Chapter - 5 > The Proposal That Sounded Like an Insult
1193 Words
Three days later...
Adrian Knight had a problem.
Not a business problem.
Not a financial problem.
Not even a boardroom problem.
A Maya Bennett problem.
He had visited Bennett's Bakery every afternoon for the last three days.
Officially...
To discuss the property.
Unofficially...
Because he couldn't stop thinking about the woman who had treated him like an ordinary customer.
On Monday...
He bought a blueberry muffin.
On Tuesday...
A caramel latte.
On Wednesday...
A cinnamon roll.
Each time, Maya greeted him with the exact same cheerful smile.
"Welcome to Bennett's Bakery!"
As if he weren't one of the richest men in the country.
As if he hadn't tried to buy her bakery.
As if he were simply... another customer.
Thursday afternoon...
The bakery was crowded with regulars.
Mrs. Henderson sipped her tea while whispering to Mr. Wilson.
"He's here again."
Mr. Wilson adjusted his glasses.
"I told you."
"That billionaire likes our Maya."
Mrs. Henderson grinned.
"I've lived for seventy years."
"I know the face of a man who's already in trouble."
Across the room, Lily overheard them and nearly laughed out loud.
Maya emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh chocolate chip cookies.
"Oh."
She smiled.
"The daily visitor has arrived."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Daily visitor?"
"You've been here four days in a row."
She placed a menu in front of him.
"Should I start reserving your table?"
"I'm here to talk."
"I know."
She handed him a cookie.
"And somehow you always leave with dessert."
Ethan, seated beside Adrian, leaned over and whispered,
"Boss..."
"What?"
"I think she's flirting."
Maya heard him.
She burst into laughter.
"I'm definitely not."
Ethan dramatically clutched his chest.
"Ouch."
Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Ignore him."
"I already do."
The customers laughed.
A few minutes later...
The lunchtime rush slowed.
Maya finally sat across from Adrian.
"Alright."
She folded her arms.
"You've bought enough pastries to feed an office."
"What do you really want?"
Adrian looked directly into her eyes.
"I want you to marry me."
...
Silence.
Complete.
Utter.
Silence.
A fork slipped from someone's hand.
Mrs. Henderson choked on her tea.
Mr. Wilson's newspaper slowly fell onto the table.
Lily blinked twice.
"I'm sorry..."
Maya said carefully.
"I think I heard you wrong."
"I asked you to marry me."
She stared at him for several long seconds.
Then...
She laughed.
Not a polite laugh.
Not a small laugh.
A full, uncontrollable laugh.
She laughed so hard she had to hold the table for support.
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
The entire bakery watched in confusion.
Adrian remained perfectly calm.
Finally, Maya wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Oh..."
She tried to catch her breath.
"You're serious."
"Yes."
She started laughing again.
Even Ethan couldn't hold back a grin.
"This..."
Maya pointed at Adrian.
"...is the funniest thing that's happened all year."
Five minutes later...
After finally calming down, Maya took a sip of water.
"So."
She smiled.
"Let's pretend you didn't just propose to a woman you've known for less than a week."
"It isn't a romantic proposal."
"I figured."
"It's a contract marriage."
She frowned.
"A fake marriage?"
"For six months."
"And after that?"
"We divorce."
Maya blinked.
"You've officially lost your mind."
Adrian slid a neatly prepared document across the table.
"A legal agreement."
She glanced at the first page.
Then the second.
Then the last.
There were dozens of clauses.
Clause One:
The marriage will remain confidential until legally registered.
Clause Two:
Both parties will maintain mutual respect.
Clause Three:
No emotional obligations beyond the agreement.
Clause Four:
Compensation: Fifty million dollars.
Maya's eyes widened.
"...Fifty million?"
"Yes."
She slowly looked up.
"You need therapy."
Ethan burst out laughing.
Several customers quickly pretended not to listen.
Adrian sighed.
"I expected that response."
"No."
She pushed the contract back toward him.
"You expected me to say yes."
"I hoped."
"Wrong answer."
Maya stood and walked behind the counter.
Adrian followed.
"I haven't explained."
"You don't need to."
"I do."
She turned around.
"I don't sell myself."
His expression softened.
"I never said you did."
"Then what exactly are you asking me to become?"
"My wife."
"For money."
"For six months."
"So..."
She crossed her arms.
"I'm renting the position?"
The bakery fell silent again.
Even Ethan looked away.
When Maya put it like that...
It sounded terrible.
Adrian realized it too.
"That's not what I meant."
"It's exactly what you meant."
"I need someone I can trust."
"You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
"You know my bakery."
"I know your character."
Maya looked genuinely surprised.
"You returned twenty thousand dollars."
"You remember that?"
"You refused money when most people would've accepted it."
He met her gaze.
"You care more about people than profit."
"You protected your family's bakery instead of taking an easy fortune."
He paused.
"I don't think you're someone who can be bought."
For the first time...
Maya didn't have a sarcastic reply.
She quietly looked away.
No one had ever complimented her like that before.
Not for her appearance.
Not for her baking.
But for the kind of person she was.
Still...
She shook her head.
"My answer is no."
Adrian didn't move.
"May I ask why?"
She smiled sadly.
"My parents loved each other."
"They taught me marriage isn't a business deal."
Her fingers brushed the old wedding ring hanging on a chain around her neck.
"I've dreamed about getting married since I was a little girl."
She laughed softly.
"I imagined flowers."
"Music."
"Happy tears."
She looked at the contract.
"Not signatures and deadlines."
Adrian remained silent.
Her words lingered in the air between them.
Finally...
He picked up the untouched contract.
"I understand."
He turned toward the door.
Halfway there...
He stopped.
Without looking back, he quietly said,
"If your answer ever changes..."
"It won't."
"...I'll still be waiting."
Then he walked out.
Outside...
Rain had started falling.
Ethan opened an umbrella.
"Well..."
He glanced at Adrian.
"That went... badly."
"I expected resistance."
"I don't think she resisted."
"I think she rejected your existence."
Adrian couldn't argue.
He got into the car.
As the black sedan pulled away, he looked through the rain-speckled window.
Maya stood inside the bakery, smiling at a young boy who had come in soaked from the storm.
Without hesitation, she wrapped a warm towel around the child's shoulders and handed him a free cup of hot chocolate.
She never noticed Adrian watching.
But he noticed everything.
Later that evening...
The lights inside Bennett's Bakery were finally off.
Maya locked the front door and sighed.
"What a strange week."
Just as she turned toward home...
A black luxury car stopped beside the sidewalk.
The window rolled down.
She frowned.
It wasn't Adrian.
A well-dressed man in his early thirties smiled politely.
"Miss Bennett?"
"Yes?"
"My name is Victor Knight."
The smile on his face never reached his eyes.
"I'm Adrian's cousin."
"I believe..."
He stepped out of the car.
"...we should have a little conversation."
Far away, thunder rolled across the night sky.
Maya had no idea...
That rejecting one billionaire was about to earn her a far more dangerous enemy.
- Writer
