Married By Midnight

Chapter5

THE FIRST DAY OF FOREVER

The next morning, the city seemed to buzz with more urgency than usual. As Kingsley stepped into the car with Joke, the reality of what he had done hit him harder than it had the night before. The papers were signed. The deal was done. There was no turning back.

They were married.

It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. A marriage built on lies and money, one that had no foundation other than an agreement, could never be real, right? Still, Kingsley felt the cold weight of the ring on his finger as it caught the early morning sunlight. He’d slipped it on last night, after the lawyer had signed off on everything, just as the clock had struck midnight. But it didn’t feel like a symbol of a new beginning. It felt like a chain.

Joke, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed.

She was staring out the window, her expression cool and collected as always. Her sleek black dress suit clung to her body in all the right places, her long hair cascading down her back. She looked every bit the part of the powerful businesswoman she was, but the tightness in her jaw betrayed a hidden tension that even Kingsley could sense.

For a moment, they drove in silence, the hum of the city outside the car the only sound filling the space between them.

“So,” Kingsley broke the silence, his voice sounding too loud in the otherwise still car. “What’s next? We just go to work, pretend everything’s fine, and—”

“Yes,” she interrupted, her voice sharp, but there was an edge of something that sounded almost… vulnerable? “We go to work. We keep our distance from each other when we need to, but we keep the façade intact. We do what needs to be done.”

Kingsley leaned back in his seat, wondering how much of this she truly believed. “And that’s it? A year of pretending, and then I’m free to go?”

Joke turned her head slightly, her gaze meeting his for the first time this morning. “That’s the plan. But we both know it’s not as simple as that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

She looked at him with an intensity that was hard to ignore. “There’s more riding on this than you understand, Kingsley. The world doesn’t just believe in a fairy tale marriage. If we screw this up—if we let anyone see it’s a sham—then we both lose everything. You won’t just walk away with your money. You’ll walk away with nothing.”

Kingsley met her gaze and didn’t look away. “And you? What do you lose?”

Joke’s jaw clenched. “Everything.”

King Enterprises. 9:30 a.m.

The marble floors of King Enterprises gleamed as Kingsley followed Joke into the building. The towering skyscraper was a world of glass and chrome, a stark contrast to the life Kingsley had known. He was out of place here, surrounded by people in expensive suits, walking with the kind of confidence that came from being born into privilege.

Joke walked ahead of him, her heels clicking sharply on the floor as she led him toward the elevator. Kingsley tried not to stare at her. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t real. They weren’t a couple. Not really.

But the way she carried herself, so effortlessly commanding attention, made it hard not to wonder what it would be like if they were truly together.

The elevator doors slid open, and Joke stepped inside, motioning for him to follow. He did, standing next to her in the small, mirrored space, watching her reflection in the polished surface.

She didn’t speak at first, and Kingsley wasn’t sure if he should break the silence. But he couldn’t help himself.

“Do you ever… regret it?” he asked, the question out before he could stop himself.

Her gaze flicked to him, her expression unreadable. “Regret what?”

“Getting married like this,” he clarified, shifting uncomfortably. “Do you ever wish things were different?”

Joke’s lips curled into the faintest of smiles. “I don’t have the luxury of regret, Kingsley.”

Kingsley frowned, his gaze flicking to the floor as the elevator rose. “And you think I do?”

She glanced at him, her voice softer now, though still firm. “I think you’ll regret it when this is all over. But by then, it won’t matter.”

The doors opened, and they stepped out into the sleek office space. The employees didn’t seem to acknowledge them as they passed, but Kingsley felt their eyes on him. The whispers, the glances—they were all part of this game, this performance they had to keep up.

Joke led him down a hallway to a private office. The door was already open, and a man in a dark suit stood waiting for them.

“Mr. Freeman,” the man said, nodding politely. “Welcome. I’m Daniel Mike. I’ll be overseeing your transition here.”

Kingsley shook his hand, trying not to feel out of place. “Thanks.”

Joke didn’t speak. She just walked over to her desk, settling into her chair with a fluid motion. She was all business now, her earlier vulnerability gone.

“Now that you’re here,” Daniel continued, his voice steady, “we can begin working on how you’ll integrate into the company. We’ll have some meetings set up for you this afternoon to meet with the board.”

Kingsley glanced at Joke, who had already pulled out a stack of papers and was reviewing them with laser focus. She didn’t look at him, didn’t acknowledge him. The distance between them was growing, and for the first time, he felt the full weight of the life he had just stepped into.

A life where nothing was real, except the stakes.

Joke’s Office. 12:45 p.m.

By lunchtime, Kingsley had started to feel the cracks in the walls of his self-control. Joke was still all business, still cold and detached, and he was starting to wonder if he was just a pawn in a game that was far beyond his comprehension.

He had expected the marriage to be hard, to be an uncomfortable arrangement. But what he hadn’t expected was the constant emotional distance. Every time he tried to make a connection, to make it seem even a little bit real, Joke pulled back. She was ice—unbreakable and smooth, with no cracks to show her true self.

But something inside him stirred, something that had little to do with the deal and everything to do with her.

He had agreed to play the part of a husband, but already, he wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the charade.

He glanced at the door of her office, wondering what it would take to break through her armor. But when he looked back at her, he found she was already watching him, her eyes piercing through him like she knew exactly what he was thinking.

And in that moment, Kingsley realized something he hadn’t quite admitted before.

He wasn’t the only one pretending.