Chapter Four:DiamondRing
1557 Words
Raya stepped out of Jack’s car and into her apartment like someone who had just wandered off a movie set. Her fingers kept twitching toward the ring—a ring that hadn’t been there this morning. She had left the house single, cake box in hand. Now she was married. Married. And not just to anyone, Jack Fings. Jack freaking Fings.
Still staring at the diamond like it might disappear, she grabbed her phone and called the one person who would either scream or faint.
“Sandy,” she said breathlessly when the call connected. “I’m married.”
Click.
Raya blinked at her phone. The call had ended. Just like that.
She called again. Voicemail.
“Okay, maybe I should’ve led with “Hi, I’m safe, not kidnapped.”
To shake off the nerves, she returned to her tiny baking nook—the corner of her kitchen she had converted into a workspace until she could open her baking shop. She was halfway through scrubbing a bowl when someone pounded on her door like it owed them money.
She opened it to find Sandy, wild-eyed and looking personally offended by the situation.
“You better start talking, Raya. Now. What do you mean you’re married? Who? How? Why? When? You left to deliver a cake, not to tie the knot! Is this some prank? Am I on a show? Are there hidden cameras?”
Raya opened her mouth to speak, but Sandy gasped and grabbed her hand.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “This ring… is this a diamond? This is a diamond, right? It better be. Who is this man? Raya?!”
Raya blinked, overwhelmed. “Can I at least offer you a cookie before the interrogation?”
Sandy pushed past her without waiting for an invitation, plopping down on the couch like she was preparing for a courtroom cross-examination.
Raya followed, feeling like a defendant without a lawyer.
“Okay,” she sighed, sitting opposite her. “Just… breathe. I’ll explain everything.”
Sandy narrowed her eyes. “If you tell me you bumped into a prince at the City Registry and he proposed, I’m calling a therapist.”
“It wasn’t a prince,” Raya said slowly. “It was Jack.”
Jack who?”
“Jack Fings.”
Sandy’s jaw dropped so fast Raya worried it might need reattachment.
“Jack Fings? The billionaire? The CEO? The man who graced last month’s “Billionaires List” on Galaxy’s cover, looking like a brooding Greek god in a tux? That Jack?”
Raya gave a weak nod.
Sandy fell back against the couch, eyes wide at the ceiling. “You married Jack Fings,” she repeated, dazed. “Raya, people don’t marry Jack Fings. People Google him and cry into their popcorn.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t know,” Sandy snapped, suddenly back upright. “How did this happen? Did he slip on frosting and land in your heart?”
Raya laughed to herself, which quickly turned into a groan. “It’s… complicated.”
Sandy folded her arms. “Complicated as in romantic? Or complicated as in FBI needs to know?”
Raya hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Oh my God,” Sandy whispered. “It wasn’t a real wedding, was it?”
“It was legally binding,” Raya said quickly. “The paperwork is signed, the ring is real, and we said vows. So yeah. It was real.”
“But not… real real.”
Raya glanced at the floor, the counter, anywhere but at Sandy’s eyes. “It’s a marriage. It just has… terms, contract terms.”
“Terms?” Sandy echoed, like the word tasted sour. “What is this, a business deal?”
Raya met her gaze, cheeks burning. “Yes. It’s a contract marriage for three months.”
The room went quiet.
Sandy stared at her, speechless for once in her life.
She said softly. “Are you okay?”
Raya let out a long breath.
“I think so. Moreover, it's mutual. He needs me to secure his position at his company, and I also need him to get my inheritance.”
Suddenly, Raya looked confused. “But Sandy, why are you acting oblivious? Some hours ago, you literally advised me to hunt for a husband on dating sites.”
“I know. I know, I'm just shocked that your husband is the famous billionaire, Jack Fings. My girl, you bagged a stunner! A beauty goddess and her Greek god” Sandy teased her, with a smile on her face, clapping her hands.
“Your survival uniform definitely did the trick,” Sandy continued, laughing out loud
“It's not funny,” Raya smiled, staring at Sandy with a death stare.
“How did it happen? Gist me?”
Sandy leaned forward, eyes locked on Raya’s like she was trying to read secret codes in her pupils.
Raya took a breath. “He mistook me for his intended contract wife.”
Sandy blinked. “Wait—intended? As in, he had a bride lined up for this… arrangement?”
“Yes,” Raya said. “It was supposed to be someone else. But she bailed.”
“And then… what? He just spun around, saw you with a cupcake, and proposed?!”
Raya gave a helpless shrug. “Not exactly, but… kind of.”
Sandy stared at her, speechless again.
“Remember when I was on the phone with you?” Raya continued, trying to piece it together even for herself. “He overheard the conversation. He thought I was the initial bride. I guess the other bride was also in need of something. I don't know. Apparently, he figured out I needed a husband to secure my inheritance, and he needed a wife to secure his CEO position. That was it. Two problems. One solution.”
You’re telling me,” Sandy said slowly, “that this man—this walking Wall Street fantasy—just… proposed a marriage contract, just like that?”
Raya nodded. “Yeah. He made it all sound logical, strategic, like a business merger with vows. He even drew up the paperwork. There’s an NDA. I can’t talk about it being a contract to anyone, so please… don’t breathe a word.”
Sandy’s expression was stuck somewhere between horror and awe.
“I'm speechless, Raya.”
“I know,” Raya whispered, burying her face in her hands.
Sandy was quiet for a long while, then pointed to the ring. “If he turns out to be evil, the diamond ring is enough to fund your escape.”
They both burst into laughter.
Just as Sandy opened her mouth to ask another question, Raya’s phone lit up on the counter.
Jack!
“Who saves their name with an exclamation mark?” Raya looked surprised.
She stared at the name for a second, then picked it up with an awkward smile. “Uh—hold that thought.”
“Hey.” She answered.
Jack’s voice was smooth, calm, and, of course, carried authority.
“Hey,” he said.
“Quick question. Do you prefer warm neutrals or cooler tones in a bedroom? I brought in some interior designers to get your room started. Also, minimalist or custom?”
Raya blinked. “You’re setting up a room? For me?”
“Obviously,” Jack said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Raya glanced at Sandy, who was now mouthing Oh. My. God.
“I…like warm neutrals,” Raya managed. “Something simple and soft. Cozy. A little modern but not cold.”
“I'll pass that along,” he said. There was a pause. “See you tomorrow.”
He hung up.
The second she ended the call, Sandy sprang upright. “You’re moving in with him?”
“Yes, tomorrow.” Raya shrugged helplessly.
Sandy let out a dramatic gasp and threw herself onto the couch. “This is too much for me. You went from ‘cake delivery girl’ to ‘wife of the century’ in one day.”
“I'm still surprised, too.” Raya sat beside her. “He hates me. Even if he is Jack Fings, I don't like him either. So I should be able to pull the act and get my inheritance.”
Sandy threw her a hug. “Just three months, right? You can pull this. Moreover, you need a distraction from the coward named Alex.”
“Oh! He texted me. Again. Jack was beside me when he did. He asked about him, and I told him what happened.”
Sandy hastily collected her phone to read the message.
“I blocked and deleted his number from your phone,” Sandy said angrily, handing Raya her phone. “Forget him. You have a better man now.”
“At least, your inheritance is now safe from your cousins,” Sandy added.
“Don't say it like they are actually after it,” Raya frowned. “Not Jodi. I'm not sure of Ben. Jodi loves me.”
“No, she doesn't.”
“She does, to some extent. I know that.”
“Whaaatttt?!” Sandy exclaimed dramatically.
Raya’s phone buzzed. It was a message from Jodi.
What were you doing with Jack Fings?
- Writer
