Her Agreement

The Announcement

Pov: Alexander

"Let's sort some things out first."

She frowns and opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. “The kindness I have shown you so far has been solely out of respect for you as my assistant. I do not waste time on meaningless things like friendship. If you think there was a platonic relationship between us, that's your fault, not mine."

Unlike most women who cry in front of me, Laura just shrugs at my stiffness. "I'm being silly to suspect you actually have feelings for someone other than contempt. I can assure you that this will never happen again." ."

"I feel nothing but a burning desire to reach my end goal."

she sighs. "There's so much more to life than defeating your father."

I ignore her and look at my watch to realize we are out of time. "Now we need to set some ground rules."

"Rules?" Her eyes widen.

"Every time our eyes connect," my erratic heartbeat echoes in my ears. Her breath is caught in her throat as I caresse her cheek. My thumb rubbing her soft skin back and forth as if the mere touch burns my name into it. "Every time we touch"

She closesher eyes. Every cell in my body is trying to recede. I put some distance between us because I shouldn't touch her like that. The lines are too blurry. But it is useless as I inhale her intoxicating scent, my lungs protest at the intrusion. "Every touch of our lips... it's just a lie." My lips brush the corners of her mouth and my body feels like a jumper wire has hit me.

Her eyes widen as I take a step back, and there is clearly a pool of thoughts brewing in her head. I hide my hands in my pockets, seeming unperturbed as her chest rises and falls with each heavy breath.

"You...me... what.." her words are as confused as her thoughts. I am happy that I succeeded in ruffling her up, but the fact leaves me confused. Touching her should not provoke such a reaction. It doesn't matter if she was being honest when she said she only did it because she thought of me as a friend.

I'm trying to get the situation under control again. Some kind of barrier to put up around me. "There's nothing I won't do to earn this inheritance. If you forget, remember to me, this is just a game."

Her mouth is open, but she is interrupted by that high-pitched voice that will never leave my head.

"Okay, both of you. Your guests are looking forward to meeting the soon-to-be married couple," the wedding planner interrupts us. Like an army commander, she points her clipboard at the entrance to the ballroom.

" Ready?" Laura squeezes my hand. Her smile is a toned down version of the smile she showed Claire earlier.

I am silent because I know that whatever comes out of my mouth is nothing but a lie.

Pov: Laura

"Mr. and Mrs. Vos, join hands for the lovely couple."

My eyes roll when the DJ announces it.

So is this how we do it? like this?

You planned it this way. Kicking myself for the off-putting engagement party. If I knew I was going to be the center ofattention, I would have made a quick announcement on social media.

My knees tremble when I look at the audience. Straightening my legs so i don't fall. The amount of designer clothes crammed into one room is terrifying, and their smirks make my skin itchy. Alexander's eyes meet mine. It's instinctive at this point, sharing a million and one words in a single glance.

"Take a deep breath." He grabs my right hand and the heat from his palm penetrates my skin. It's disturbing that he can tell me what I'm worried about without ever showing it.

You have been working for him for three years. He can definitely tell when you're on edge.

"Laura and I are getting married at the end of this month."

end of the month? Three weeks later! ”

"The music comes to an abrupt halt. Someone coughing and the waiter drops the tray. We are surrounded by different reactions, each more shocking than the last. I don't blame them. I thought Alexander and I had a month finalize our engagement, but now we have only three weeks.

The silence is blaring. The contents of my stomach nearly spills onto the shiny floor, but I manage to swallow the acid that seeped into my throat. I've got this.

I smile and try to think of anything to counteract Alexander's unexciting performance. I throw my hand up for everyone to see my engagement ring.A million colors reflect from the diamond, drawing everyone's attention to the symbol of my impending sentence.

"Glad to have you as part of the family, Laura." Alexander's youngest brother, Aidan, emerges from the crowd. Most people think he resembles Alexander with his brown hair and dark eyes, but I feel they are very different. Because while Aidan has a hint of humanity, Alexander lacks a similar kind of compassion.

Claire pushes her way through the crowd and lifts her drink into the air. "Family Therapy is on Sunday night. Remember to show up!"

Some people laugh and some of the tension is alleviated enough to make breathing endurable again. "One hour and half hours, then we are leaving," Alexander says quietly so that only I can hear.

"I was going to suggest an hour but if you want to add a whole ass thirty minutes who am I to argue."

He doesn't smile, but his eyes light up when it lands on me. We both know we can't get out of here in an hour. Not when Alexander is the first Vos to get married since Patrick over twenty eight years ago. An announcement of this sort, is exactly the kind of thing a British prince would do when announcing the birth of his first son, and everyone wants to spend a few minutes with him.

Whatever reaction Alexander had, it vanishes when his father, Patrick Vos, parts the crowd like Moses. The intensity of his anger can bring the lesser men to their knees.

My knees lock in place. I've spent enough time with him to know that he feeds on human weakness.

Alexander feigns indifference, except for a small twitch in his jaw. He's good at hiding his emotions, but sometimes they show up every now and then. A little clench of his chin. His quick hand flexes. Narrowed eyes before it returns to a calm gaze. "Calm down." I lean over him and rub my hand over his beating heart.

You're not the only one feeling nervous. Alexander is more human than I thought.

"Son." Patrick, as usual, doesn't bother to acknowledge my existence. I don't to exist because I have no purpose to him. It's very simple.

"Father."