His Greatest Exception

CHAPTER 2

I stared at the document for a few seconds before finally sitting down.

Contract Agreement.

The words were printed clearly across the first page, followed by several pages of legal terms that immediately made my head hurt.

I flipped through them quickly.

There were conditions, clauses, financial arrangements, confidentiality agreements, and enough legal language to make anyone question whether the person who wrote it had ever spoken to another human being.

I reached the last page.

There it was again.

Aurora Hale.

I leaned back in my chair.

"Who the hell is Aurora Hale?"

My assistant, who was standing near the door, looked at me.

"I don't know, sir."

"Then why is her name in a contract my father asked me to review?"

"I was told it was confidential."

"Everything in this company is apparently confidential until someone decides it's my problem."

She stayed quiet.

Smart.

I picked up the phone and called my father.

He answered after the third ring.

"You're looking at the contract."

"Yes."

"And?"

"I'd like to know why I'm looking at it."

"We'll talk tonight."

"No."

There was silence.

I continued, "You're not going to send me a contract with a stranger's name on it and then tell me we'll talk tonight."

"It's not a stranger."

"I don't know her."

"You will."

My eyebrows pulled together.

"What does that mean?"

"Come to the house."

I looked at the clock.

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Father, I have work."

"This is more important."

I hated those words.

Whenever my father said something was more important, it usually meant there was something I wasn't going to like.

"Fine."

I ended the call and looked at my assistant.

"Cancel everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

She nodded.

"Yes, sir."

I grabbed the contract and put it inside my briefcase.

Before leaving, I looked at the name again.

Aurora Hale.

There was something strange about it.

Maybe it was because I had seen the name before.

Not on a document.

Somewhere else.

I just couldn't remember where.

The drive to the Ashford residence was quiet.

Too quiet.

I spent most of the trip reading the contract again.

There was no mention of marriage.

At least, not directly.

The agreement involved a business arrangement between the Ashford Group and someone named Aurora Hale. There were financial obligations, legal protections, and several conditions that made absolutely no sense to me.

Until I reached one particular clause.

I stopped reading.

Then I read it again.

And again.

"No f*****g way."

My driver glanced at me through the mirror.

"Sir?"

"Nothing."

I continued reading.

The clause was clear.

Too clear.

My father wasn't asking me to approve a business contract.

He was asking me to enter one.

With her.

I closed the folder.

For the first time that day, I felt genuinely irritated.

When I arrived at the house, my mother was waiting in the living room.

She looked at me.

Then at the briefcase in my hand.

"So you've seen it."

"Apparently."

She sighed.

"Your father is in the study."

"I figured."

I started walking.

"Lucien."

I stopped.

She looked at me carefully.

"Try not to get angry."

I laughed once.

"That's a great way to start a conversation."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

She didn't answer.

I walked toward the study and opened the door without knocking.

My father was standing near the fireplace, holding a glass of whiskey.

My grandfather's old desk was behind him.

I placed the contract on the table.

"What is this?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he poured himself another drink.

"Sit."

"No."

"Lucien."

"I'm not sitting down until you explain why I'm apparently signing a contract with a woman I've never met."

His expression remained calm.

"You've met her."

I stared at him.

"What?"

"You saw her yesterday."

I froze.

Yesterday.

The rain.

The woman on the sidewalk.

The soaked clothes.

The folder over her head.

The irritated expression.

I stared at my father.

"You're telling me she's Aurora Hale?"

"Yes."

I laughed in disbelief.

"You're f*****g kidding me."

"I'm not."

I walked toward the desk.

"Why her?"

"Because she needs something."

"And what exactly does she need?"

"Money."

That answer didn't surprise me.

What did surprise me was what came next.

"And we need her."

I frowned.

"For what?"

My father looked at me.

"For the company."

I waited.

He continued.

"There are people trying to take control of one of our subsidiaries. If we don't secure certain legal agreements within the next few weeks, we could lose it."

"And Aurora Hale has something to do with that?"

"Her family does."

I stared at him.

"Explain."

He walked toward the desk and opened another file.

"The Hale family owns shares that were transferred to Aurora after her father's death."

I looked at the documents.

"How many?"

"Enough."

"Why can't we buy them?"

"She won't sell."

I looked up.

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't trust us."

I almost smiled.

"Smart woman."

My father ignored the comment.

"There's another issue."

"Of course there is."

"A condition was attached to those shares."

I frowned.

"What condition?"

He pushed a document toward me.

I read it.

My expression changed.

"No."

"Lucien—"

"No."

"It's already been arranged."

"You arranged a contract involving me without asking me?"

"We're asking now."

"You call this asking?"

He sighed.

"You've always known what your responsibilities are."

"My responsibilities don't include marrying someone I don't know."

The room went silent.

My mother, who had apparently been listening from outside, stepped into the room.

"Lucien."

I looked at her.

She walked toward us slowly.

"Please."

I shook my head.

"This is insane."

"I know."

"Then why are you both acting like it's normal?"

"Because it isn't about romance," my father said. "It's business."

"Marriage isn't business."

"In our world, sometimes it is."

I stared at him.

I couldn't believe this conversation was happening.

A marriage contract.

With a woman I had seen for less than five minutes.

A woman who had looked at me like I was just another arrogant stranger.

And now my family expected me to marry her.

I laughed again.

"This is ridiculous."

My father remained calm.

"You don't have to love her."

"Good, because I don't."

"You don't even have to like her."

"That part won't be difficult."

My mother sighed.

"Lucien."

I ignored her.

"How long?"

"One year."

I looked at my father.

"One year?"

"After that, the contract ends."

"And the shares?"

"They remain protected."

"And she gets what?"

"Enough money to solve her family's financial problems."

I was silent.

That explained it.

Aurora needed money.

My family needed her shares.

And somehow, everyone had decided that I was the solution.

I looked down at the contract.

There was one thing I couldn't understand.

"Why would she agree to this?"

My father looked at me.

"Because she has no other choice."

I didn't like that answer.

Not at all.

I closed the folder.

"I'm not signing anything tonight."

"You don't have to."

"Good."

"But you'll meet her tomorrow."

I looked up.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"At the Hale residence."

I stared at him.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I'm not."

My mother gave me a small look.

"Just meet her."

I wanted to say no.

I wanted to walk out, forget the contract existed, and return to my normal life.

But something stopped me.

Maybe curiosity.

Maybe the fact that I wanted to understand why a woman I had barely noticed yesterday was suddenly at the center of my family's biggest problem.

Or maybe I simply wanted to see if she was really as stubborn as she looked.

"Fine."

My father nodded.

"Tomorrow at ten."

I picked up the contract.

As I walked toward the door, my mother called my name.

"Lucien."

I stopped.

"What?"

She smiled faintly.

"Try to be nice."

I looked at her.

"I'm always nice."

My father laughed.

My mother shook her head.

"You really are impossible."

I opened the door.

"Good night."

As I walked out, I looked down at the contract one last time.

Aurora Hale.

I still didn't know her.

I didn't know what she wanted, what she was afraid of, or why she was willing to put her name on an agreement that could change her entire life.

But tomorrow, I would find out.

And somehow, I already had a feeling that meeting her was going to be a f*****g mistake.

I just didn't know yet...

that she would become the best mistake I'd ever made.