Chapter 3

“Giovanni Rueben.”

Emily couldn’t believe she was relying on the internet to get information regarding her husband to be.

She literally knew nothing about him. Other than his first and last name but after spending about an hour on the internet, jumping from sites to gossip blogs she could say that was slowly changing.

There was something all the sites she visited had to say in common. He was a cold, arrogant and rich young man who ranked No. 1 in the aspect of eligible bachelors yet he was single. For what reason? Simply because he cared about his work more than anything.

With every new page clicked, she could see him staring at her, his cold eyes glaring through the screen. There were tons of rumors about him- some speculating he was a hidden member of a mafia group, some saying he was gay and some saying an ex-girlfriend broke and battered his heart resulting in him becoming the cold and merciless person he now was.

It was a lot and she found herself in more awe with every second that passed. How could someone be so popular and yet the only good thing the media had to say about him was his money and looks?

Shaking her head in disappointment, she copied out the address of his office from the internet and rose to her feet. He was her husband to be yet she didn’t even have his number or his office address at the very least.

Deciding it was for the better that way, she headed straight out of the library to the main road, immediately stopping a cab to drive her to his office. Luckily, the building seemed like a popular landmark as the driver immediately smiled and promised to get her there in less than thirty minutes.

He kept to his promise as she got to the building in less than thirty minutes, a gasp immediately escaping Emily’s lips.

The building was huge. Numerous storeys tall, it was safe to consider it a skyscraper, making Emily wonder if he really owned it all.

Of course, he did. That had to be the only reason he and his father made thirty billion dollars sound like cheap change.

Adjusting her casual outfit of jeans, a shirt and comfy sneakers she walked into the building and immediately made her way to the elevator. Unsure of what floor she was supposed to head to, she randomly pressed any floor hoping luck would be on her side by the time she got there. She could either be on the right floor or ask someone on that floor to direct her to the CEO’s office.

Luck was apparently on her side as the second she stepped out of the elevator, she bumped into no one but Giovanni Rueben, hands shoved in his pocket, his default cold expression on his face.

“Ah, I guess I’m on the right floor.”

That managed to catch his attention as he immediately turned in her direction, arching an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I came here to talk to you,” Emily replied him. “I didn’t have your number or anything so I had to look up the internet to find your office address.”

“If you want my number you can simply ask,” he immediately retorted. “You do not need to beat around the bush, Stacy.”

“What?” She was taken aback for a second. “I’m not- and my name isn’t Stacy.”

“Oh?” He seemed genuinely surprised. “Then what? Oh, right. Stacy’s your sister.”

Emily almost couldn’t believe her ears. “Do you really not know my name?”

Giovanni shrugged. “Is there a reason I’m supposed to?”

“What?” Emily was now confident she was hearing things. “I am- We were supposed to get married a couple of days ago.”

“So?”

“So?”

“I’m finding it hard to understand what the correlation between that and me knowing your name is.”

“What?!” Emily was officially dumbfounded. “Are you even listening to yourself right now? I-“

“Look, I do not have time for this,” he cut her off. “I stopped to listen to you cause i wanted to know why you were here and waited longer since I realized you just wanted my number. But that’s all. If you came here for another reason I’m afraid you’ll have to check in with my secretary and hope there’s a empty schedule he had fit you into. I’m a busy person so I do not have time for your childish rants.”

“Childish rants?” Emily’s eyes widened in horror. “My God, this has to be a joke.”

“You thinking you’ll get me to listen to you for longer is what’s a joke,” he replied her. “Now please excuse me.”

Emily watched him turn to leave her presence, her whole body frozen in shock. What was going on? No one had ever managed to leave her so shocked she became speechless so how could he suddenly be an exception.

“We are to get married in a few weeks!” She blurted out without thinking. She couldn’t believe he was walking away from her and just needed him to stop. “So how can you have zero interest in the woman you’re getting married to?!”

That did the trick as he stopped in his tracks then slowly turned to face her. A smirk appeared on his face and he began to walk towards her, not stopping until there was almost no distance between them.

“You seem to be mistaken. I’m not getting married to you because I’m interested in you.”

“What?” Emily immediately took a step backwards, quickly creating distance between them. “You aren’t interested in me?”

“Neither was I interested in your sister,” he replied. “All I knew about her was her name and I believed that was more than enough information.”

“More than enough information?” Emily couldn’t hold back a scoff. “You do realize marraige is a long term thing, right? A commitment?”

“I do. It is no different to a business deal. We come to an agreement and everybody sticks to their side of the deal. And of course, there are clauses. Which includes you. Just in case something goes wrong.

He was talking nonsense. “So I’m just a replacement to you?”

“Wasn’t that an already established fact?” He shook his head. “I had no idea you existed before a couple of days ago. So if you really want me to tell you word for word, yes then. You’re just your sister’s replacement and as I did not have any interest in your sister, I see no reason things should be any different with you.”

“Marriage is a contract and we just need it to get it signed and then go on with our respective lives. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Emily was rendered completely shocked. Utterly shocked to her bones. Giovanni was far from being a lunatic. He was way worse.

“Now I understand why my sister ran away instead of getting married to you.”

“Great,” he still remained nonchalant. “I also hope you understand how much of a foolish decision it was to run away instead of getting married to me.”

“Don’t you dare call my sister a fool.”

For the first time, he chuckled. “Your words. Not mine.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well since we’re on it, I might just as well say this,” his expression was back to its cold self. “I hope you wouldn’t be a fool like your sister.”

“What?” Emily was enraged. He was an asshole. A narcissistic and egoistic bastard and more than anything, she wanted to wipe that stupid expression off his face.

He must have been used to things going his way. People succumbing to whatever madness he had to offer. Making people weak and intimated simply because he the power and looks.

He might succeeded with her sister but never with her. She wasn’t going to be that easy for him to break or even bend.

“You’re right,” she finally said. “I wouldn’t run away from this wedding. Just like you, i can’t wait till we both get it over with so we can put it behind us and move on with our lives.”

A smirk appeared on his face, followed by him nodding. “Great then. See you on the alter in three weeks.”