• ° • ° • °

The silence of the car ride felt suffocating as I replayed the events of the evening in my head. My life had taken a complete turn in just a few hours, and here I was, sitting next to a man I barely knew, on the way to pick out wedding rings. It was ridiculous, really, how absurd everything had become. Yet I couldn’t deny the sense of satisfaction that came with leaving the mess of my family behind.

Lucas—Mr. Walker, I corrected myself—finally spoke after a long silence, asking about the conditions I had set for the marriage. He didn’t seem offended by my earlier attitude, but more curious. His question hung in the air as I thought about how to respond. How much could I trust him? This man who had struck a deal with my father, who, despite his charming looks, was still very much a stranger to me.

"I don’t even know your name," I muttered, touching the band-aid on my forehead, feeling the sting of the scratch Rachel had left. "So stop poking your nose in my family feud."

He chuckled, clearly amused by my resistance. "You don’t know who I am? The daughter of CEO Wilsonville doesn’t know the prime investor of Serenity?"

His smirk was infuriating. "Mr. Walker, I may not be interested in business, but that doesn’t mean I’m ignorant. You would do well to remember that." His arrogance grated on my nerves. He acted as if the world revolved around him, just because he had money.

"Just Lucas," he interrupted, smiling that infuriatingly polite smile again.

I glared at him. "I’m sorry, but we are not close enough to be on first-name terms, Mr. Lucas."

His raised eyebrows showed amusement, but I wasn’t playing along with his game. "Then how do you suggest we become close? Marriage is pretty close, wouldn’t you say?"

The laugh that bubbled up in me was bitter. "Close? Why would we need to be close? We’re not marrying out of love. This is a business deal, a marriage of convenience. You get what you want, and I get what I want. There’s no need for us to pretend otherwise."

He shrugged. "We still need to be close enough to navigate public events together. We’ll be a couple in the eyes of society, and I don’t want to be caught off guard when people start talking about you."

"As if I care," I grumbled, turning to look out the window. My days in the spotlight were long over. The world didn’t care about me anymore, not since my modeling career had ended. Now I was just an heiress, someone to marry off for strategic gains.

"You think people have forgotten you?" Lucas asked, reading my thoughts. "You’re the daughter of a powerful CEO and about to be married to one of the most desirable bachelors in the country. People will talk."

His words brought no comfort. "I don’t care what they say."

He was indeed a very handsome man, almost like a Greek God. He had eagle eyes of sapphire blue. Perfectly arched eyebrows, long eyelashes, and eyelashes that were neither full nor thin. It was a face anyone would trade their soul for. It was almost a waste of his good looks to be in the business industry.

"If you’re done checking me out," he interrupted my thoughts again, "maybe you can answer my first question."

I raised an eyebrow, deflecting. "You didn’t ask the right first question."

"Oh?" He frowned. "And what would that be?"

I smirked. "‘Will you marry me?’ That’s the question you should’ve asked."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then serious. "What would you do if I did propose?"

I wasn’t expecting the question to be so direct. But, like everything else tonight, it didn’t surprise me anymore. "Yes," I replied simply, "I will tell you what I’ll do."

I left the rest unsaid, knowing that I would play my cards carefully. I wasn’t going to reveal my plans yet, not until I was sure of his true intentions.

The car came to a stop outside Blue Niles, the jewelry store where we were about to pick out our wedding rings. I sighed, rolling my eyes. I might as well choose the rings I wanted. If this marriage was going to happen, I deserved at least that much control.

"I want matching rings," I said as I stepped out of the car.

"No issues," Lucas replied smoothly. "You won’t need to do anything."

He offered me his arm, and I hesitated. "Do we really need to do this?"

"We’re going to be married," he said, his tone casual. "Might as well get used to it."

I sighed again, but this time I linked my arm with his. It was warm, surprisingly comfortable. I hadn’t expected that. The wind was cold, but standing next to him, I felt a strange sense of warmth that I couldn’t explain.

Without thinking, I leaned into him, just a little. And to my surprise, he didn’t pull away.

This wasn’t how I imagined my life would go. But as the breeze chilled my face, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I could get used to this new path. Even if it meant trusting someone I barely knew.

• ° • ° • °