A Contract Marriage with my Highschool Crush

Chapter seven

Lexie pov

“What were you thinking about when you agreed to the deal?” Bailey asked, and anger flowed from her voice.

In fact, I was quite sure that if I could see her right now, she would have been throwing me a death glare.

I took a sip of the hot coffee I had prepared. Thank goddess that I had gotten home before the bloggers released their headlines.

“I was thinking about so many things, Bailey—about my mom, about my future, about my brother. You know she does not remember him. To her, he is not existing, and to make it worse, the doctors said that she had little time. Do you want her to die without spending time with me or my brother?” I asked as my heart ached.

I never thought this was going to escalate to this extent. I never thought I would wake up one day and suddenly my name would be on every blog and not just for a good reason for a bad one. For being called a gold digger and accused of having an affair with my boss. He was sixty years old for crying out loud how I would have an affair with a man who took me as his daughter.

She heaved a sigh from the other side. “I know how hard it is, but you would have given it a second thought. We are talking about Derek, the same man who made your life hell. You and I know you even developed an eating disorder, and who is the cause, Derek? So how do you want to live with such a man?” She asked.

I heaved a sigh. I knew Derek had been cruel to me and that he made my life hell, but I needed to sacrifice. I needed my mom back. I needed my family back.

I ran my hands through my hair and took a sip before answering. “Look, Bailey, I had to do it for my family. Do you know when my brother last visited home? Four years ago, since then he has refused to come home. He claims it reminds him of his mom. The other day a friend asked him about his mom, and he said she was dead. Are you hearing me, Bailey? He believes she is dead even when she is still breathing. I had to help,” I explained as tears gathered in my eyes at the memory of the painful incident.

Bailey was silent for a while before she finally spoke. “So what are you going to do now? About Derek, how are you going to tolerate him, and how are you going to deal with the bloggers?” She asked, her voice filled with concern.

It warmed my heart that she cared a lot about me; to find someone to rest upon in this moment was a blessing to me.

"Bailey, I would cope, and besides, I am sure Mr. Alberto would find a solution for the bloggers. Don't worry about me, okay. Continue with work. I will be fine,” I assured her.

“Are you sure?”

"Yes, I am sure. Focus on your project, remember that the deadline is tomorrow,” I said with a sad smile.

“Fine, but I will be at your door at exactly five o'clock. We would watch movies and maybe get drunk. Do anything to make you forget about the jerk you are getting married to,” she said and cut the call.

A sad smile tugged at my lips immediately after she cut the call. She was wrong, so wrong. I would never be able to forget about Derek. I tried for the past ten years, and it did not work. How would I forget him now that I am getting married to him?

I stood up from the bed and walked towards the side of my room where I had the scale. It showed 65kg Dread crept through my skin. I was weighing 60kg last week; how come I am weighing 65kg this week? I closed my eyes as I said a minute prayer, “Please, Lord. I don't want to get fat.”

I climbed down from the scale, annoyed at myself. I had decided to give into the temptation of eating chocolate and burgers; now I had myself to blame.

I noted it to myself to ensure I do extra work out this week and stay away from snacks.

My phone rang, disrupting me from my thoughts. I looked at the caller ID. It was Remi; a smile tugged at my lips. I knew he was going to call.

“Hi Remi, how are you?” I said as I pressed the phone against my ear.

“Lexie, I am not fine. I would only be fine if you told me that the bloggers are lying and that you are not getting married to Derek.” He asked in a worried tone.

My hands tightened around the phone as I remembered how Remi and Landon stood up for me when Derek tried to make my life hell. Landon even got his dad involved.

“It's true, Remi. We are getting married.”

A moment of silence passed. My heartbeat increased, wondering what would be Remi’s reaction. Would he be angry at me or disappointed?

“Were you forced? Did he threaten you?” He asked in a serious tone.

“No, I am doing it willingly,” I lied.

“Bullshit, Lexie. You and I know you don't love him. Have you forgotten what he did? How he made your life a living hell!” He shouted.

I closed my eyes. How can I forget?

“No, but I am doing it as a favor for his father, not him.”

“And what is that favor that Landon and I can't solve? Are you in debt? Tell me, Lexie, we would pay,” he urged.

A tired sigh escaped my lips. “No, it is not a debt. Look,Remi I can't explain through the phone. I will travel to Canada, then we can talk.”

“So it means you don't love him?” He asked.

“No,” I said.

He released a sigh of relief. “Good, don't bother coming. Landon told me he would be on his way to New York. He might actually be on his way to your house; I would be on my way tomorrow morning. We must stop this crap. Okay?” He asked

“Okay” It was useless trying to convince Remi. I let out a sigh immediately, and he cut the call. Today has been a hectic day for me.

Just as I climbed my bed to sleep, my phone rang again. This time it was from my boss, not my father-in-law.

“Lexie, are you okay?” He asked.

“Yes, I am fine,”I replied.

“Okay, please, whatever you do, do not step out of your house. I would call my driver to pick you up and don't bother about what Derek posted; I would deal with it,” he assured me.

What was he talking about? What did Derek do, and why did he say I should not come outside?

“Sir, I don't understand.”

“Just do as I said. And don't bother about Derek,” he said.

"Okay, sir,” I assured him.

Immediately he cut the call, and I walked towards my window. What could be lurking around that made him ask me to stay inside.

A gasp escaped my lips at the sight outside. Adrenaline rushed within me, sending goosebumps round my skin.

There were over one hundred journalists waiting outside my house. What were they waiting for? Why were they here?

Then the realization hit me—they were all waiting for me. What the hell!