, on the other hand only saw a few feet ahead of me.

My limited perspective was due to limited resources, stress, fear, and exhaustion.

I was grateful he had a map to guide us along. If I got lost, perhaps I could borrow that map. But I wouldn’t tell him that right now.

I placed my hand into his grip, and energy zipped through us. My body jerked, and I looked at him. He didn’t show any response. Perhaps I was the only one who felt anything. I shoved down the strange attraction to him. What else could it be if it wasn’t an attraction? The last thing I needed was to complicate matters.

I stared at our joined hands, wondering if I was making a mistake. I felt like someone who lived without direction, making abrupt decisions that I would later regret. This spontaneous marriage would forever change my life. Fear bubbled in me, but I kicked the self-doubt away.

This arranged marriagehadto be successful for me to save myself and my mother. I had to cut ties with Emmanuel once and for all. If he knew I was married to a powerful billionaire, he wouldn’t dare ask me for more money, right? I didn’t have any other options.

“Thank you, darling.” I squeezed his hand. “How am I doing?”