It All Started With A Bet

Chapter 15

Stella POV

I carefully added the terms to the contract, read it again, and was about to sign it when Aaron's voice put my pen to a halt.

"Wait!" he made me look at him in confusion.

"What happened? Is something wrong?" I lifted my glance at him. I grew attentive at his sudden tone. He kept quiet for a minute or two. After that, he leaned forward on the chair and put his crossed hands on the table. With a deep breath, he broke the silence.

"I just wanted to give you a chance to think about it again. Once the contract is signed, there is no going back and if there is a breach of the contract from any side then his or her shares of the company will go to another party. Are you sure you want to sign it? Are you sure that you want to marry me ?" I saw something strange in his eyes for a split second but it disappeared as soon as it came. It was some kind of emotion. The emotion that was giving me a chance, the emotion that was warning me of the danger that was lurking in the dark. But I ignored it.

"I don't have a choice" I started the truth while signing my name in the desired fields before I could regret it and run away from this scary thing. I then passed the pages to Aaron so that he could sign them.

The look of satisfaction, victory, and equanimity, was evident in his tone. He wrote his name on the blank spaces and put his sleek black pen down.

"Happy cooperation, Miss Stella Blade!" he closed the file on the table. His eyes sparkled with unknown happiness.

I was about to tell him about the dinner with father today before he pulled out a white file and passed it to me. I looked at him with a confused expression. He eyed me to open it.

"What is this?" I asked while opening the file and reading the pages.

My eyes widened at the content of it. I was a bit stunned to read the bold words on the top of the page. Though I knew that this file would reach my hands sooner or later but I didn't expect it to reach so momentarily.

"Marriage certificate?" my eyes went to him in a questioning look. I was trying to judge his motive.

"Why are you so shocked? Since we already have signed the marriage contract then adding a signature to the marriage certificate makes no difference" he said casually as if marriage was not a big deal to him.

"His words make sense. Why would he be concerned about signing a marriage certificate? It's just like some casual contract to him. So Stella stop being so emotional and sign it" I thought.

But shouldn't have put it in front of me in such haste. He should have warned me ahead" my subconsciousness spoke up.

"You look reluctant to sign it!" he looked at me with a judging expression while pulling me out of the mess that I was dealing with in my head.

"That's not the case. I just never imagined my marriage to be like this" I sighed and grabbed the pen from the table.

Going through the marriage certificate there was only one thought in my mind

"Forgive me for deceiving you dad but I had to do this for you and for myself" tightly gripping the pen, I signed my life away for a year. I quickly closed the file as Aaron's signature was already on it.

"Welcome to my world, Mrs. Blackford" he stood up from his seat with a smile and walked over to me from his seat.

"Happy alliance, Mr. Blackford. I hope that we can get through this year with peace" I stood up and shook hands with him, with a rigid face.

"We will, now when do you want me to publicly announce our engagement?" he asked as he leaned on the table with his back supporting him.

"I will tell you about it soon. For now, I need you to attend dinner with my father. I hope that you can impress him so that he can agree to our engagement. Moreover, you must emphasize that you are with me purely out of love, you have no other intention. And you will stay sincere in our marriage" I informed him while clicking my heel on the marble floor.

"Mrs. Blackford wastes no time. We just signed the contract and she assigned me such a difficult task" he smirked. His expression told me that he was in a very good mood unlike me who was in a sore mood.

"Come pick me up from my apartment at seven. I will text you the address. And don't call me Mrs. Blackford. We have yet to undergo a marriage ceremony. Moreover, it's just a contract, isn't it?" I eyed him and turned around to leave.

"I can fulfill that wish of yours anytime, wife!" he said as I was about to close the door of his office.

I don't know why, but a smile made its way to my face upon hearing the word wife. I felt something fluttering inside me.

"Why does he affect me so much?" I thought referring to Aaron as I made my exit from the company on my own.

Just as I was about to open my car's door I suddenly remembered that I forgot to take Aaron's number. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration because I didn't want to go back inside. I was thinking of a plan when suddenly, I heard the sound of bing from my cell, indicating the incoming of a new message. I pulled it out to see it was from an unknown number.

Forgot to take my number, wife ~Aaron

"Is he a mind reader?" I thought.

I told you to not call me that ~ Stella

Can't help it comes naturally ~Aaron

I was thinking about how to reply to him when his next message shocked me

Admit it you like it when I call you, wife or there won't be such a beautiful smile on your face right now ~Aaron

I touched my face to see whether a smile was really on my face. When I confirmed it, I looked up to see if he was peeking at me

Don't look up, you can't see me. I am not peeking at you, you just have a guilty consciousness ~ Aaron

I quickly put the phone back in my bag, opened the car, and sat inside

"This guy is a flirt master. You have to keep a distance from him" I precaution myself about him.

"But isn't he handsome! Such good looks are rare, you must seize this chance and make him your Mr. Right!" my subconsciousness spoke up in my head.

I ignored it, sat in my car, and continue my way back to my flat.

"Did you succeed?" Kyle appeared in front of me as soon as I opened the door.

"Don't give me such a scare, Kyle. I am still young, I don't want to die soon!" I joked with her. Putting my handbag on the table and taking off my shoes, I went inside the living room.

"Tell me, what happened? I have been waiting for you for ages!" she sat on the couch dramatically.

"I went there personally, how could anything go wrong" I boasted about my skills. Though I knew that my mind was a mess all the time.

"Yes, yes my friend is invincible" she rolled her eyes at me.

"That's not the point! The point is I won. Kyle, I won the bet. I managed to protect my future as well as the dreamland of my mother!" I hugged her with excitement, sitting on the couch.

"You nailed it, Stella. Your mother must be very proud of you" she patted my back with a proud smile.

"I just wish that my father will forgive me too for deceiving him. I never wanted to hurt him, but I didn't have a choice" I sighed while pulling back.

"He will understand you, don't worry" she comforted me.

I hummed in response and played with my fingers.

"Hey, what about the dinner? Did you tell Aaron about it?" she inquired from me.

"If you haven't reminded me, I would have forgotten about texting him" I grabbed my bag, took out my mobile, and texted him my address, hoping that he would arrive on time.

"Yes, I told him all about it. He will pick me up at six" I answered her question.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go and get ready" she pushed me off the couch.

"It's just three in the afternoon. Let me rest for some time!" I whined while laying on the couch to get a few minutes of sleep.

"No time to rest. Today is the first meeting with, Aaron's in-laws. You must look beautiful" she pulled me up and dragged me to my room.

"Aaron is meeting with his in-laws. Then why should I dress up?" I tried to get rid of her.

"So that you both can leave a good impression on your father. No excuses! Take a relaxing shower, make sure to add the scents that you brought back from France" she hauled me to the bathroom and shut the door behind me.

"I am not going on a date!" I rolled my eyes at her dramatization.