4- An Insane Offer
1056 Words
"H-help each other out?"
I blinked hard, his words hanging in the air as I wondered if I heard him correctly.
He leaned back in his seat, his expression relaxed like one with a new found purpose. "What if, we use each other to get what we want?" He repeated, saying each word slowly this time.
"I don't follow," I blurted out, a questioning look on my face as I dabbed at my wet lashes. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, I'm just now realising that we haven't been introduced yet, seeing as, you're not my arranged date, so..." he leaned forward, extending a hand. "I'm Christian. Christian Hale."
I stared at his outstretched hand, pondering for a moment. Christian Hale, the name was just as pretty as the face. I quickly pushed away the thought, rearranging a list of priorities in my head before I stretched out my hand finally, meeting his in a hand shake.
"Olivia. Olivia Beckham."
His hand closed around mine, warm and welcoming, and in that moment, I felt something flicker in my belly. Our eyes locked and I felt his grip tighten lightly, as if he was curious to see how long I'd hold on. But I didn't pull away. Then his thumb brushed against my knuckles, and I felt my heart beating faster until I couldn't hold on any longer.
"So..." I blurted out, interrupting the moment and retrieving my hand from the shake as something that looked like a light grin swept across his face almost too fast before I could catch it.
He cleared his throat. "Yes, Miss Beckham."
"Just Olivia is fine."
"Olivia. How about we make a deal?"
I c****d a brow, absolutely clueless on where this was going. "I'm listening."
He leaned forward, his expression serious. "From your story, which I heard not exactly by choice, clearly you've been hurt badly by your ex-husband, and I suppose you want revenge don't you?"
"And how does that relate to you?" I spat out, a little ashamed at myself and annoyed at the fact I'd overshared with a stranger.
Christian wasn't backing down. "Look, just hear me out. I know under these circumstances, I appear strange, but I promise you, I'm not a strange man."
"Mhmm," I scoffed, looking at him skeptically.
"My parents have been on my ass about getting married and settling down. What they fail to understand, or should I say purposely refuse to understand, is that I have zero plans of doing that. Why it may work for some people, I don't believe in love, or the concept of marriage for myself."
I folded my arms, wondering why he was telling me this as I watched him blankly.
"So, what I'm trying to say is, how about you pretend to be my wife, for a specified amount of time, and I help you get revenge on everyone who's done you dirty?"
Seconds passed, minutes. The silence hung heavy in the air. He stared at me with expectant eyes, tapping his fingers lightly on the table between us.
I was speechless, processing his words, and before I knew it, a loud laughed erupted from my lips. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, immune to his confused look and the stares from people around.
"I'm, I'm sorry," I began, stammering and sniffing as I tried to control my laughter. Finally, I was done.
"You're joking right? I mean, you obviously can't be serious."
"Olivia." His tone was flat and steady, his eyes dark.
"Yes." I nodded, tapping at the tears in my cheeks from the intense laughter.
"I'm not joking."
I looked up at him immediately. "Wait, you're serious?"
"I am."
"You– you want me to pretend to be your wife?"
"And in exchange, I help you get your revenge."
My head was a blur and I couldn't believe my ears. "Are you crazy? I don't even know you! You don't even know me."
He leaned back in his seat, settling in comfortably. "We'll get to know the basic things we need to know about each other obviously."
"Alright now I'm certain you're insane. Why in God's green earth would I pretend to be a wife to a man I don't even know?"
"Listen, it's really not as complicated as it sounds. It'd be for official purposes, a facade to my family and the outsiders, just to get them off my back. Certainly, no intimacies or personal feelings will be involved, at least not on my end."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes at his words. "Not on my end too, obviously, not that I'm agreeing to it. Because I'm not. This is just the craziest thing someone's ever said to me."
"Is it really that crazy though? Think about it, I've got money and resources to help you bet back on your feet and get your payback, and in exchange, all you have to do is pretend to be my wife with zero personal obligations."
This was absurd. My life was absurd. Here I was, divorced and broke, and now a stranger was asking me to pretend to be his wife!
"Mr... Christian, I'm sorry but I can't agree to this. I may be helpless and betrayed, but pretending to be a wife to a man I barely know is too much."
Grabbing my purse from the table, I stood. "If you'll excuse me..."
I stepped around, heading for the door when I felt his hand on my arm, warm but firm, stop me. I turned around to see him staring at me with those beautiful hazel eyes, and it felt like my knees were about to give way.
"Wait, why don't you think about it, Olivia? I'm not asking you to rush into anything blindly."
"It's not about rushing into it blindly, it just feels wrong, everything about it. The terms of the deal, deceiving your family..."
"That's for me to worry about," he cut in. Then after a moment, his expression changed. Putting his hand into his jacket, he pulled out a card and stretched it out. "You know what, here's my card. If you change your mind, give me a call."
Walking out the door, I threw the card into my purse without sparing a glance.
There was no way in hell I was going to change my mind.
- Writer
