HEIRS OF DISDAIN(They never wanted this.)

Chapter 2

Alex

Devon had whispered something to some blonde chick and a shrill laughter echoed all over the room.

Okay, maybe not all over the room, but it was insanely loud—at least that's what I thought. The joke probably wasn't even funny, but her fake ass had to laugh.

The room was so loud with all the music and all, but I could still hear it that loud. Just imagine without the music.

I almost shivered at the thought. While lost in my thoughts, countless of Devon's lady friends kept trying to hit on me. On a good day I would have flirted back, but something about my grandfather suddenly calling me to the Dragovich mansion didn't sit right with me.

I could literally count the number of times I've gone back there with one hand since I moved out at 18.

My grandfather only urged me to come on emergencies or an event that needed my presence.

What could it be this time? I had a really bad feeling about this.

Just then Christian and his lady friend left the private room, probably to get a hotel. Devon didn't even glance up from his phone, probably working. Like who the hell works in a club?

We usually met in this club Saturdays every week.

This has been going on for as long as I could remember. I met both Devon and Christian in college.

Christian and I hit it off when we first met, and Devon was his only friend at the time and was pretty cold to me, but after some time he started to warm up to me.

It always amazed me how Devon and Christian are polar opposites but somehow are friends, but it all made sense when I came to know they were family friends and Devon technically imposed himself on him.

He just came back from a business trip just for him to be working again—typical Christian. None of Devon's "friends" dared to approach him, judging by his reputation as ice king and the rumors of him being allergic to women.

If he were any normal guy, he would have been the target of most of the ladies in the club given his light blonde hair, blue eyes and tall and slightly muscular frame. Lucky for Devon, he was deathly allergic to girls, or all of his lady friends would have been stolen.

I left early and headed to my grandfather's house, this overly familiar place I grew up in but dread so much. I didn't waste much time when I arrived and headed straight to his office, where I knew he would be.

Not bothering to knock, I entered his office and took a seat and braced myself for the worst. Those grey eyes of his watched me as my eyes drifted from his slightly wrinkled face to his perfectly tailored suit. He looked just as he did ten years ago: cold, strict, and insanely overbearing.

I cut through the thick and awkward silence.

"Hello, grandfather."

He responded in the same voice that resembled that of a military commander to his soldiers. "Hmm."

Same monotone voice, same facial expression: cold, distant, and indifferent.

I went straight to the point, not sparing any formalities. I knew better than that.

"So what was the reason you called me here?"

At that moment he cleared his throat and just said casually, as if discussing the weather.

"It's time you got married."

There it was.

I immediately knew that this was an order, not a suggestion, and only a fool would be blind enough to disobey.

"I understand," I said through gritted teeth and asked calmly, "Do you have anyone in mind?"

"No, it's your choice, as long as you marry her within three months."

I ground my teeth, not daring to defy.

"I understand."

For the second time, like a submissive fool that I was. How I hated myself.

I had no say in his decisions anyway. I didn't bother to exchange any pleasantries. After talking about some minor issues, I left. I couldn't bring myself to stay in this cold place.

Now my biggest problem was how I would find a woman to get married to me within three months. I should probably just find someone in the same situation as me and reap the benefits.

——————————

Alison

Since my phone call with Alicia, my mind was now at ease.

I was on my way to my first blind date—some spoiled rich brat of the Harper family named Lucas or something.

Family background ten over ten, but in terms of character? A minus two.

According to my sources, he's a narcissistic, misogynist bastard who was way too self-absorbed for someone who looks like a failed lab experiment. But overall he wasn't that bad looking. He just reminded me of the past—my kindergarten drawings, to be precise. Let's just hope he isn't photogenic, because if he is, that is on a whole other level.

I walked into the venue chosen by my mother. It really said her—extravagant.

I took large strides inside, turning heads, making sure to draw attention. I was planning on trampling on his ego tonight.

I dressed extra expensive, making sure to always imply that I was richer than him, even playfully asking him if he happened to be a gold digger.

I mentioned his lack of taste in fashion, his swiftly declining hairline, and his hard-to-look-at face, which I sugarcoated as "exotic looks." Making sure to stress every syllable.

By the end of the date, he'd almost turned beet red out of anger and mostly embarrassment.

A smile of victory crept to my face, I picked up my bag ready to go. And just then…

"We should do this again sometime. I really enjoyed spending time with you."

Never in a million years did I imagine he would say that, and I lost composure immediately.

"What!!!!"

For a second I forgot we were in public.

This roach in Gucci flashed a cocky smile at me, took my phone from me while I was still stunned, and took my number. Then he turned on his heel and left, leaving me speechless and rooted to a spot.

And at that moment it clicked. No matter what I did, these men wouldn't leave me alone. They just wanted my family's money.

Fuck this.

I went through the plan with every single blind date scheduled that week, but every single one had the same results.

They would seem annoyed all through the date, but at the end ask for a second date.

I should have considered this possibility when creating my plan…

I seriously needed a plan B.

——————————

Alison

"You are in some serious trouble," Alicia just said in her usual playful voice, half chuckling while on my bed.

"Yeah, she really had it planned out this time. But I'd rather eat a bowl of bolts than marry any of those men. Imagine seeing one of those faces first thing in the morning." I narrowed my eyes, watching Alicia lay on her stomach, swinging her feet on my bed above her head.

"They were that bad? Damn, she really does hate you."

I had already made peace with that fact.

I stopped pacing and slumped on the bed, exhausted, sighing.

"Now the only way to get out of this is if I'm already pregnant or I'm secretly married to someone, which they definitely won't buy."

Then suddenly, after I said that, Alicia jumped up with that suspicious glint in her eyes that always means she either has an idea or is up to no good. I hope it's not the latter.

"Wait, what if you were married?"

I looked at her as if she'd grown a pair of heads.

"Alicia, you know I'm not."

"Yes, but what if you are?" I was about to interrupt but decided against it. "You said the only way to get out of this is to be married. So just get married."

Suddenly it clicked.

"Alicia, are you saying I get a contract marriage?"

Alicia bobbed her head up and down, beaming.

"But how am I supposed to get someone to marry me just for show? Pretending to be already married is out of the picture. My parents only believe what they see."

"You just have to find someone with the same predicament as you, and luckily I have a cousin who fits the description."

Alicia doesn't have a lot of male cousins, and the only one around my age is… Oh my God.

"Wait, don't tell me it happens to be Alex Dragovich."

She just smiled, and that one smile told me all I needed to know. I knew Alex alright, but we weren't the best of friends. To be honest, we were the opposite. We didn't like each other. Neither one of us knew how it started, but we just never liked each other since we met. We were always at each other's necks.

And given he wasn't really the best person to be around given that he was a notorious flirt. But Alicia didn't care about all of that. Instead, she was interested in shipping us together, probably because she had an insane obsession with the enemies-to-lovers trope.

"No, that's crazy, even for you. Alex would rather fight off a pack of wolves with a paper straw than marry me, and guess what? So will I."

"But that's just your opinion. He might agree to it."

Ah, this girl. I sighed internally.

"Even if that's possible—which it isn't, by the way—I would never beg him for anything. Besides, who knows what weird conditions he might come up with?"

She sighed.

"I know you guys aren’t exactly close, but in this situation he's the only one that can help you, especially since you've traumatized half the heirs in the city and the other half have probably heard and are now scared of you."

Hate to admit it, but she had a point. It's just a fake marriage with a guy you despise. How hard could it be?