Her Agreement

Is it Love?

Pov: Alexander

"I'd like to speak to Laura, my fiancée, privately." The words felt heavy for my tongue.

Luara's eyes lock with mine. They widen like saucers and she looks to Claire for help. Her ability to read me like her lie detector makes her work more efficient, but is now just an inconvenience.

Claire opens her mouth but sees my expression then she slowly backs away.

"I'll meet you guys inside" she says half-heartedly to Laura before entering the ballroom.

The wedding planner checks the time. "I'll be back in ten minutes to pick you up. Please don't make me look for you again." She winked before going to check on the catering service. My heart is thumping and I to take deep breaths in a futile attempt to slow it down.

I did tell her to find a female and is also fertility. The only person to blame here is me.

The situation has passed the point of no return. I never thought that Laura would come up with "such a plan" without even askingif i would agree. This is a terrible idea that jeopardizes everything we have built together over the years.

Still trying to calm myself down.

One-two…

Ohh f*****g hell!

"What the hell is running through your mind Laura?"

She didn't even flinch at my tone, but her lips curled in annoyance. "I'm saving you, that's all."

"I'm finding it hard to believe. I'm failing to see it."

"Should I schedule an eye exam?" I heard that your eyesight gets worse as you get older." Her usual joke about me being 11 years older fell through.

My eyes narrow at her. "This isn't the time for jokes."

"And don't dare look at me like that." She puts a light brown hand on her hip in a fighting stance. The diamond ring on her finger standing out against her caramel skin and captures my attention. "If I hadn't intervened, you would have had to explain to a room full guests why there is no bride. What would you say? That the mailman misplaced your order?"

"No." I grind my teeth. "A mail-order bride seems like a better option at this point."

Her brown eyes are almost shining. "Face it. You have run out of time and opportunity. ”

"Obviously." I glance at her.

Something flashes behind her eyes and then disappears. She defiantly raises her chin slightly and looks me straight in the eye. "Wow, you sure know how to make a girl feel special."

She moans as she raises her hands in the air. "I don't know why I thought it was a good idea."

"Glad we agree on that. What is your purpose?"

"I like you so much that I want to save you from yourself. I'm sure there must be a loose screw, so I'll be sure to tell my therapist about it."

"I look at her and blink. You aren't marrying me out of pity or a sense of duty, right?"

Her dark eyebrows furrow and she straightens her spine. "What would you do if I were the reason?"

"Don't do that. These ideas only exist in movies."

Something is wrong with this whole situation. Why did Laura suddenly want to marry me after months of searching for the perfect match?

The faintest voice in my head grows because she never wanted you to marry someone else.

No. Absolutely not.

Or is it?

That might explain her out-of-character behavior. Following her gaze, she is staring at her engagement ring. She slowly traces the round edge of the diamond, loving if I'm seeing things right.

Shit.

Maybe I do need that eye checkup.

Being attracted is one thing. Falling in love is a completely different deadly game, so I'm not going to play it any time soon.

Grinding my teeth together. "Are you doing this because you are in love with me?" the words fly out of my mouth. My heart is beating wildly in my chest, fighting for an exit.

I didn't take into account that she might have strong feelings for me. Hell, I didn't want to think about it. There are many reasons, but the main reason being that she is the best assistant I have ever had. I can't afford to loose her. Especially not when she's an integral part of my plans to take over my father's place.

The thought of being involve with me is apparently ludicrous because she doubles over in laughter.

She tries to stabilise herself by grabbing onto something and grabs her first object within arms reach which happens to be me. Every muscle in my body suddenly becomes aware of her hands on me and heat surges in to my body as if they're on fire. I stay upright as her laughter turns into an asthmatic cough."

I am more than surprised by her reaction. My stomach drops at the thought of her replies towards loving me.

No one will ever love you. My father's voice rings through my head during the most uncomfortable moments.

I rip her fingers off her biceps one by one. "Are you okay?"

"No, you i***t. And I don't love you." She laughed again, letting out the most horrible whistle with every breath. "I'm doing it because we're friends."

"I will never be your friend." And I never want to be.

Her lips twist into a frown. "You're a liar. You help your friend when they are sick."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you remember when I had the flu?"

I cross my arms "I'm still not fully convinced that was the case."

"You remember!" Her laughter turns into her hoarse cough.

"Because we had to hire cleaners to make sure every square inch of the place was cleaned."

"Okay. How was it when i helped a certain someone who was drunk on a business trip?"

"I never wanted your help."

"You tripped and asked me to introduce you to the friend I brought with me, that she looks a lot like me"

My alcohol tolerance is no more than human tolerance- absent.

"I prefer you drunk. He asked me to put him to sleep and sing him a lullaby. ”

"Now I know you're lying. You're a terrible singer." My lips were about to curl in a smile, but I frowned instead.

She throws her hands up in the air. "Okay, okay. I lied. But if you had asked me, I wouldn't have said no! Because friends help each other."

It is tempting to pay any price to erase the word "friend" from dictionaries everywhere. i don't have them I don't want her to be mine.

Her hoarse laughter turns into her coughing fits. Acting on autopilot, I grab her purse from the table and shove it into her hand. "Please fix your cough."

She searches her bag for her inhaler. "Are you worried about my health?"

"It's just for selfish purposes."

"Of course. Silly me for being forgetful." She smiles around the opening of the inhaler before breathing the medicine in.