Baked Into Marriage

ChapterThree:InsurancePolicy

As Jack and Raya walked out of the City Registry building, hungry reporters hit them with their camera flashes and bombarded them with questions.

“Is this your wife, Mr. Fings?”

“What are you doing in the City Registry with a lady?”

“Was this a secret relationship?”

Jack’s expressions were unreadable.

“She is Raya Fings. My legal wife. We've been married for a while,” Jack said firmly, turning on his heel with surprising swiftness.

Without hesitation, he slipped his arm to protect Raya as he guided her past the chaos. Raya was taken aback, not just by his commanding presence but the certainty in his voice when he claimed her as his own.

He steered her toward the sleek black car parked by the curb. His longtime chauffeur, Mr. Raymond, a man in his mid-fifties with a quiet, professional air, stepped out and respectfully opened the door.

“Meet my wife, Raya,” Jack said smoothly, nodding to Raymond.

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Raymond replied with a warm smile.

Raya returned the smile with a polite nod, and they both climbed into the car.

“Give Raymond your house address. I'll drop you off.”

Inside, silence hung between them like fog. The city swarmed around, but Jack's thoughts were everything but tranquil. One name kept ringing in his head: Alex.

Alex.

Jack knew who Alex was—he had known Raya long before they met. The runaway fiancè. The one who left her shattered and humiliated with nothing but a text.

He stared out the window, jaw tight, and a series of questions ran through his mind.

What does Alex want now? Why is he showing up again? Why today of all this? What's on Raya’s mind? I need to pretend like I don't know who Alex is. I need to figure out what she thinks about him. Does she still love him?

Jack turned to face Raya, his jaw tight, the question about her ex sitting on the edge of his tongue. But before he could speak, she looked up at him, her eyes sharp with unspoken worry.

“Is there a plan?” she asked, voice low, as if bracing herself for an answer she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear.

“Yes,” he replied coolly, like he had been expecting her to ask.

He handed her a white envelope.

“The contract. My assistant, Cynthia, prepared it for the initial contract wife, but it works for you as well.”

Raya opened it, her eyes scanning: no physical obligations, four-month maximum marriage, appearances together at events, NDA clauses, and a promise of a generous severance when the marriage ended.

“Wow. You really don't waste time,” she said.

“I can't afford to. I know I said three months, but if there is a need to extend the act, it'd be for just a month,” Jack responded.

She looked up at him. “So this is all about your CEO status?”

The words hit Jack like a switch flipped in his mind, pulling him back to that meeting two weeks ago. Sure, the marriage is a move to protect his title, but that wasn't the whole truth.

It was her. Raya.

***********

The office had felt colder than usual that morning. One would think it was because of the weather since the skyline of the city stretched into a cloudy blur, but it was solely because of the pressing weight on Jack’s chest. The boardroom was exceptionally silent, and all eyes were on him.

“Well,” Aiden Lee, one of the oldest members of the board, cut the silence.

“Are you going to tell us what your plans are for this company? Words are flying around that the investors are considering pulling out and taking their chances with Heirs Company instead.”

“The shareholders are whispering as well,” another board member added.

“It's best to replace your position with a married board member or shareholder till you are married and ready to take on this role. We can’t afford a pretend wife at this crucial moment,” Aiden Lee said.

Jack adjusted the cuff of his black tailored suit. It was an old habit—buying time while keeping his composure. He had learned long ago that silence unnerved people more than bluster ever could.

“And who said I wasn't married?” Jack said evenly.

Aiden and the rest of the board members were shocked at his response.

“A clause in my late father’s will stated I had to be married to proclaim some of his assets. I doubt you are aware of that,” he continued with so much coldness on his face and authority in his voice.

The board members exchanged glances, leaned in to whisper to one another, their shock barely hidden behind forced composure.

“Forgive me if I'm not reassured,” Aiden scoffed.

“Remember, this is my company. By the way, you are forgiven, Mr. Lee. See you at the Gala night,” Jack left the conference room.

Cynthia, his assistant of five years who is not just smart and loyal but unshakably calm, stepped into his office quietly.

“You lied, sir,” she said.

“It's not a lie. She doesn't know it yet, but she has my heart,” Jack frowned at Cynthia. “And like you said, she needs a husband.”

“Raya?” she raised a brow in shock.

“Draw up the contract,” Jack said, his tone sharp and final. “I'm going to get my wife.”

Mr. Fings!” Raya called, her voice sharp enough to slice through the fog of Jack’s memory, pulling him out of the past and planting him firmly back in the moment.

“Correct! You are my insurance policy,” Jack responded harshly and quickly.

“Is this how to treat your wife?” Raya stared at the cold, controlling, perfect, but emotionless sculpted Jack.

Jack gave her an unreadable look.

“You are not my wife. You are my solution.”

Raya flinched a little but tried to hide it. She nodded and faced her side of the car.

It's a contract. Just four months at most.

“What happened with Alex?” Jack asked authoritatively, distracting her from her thoughts.

“Why?” She groaned inwardly.

“It’s a sort of thing I'll need to know if we are to pull off our act. A woman would normally tell her new partner why she separated from her ex, right?

“We were together for two years,” she said, voice steady but distant. “We were engaged. The wedding was all planned. Cake tastings, fittings, venue—everything. And then…” She gave a hollow laugh, more bitter than amused. “Four days before the wedding, he sent a text. He dumped me.”

She glanced over at Jack, trying to read his expression, but he looked too calm.

“He dumped you over a text?” he paused. “I'm sorry about that, but do you still love him?”

You deserve better than that.

“No.” Her response was sharp.

“I can't have you backing out on me in a few months because you've realized you still love him,” Jack’s gaze pinned hers.

“One, I don't. Two, I won't leave you in the lurch like that,”

Just then, the car began to slow. Raya looked through the window and saw her house close by.

“This is me,” she said, pointing at her small apartment building.

Jack nodded and cut in. “Raymond will come to pick you up tomorrow morning. You need to move in with me to make this seamless.”

“Understood, Mr Fings,” Raya nodded, inhaling the strong scent of his expensive perfume.

“It's just 'Jack' to you.”