SOPHIA'S POV
I woke up on a plush bed beneath me. I had never slept on such a large and comfortable bed before. It was different from the bed I used to share with my kids at the orphanage. I felt like I was floating on this new bed of mine.
My first morning in this mansion was as if I woke up in someone else’s life. Mr. Graham’s life, I suppose. The happenings of the day before rushed through my mind, but before I could think too much, a gentle knock interrupted my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called out, then sat up.
The door opened and three maids entered. They bowed as they greeted me. One of them carried a tray of food.
“Good morning, Mrs. Graham. We’ve brought your breakfast,” one of the maids said softly, placing the tray on the table beside the bed.
‘Mrs. Graham?’ I almost scoffed aloud.
I raised my head and looked at the clock. It was barely 7 AM. ‘Isn’t it too early for breakfast?’ I thought. But I quickly waved the idea away, forcing a small smile.
“Thank you” I murmured, feeling a bit awkward about being waited on.
“Shall we prepare your bath and assist you in getting dressed?” another maid asked, looking at me expectantly.
“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I’ll manage on my own, thank you.” I shook my head.
They hesitated for a moment, but when I assured them again, they bowed and left the room. I took a deep breath, feeling relieved to be alone again. This fake marriage was still something I was adjusting to. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.
Two hours later, I made my way downstairs, and that was when I noticed something odd. The atmosphere in the mansion was that of tension. The maids, workers, Mr. Graham's bodyguards - they were all nervous.
“What’s going on?” I asked one of the maids, her eyes wide and nervous.
“Mrs. Graham, it’s Mr. Graham… he hasn’t been seen since this morning. He always goes out for a jog every morning. But today…” Her voice trailed off as she looked down.
My chest tightened. Sir hadn’t been seen?
“Have you tried calling him?” I moved close to his bodyguards.
“Yes, ma'am. However, his phones are in his room. The sole phone that is with him has been ringing but he's not picking up. We're trying to track down his location.”
‘Where could he be?’ I paced back and forth in the living room, my mind was restless.
“I last saw him in the painting room last night” I bit my lower lip, whispering to myself.
‘Did he sleep there?’ My inner mind asked, but before I could think of answering, I spun around and ran towards the room. My feet seemed to move faster than my mind. ‘Please, please let him be okay,’ I begged silently.
I pushed open the door, making my heart drop. Mr. Graham was lying on the cold, hard tiles. Motionless.
“Sir!” I screamed, rushing to his side. I dropped to my knees, my hands trembling as I lifted his head on my lap. His skin was cold. His phone was lying beside him, with numerous missed calls displaying on its screen.
“Is he… dead?” I muttered, fear taking hold of me.
“No, no! He can’t be! I can’t be a widow a day after my fake marriage!” Tears burned in my eyes as I shouted for help.
“I found him! I found him! Someone, please!”
Within moments, everyone was there. He was lifted and carried out of the house. My heart pounded in my chest as I followed them, I was barely able to breathe. We had to get him to the hospital.
**************
At the hospital, the nurses rushed to us with a stretcher and moved Mr. Graham inside while I stood helplessly.
Suddenly, I heard my mother-in-law’s voice. I had asked one of the maids to let her know of her son's condition.
“Please doctor, save my son!” she clutched the doctor's arm, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to steady myself as much as I was trying to comfort her.
“Ma’am, let’s sit down,” I said gently, leading her to a chair in the waiting room. She sank into it, her hands shaking as she wiped her eyes.
A few moments passed in tense silence before she looked up at me, her voice was now cracking. “Sophia, why did you leave so suddenly yesterday? On your wedding day?”
‘Oh no! Sophy!’ Should I just tell her? She will definitely understand my plight as a mother.
“I… I’m so sorry for that, Mrs. Graham,” I started with a low voice. “You said you've been at the orphanage, right?”
“Yes, dear.”
“Then, you should know my sons, ma'am. One of them, Hayden… he regained consciousness yesterday after he underwent a heart surgery. I needed to be there for him.”
My mother-in-law's expression softened with sympathy as she reached for my hand. “Oh, Sophia… I had no idea.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry if I seemed rude with the way I ran off yesterday. It wasn't intentional, I just—”
“You don’t have to explain,” She interrupted gently. “I understand. Mrs. Beckley told me about how you’ve been carrying a heavy burden of being a single mother. I hope he is okay now?”
“Yes ma'am. He's better now.”
“Thank Goodness. You know, you could bring Hayden and Kayden to stay at the mansion with you and Damon. They shouldn't be separated from their mother.” She glanced at me, her eyes softening even more.
I felt the weight of her words settle over me and I quickly shook my head. “I… I haven’t told Mr. Graham yet. About being a single mom. I don’t want to disturb him… and I don’t want to relive the past, Mrs. Graham.”
She studied me for a long moment before she sighed. “First off, I'm your mother-in-law, dear. Stop calling me ‘Mrs. Graham’ and ‘Ma’am’. You can either call me mom, mother or even Mother-in-law.” She smiled lovingly at that. It was nice to see her smile after the tears she had shed.
“Moreover,” She continued. “Damon is your husband. Why call him Mr. Graham? Don't you know sweet names to call your hubby?” We both laughed.
“Noted, ma'am” I said, but she quickly gave me a deadly look. “I mean, M…mom”
“That's it, my dear! Now, back to our discussion. Everyone has a past, Sophia. You’re not alone in that.” Her voice suddenly dropped to a gloomy tone. “There’s a secret I’ve been keeping from Damon too… for the past six years.”
I blinked, like I’ve just been caught off guard. “A secret?”
SOPHIA'S POV“Come on, Sophia,” Samantha gently touched my arm. “Drink up. It’s your birthday, babe. You need to celebrate.”“I don’t want to, Sam. I’ve never drunk before, and you know that, no?” I frowned at her.Sitting at the bar, I stared at the glass in front of me. It’s my birthday, but it doesn’t feel like it. My heart felt too heavy to care.“Exactly! There’s a first time for everything.” She grinned and slid the glass closer. “Just one sip. It’ll help you forget about that jerk, Fred.”Fred. His name hit me like a punch to the gut. I bit my lips and tried to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall all night. I don’t want to think about him. About how I caught him making out with another woman.“Sam, I don’t know if this is a good idea, but I don’t think drinking is going to help.” I slightly pushed the glass away.“Trust me, it will,” she insisted. “Just let loose for once, Sophy. You deserve it after everything that happened.”I glanced at my other friends, Ke
SOPHIA'S POV The buzzing of my phone woke me up. My head ached so much that I felt like it was splitting in two. I blinked, trying to make sense of my surroundings. My eyes suddenly dilated when I realized that I wasn't in my bedroom.‘Oh my God!’“Where am I? This isn’t my bed!” I began to panic as I reached for my phone which was lying on the floor. It stopped ringing as I made to pick the call.“15 missed calls?”“Holy Molly!”I looked at my side, only to see the sleeping figure of a man, half-covered by the sheets, his back to me. He had a beautiful tattoo on the upper part of his left arm. I couldn't see his face. I tried to recollect what transpired between us, and the memories of last night came rushing back. The club, my friends, the drinks, the bar, the kiss, the hotel. Then the….“Oh, shit!” I freaked out as I realized what I had done. I slept with a stranger, thinking it was Fred? ‘Oh jeez! Sophia, what have you done?’I felt a sharp pain in between my thighs as I dresse
THE GRAHAM GROUP PLC.DAMON'S POVOne of the best black shiny limousines I own, stopped in front of my company's headquarters. The chauffeur came out and opened the back seat door for me. My foot, on a pair of black shiny shoes, first stepped out of the car before the whole me came out.I was impeccably dressed in a tailored navy-blue suit, with my black hair neatly combed to the back. Immediately my guards and my Personal Assistant, Mr. Leo, set their eyes on me, they all bowed their heads.“Morning Sir” They chorused.I nodded to their greetings and entered into the company, with them following suit.The lobby was bustling with activities. Some employees scurry by with papers, while the lazy ones busied themselves with gossip. They all stopped their activities and bowed when they noticed my presence.“Good morning, sir”“Good morning, boss”With my eyes focused ahead, I ignored their greetings as though they didn't exist. My expression remained stern and unbothered, all business.
GOD'S WILL ORPHANAGEDEBRA'S POV“Ma'am Debra's here! Ma'am Debra's here!” The cute little angels excitedly rushed forward immediately I stepped out of my car. They formed a small, energetic crowd around me.I knelt down, smiling warmly at them. “Hello, my darlings! I’ve brought something for each of you.”“Yeeehhhhh” They jumped up happily, and I found my lips smiling at their innocence.My driver and two bodyguards brought out the large bags filled with food and toys I brought. My guards took the bags of raw food to the storeroom while I began handing out the toys to the kids.“Look! I got a football!”“I got a new doll!”“Mine is a drawing board!”“I love puzzles!”They all gasped enthusiastically and their faces lit up in pure joy.“Thank you, Ma'am Debra! We love you!” They bowed gratefully.‘Awwwn! Such cutie pies!’“Every time you come, you bring more smiles than I can count.” Mrs. Rose Beckley, the head matron, approached from behind as she watched the scene with fondness.“It
DAMON'S POV“Marry me, Miss Sophia Clark.”“W-what?” She stammered.“You heard me. Marry me.”“Mr. Graham… you can’t be serious.” She tried to find her voice, though it came out barely a whisper. “Why... why me?” Her voice trembled.“I need you to marry me.” I cleared my throat. “A marriage in name only, of course. A contract. It wouldn’t be real.”She shook her head, still stunned. “Mr. Graham, I… I don’t understand. Why…why would you ask me to do something like that?”“I’ll pay you £10 million if you agree to marry me, for a year. All you have to do is sign the contract, and pretend to be my wife, only in the presence of my family.”Her eyes widened, but she didn’t speak.“£10 million will change your life. I know it will. And for me… well, let’s just say I need to show my family that I’ve settled down. That I’m capable of ‘commitment’. I practically spat the word. “But it’s all for show. You won’t be involved in anything beyond the paperwork.”I studied her closely, noticing the w
SOPHIA'S POV“I’ll marry you. Just… Please save my Hayden.” My words barely escaped my lips, and I couldn't bring myself to look Mr. Graham in the eyes. My hands trembled as they clutched at my clothes.“I'll talk to you later, buddy” I heard him hang up his call. “Stand up, Miss Clark” he said, his voice deep but surprisingly soft, as though he pitied me. My legs wobbled as I struggled to get back to my feet. “Thanks sir. I…I'm ready to marry you. Please, I urgently need the money you offered.” Not even the full amount.“I heard you the first time, Miss Clark. I knew you would come running back to me for help after you ran out yesterday.” He smirked.His words disgusted me.I thought he pitied me some minutes ago? Was it just an act?“By the way, who is this Hayden?”I was about to reply when he quickly cut me off.“Your boyfriend? Ohh! He's so unlucky you're sacrificing your love to save his life” He laughed.“He's not my boyfriend. Hayden is the name of my…” He cut me off again.
SOPHIA'S POVI stepped out of the cab, feeling the morning breeze against my skin. It was my wedding day. I chose to wear a simple, cream-colored dress I could afford for my fake marriage. As I made my way to the entrance of the marriage registry, I saw Mr. Graham standing by his car. He was dressed in a black suit. He looked every bit the powerful and handsome businessman he was. As usual, he wore a stern expression, “You’re late, Miss Clark” he said as he pocketed his phone.‘Aren’t I just five minutes late?’ I hissed inwardly.Without a word, he turned to one of his bodyguards who gave him a curt nod. The guard stepped forward, opening the trunk of the car. He pulled out a large white bag and gave it to Mr. Graham.“What’s that?” I asked, confused.“A dress. Put it on.” He handed it to me.“What?” I blinked.“You can’t wear that,” he said, motioning to my simple dress. “It’s not fitting for the occasion.”“This is a fake wedding, Sir. It doesn’t matter what I wear.”“It does,” he
DAMON'S POVI clenched my fists as I watched Miss Clark run off after her conversation with whoever it was on the phone. My family was confused by her sudden exit, which left them in shock. My mother’s voice cut through the awkward silence.“Who was on the phone? Why would she leave like that without saying anything?”I could feel their eyes on me, expecting answers. But I had none.“I don’t know,” I muttered through clenched teeth, frustrated. “Damon, you have to call her!” Linda, one of my cousin sisters, insisted. “Something might be wrong with her.”“She’ll be fine,” I replied, my voice was colder than I intended. How was I supposed to do that when I didn't even have her number. “You all should get going, it's getting late. I’ll let you know when she’s back.” I needed them out of my house. I couldn’t deal with their worries and questions.“Are you sure, Damon? This is your wife we're talking about here. Shouldn't you be concerned?” My mom asked, worrisome written all over her