The Playboy King's Bride

Chapter 10

Seeing that Mr. King seemed to be very serious about his statement, part of Stella really wanted to believe him. The way he looked at her reminded her of a doting father, about to give his child a present he knew she would enjoy. There was a sparkle in his eyes, and his grin would not go away, though the longer she stayed silent the more serious he looked. She had no doubt an important man like him could make all her problems go away. But why would he want to?

This man, smiling down at her, seemed like the complete opposite of the man who had offered her a check just for saving him. That man had thought the only thing anyone wanted in the world was money. This man... had hope in his eyes, and a little nervousness, as though it would matter if she said no to whatever he had to ask.

Stella found it impossible for her lips to say no, but she needed to know what the favor was before she could actually agree to it, and told Mr. King as much.

He immediately dropped her hands and took a step back, though he kept his eyes firmly on her, as though worried that she might run once he said anything.

"I need you to marry my son."

Stella's eyes widened as she tried to convince herself she had misheard him. Mentally chuckling at herself for even mishearing something so outlandish, Stella grinned sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you for a moment. I'd be happy to help your son. What did he need help with?"

The tall man lowered his head and gazed at the floor.

"I understand it seems crazy. My wife thinks I'm crazy for thinking about it...but I'm sure. Please, I need someone to be by his side, and with everything that's happened...," Here he looked at the hospital bed. "I don't know how much longer I'll be here. Hell, if not for you, I wouldn't be here. It must be fate!" He looked at her again, but this time Stella didn't find any comfort in his gaze.

"So this is what crazy looks like." She thought as she subconsciously took a step back. Unfortunately, Mr. King saw this and immediately held up his hands in a non-threatening posture.

"Ms. Knight, I swear I mean you no harm. I know what troubles your family, and I can help. I know how to deal with scum like Crawford. He will never bother your family again, and they'll never want for anything."

Stella remembered what Perce had said. This man was one of the most powerful in the country, maybe the world! If anyone could get rid of Mr. Crawford it would be him, but the whole situation with his son seemed ridiculous.

"Why...me? Surely there's a better suited woman for him, and he's your son! I'm a stranger...I don't understand why you would ask this."

Mr. King sighed and took her hand again to lead her to a nearby chair where he motioned for her to sit. She took the seat gratefully, just now noticing that her legs were shaking a bit. None of this seemed real, or comprehensible, and she wondered again if the truck had hit her.

"I'm afraid Lance is a little...in our world there aren't many women who...," He really struggled with how to phrase it without scaring her off and looked at every surface of the room as though he would find the answer written on a spare bit of paper.

"Like any father, I only want the best for my son. You may think that women in high society are somehow better than you, but you'd be wrong, and I think you'll see that very quickly if you agree to this. He doesn't see it now, but someday he'll need a partner by his side, not just a pretty face. It's true, I owe you for saving my life," He held up his hand when Stella seemed about to protest. " Whether you think I owe you or not, it is true. Rest assured I've done my research, and if I didn't think it would help I would not suggest it.

Stella felt numb as she walked out of the room a few minutes later with the task of "thinking it over for a couple of days". In two days, the Kings would be going back to New York, and Mr. King (or Arthur, as he eventually asked her to call him) wanted her to go with them if she said yes.

Her mind didn't seem to work, since part of her thought he must be joking; pulling some horrible prank on her because he was rich enough to be able to. Maybe he would fly her to New York, saying she'd have no more problems, and then abandon her there, and she'd have to hitchhike all the way back to Texas. Or he'd just leave her standing at the airport as he and his family took off.

The other part of her couldn't doubt the sincerity in his voice as he almost begged her to accept. Maybe he had never begged before, and anyone might have missed the subtle flicker of desperation in his eyes, but she had seen it before in others, and recognized it now. Certainly, he had never actually demeaned himself enough to lower his voice to what would be considered begging, but he had grown softer as he laid out everything that he wanted from her, and everything that he would do in return.

Marriage...to a stranger. That part was incomprehensible by itself, but throw in that he was the son of a rich man, therefore making him a rich man. She hadn't thought of marriage in years. She had been proposed to once, but had never thought it would happen again. She might have even hoped that it never would. She stopped.

This was not a proposal. This was a business arrangement. That's right. A business agreement that happened to include something that most considered sacred, but was now being cheapened by monetary gain on her end and...she couldn't be sure what exactly Arthur hoped to accomplish with this.

If he were serious about saving her family and her home, she knew she would be indebted to Arthur forever, but he had to know she could never pay him back with anything but her gratefulness. Even if she did marry his son, the whole deal seemed one-sided in her favor. He promised to buy her anything she might need to fit into her new life. Lance already had an apartment in New York the new couple could live in.

It all seemed too good to be true, especially as Stella gazed at Gareth still in his hospital bed. He didn't even have the insurance to get a private room, just a curtain around his bed in a large atrium. When she compared it to the rooms upstairs where there seemed to be a much better patient to nurse ratio, she couldn't help but imagine that he might be more comfortable with the same care Arthur had received. He would be out faster...and if she could also guarantee that he and Perce would have a roof over their heads...how could she say no?

The boys had been through so much before she moved back, and even now. And Gareth had been a father to her when her own father had thrown her and her mother away with both hands.

As she gazed upon Gareths' sleeping form she realized how much older he had become over the past few years. At one point she thought he must be the strongest man alive, but now he looked so frail. The bruises on his face and casts all over his body made his condition look even worse than it was, and Stella felt she couldn't forgive herself if she had a way to end his suffering and didn't take it.

Once her mind was made up, she decided not to waste time trying to talk herself back out of it. She could get to know Lance over time, but Gareth needed to be there for Perce now.

She sent Marvin her message that she had agreed to Mr. King's conditions and left the hospital to pack. She only had two days to say good-bye to this life.