CHAPTER 5

“What in the world…” Gemma was rendered speechless by the insanity she had just heard. “Why the hell would such a rule even exist?” 

The elderly lawyer had no definite answer to that, because he had neither written the will nor set the rules that the late Patriarch Arnaud's granddaughter was finding absurd. He could only hypothesize.  “The old man didn't want his bloodline to go extinct. He had to set some rules, and you are lucky that he did not specify that you must have a son before inheriting his estate.” 

Gemma sighed when she imagined that such a thing was possible. She had not known her grandfather when he was alive, because her family was yet to find her when he passed away. From the tales she had heard about him from her parents and grandmother, she knew that setting such an absurd rule did sound like something he would do. 

Even so, it still made no sense when she thought about it.  “But I'm a woman. I do not continue anyone’s bloodline.” Wasn’t the point to make sure his surname was passed forward? What was more strange was that the rule of marriage only applied to women. She suddenly darted her eyes in suspicion. “Are you sure there is no such clause as naming my first son after him, with both his first name and surname? Please tell me there isn’t because I do not have any plans for kids at this moment. 

The elderly lawyer laughed at her theatrics, which she was certain he only found funny because he knew nothing about what she was going through.  

“The inheritance was bait for your parents. At least that's what I think, from my knowledge of him.” He explained, and she finally understood it. The rule was not meant to affect her, she just happened to be part of the bait. Every parent would do their best to ensure their child had the best kind of life, especially if they didn’t know where that child was and what kind of life they were leading. 

It suddenly made her wonder whether they had ever sought her before her grandfather wrote his will, but the thought of it might just make her dislike them so she brushed it off and tried to argue her way out. 

“But I was married. My husband passed away just a few days ago. I would like you to do me this favor. Surely you don’t expect me to remarry a few days after the death of my husband?” She tried to evoke his pity but she was clearly doing a horrible job at it because he did not flinch.

“I'm sorry, I cannot do anything against the will of the deceased.” He declared resolutely, ready to shut the case and follow the alternative rule if she was not ready to claim the estates. 

“Could you give me some time?” She asked pleadingly. 

“Two weeks.” He raised two wrinkled fingers, and she would have scolded him if he was not an elderly man. Where did he expect her to find a husband within two weeks? That wasn’t even enough time to get a boyfriend! 

She could only thank him—for nothing—and make a phone call as she left his office.

“Gemma?” Cora curiously answered her call.  

“I have to get married.” She sighed as she slumped her head onto the headrest of her car seat. 

“What?” Cora was flabbergasted, but was yet to voice her shock when Gemma threw yet another bomb her way.  “Within two weeks.” 

The other end was silent for so long that Gemma almost thought that the call had been hung up, before Cora finally spoke after calming her mind before it exploded. 

“What happened?”  

Gemma had decided to go to work and couldn’t go back home to explain it to Cora. It was a matter of urgence where every second mattered, so she simply said it. “Help me put up an announcement. I prefer them tall, handsome and loyal. It has to be a poor man.” 

“Gemma?” The other’s voice pitched in shock.

 “Of course, no wealthy man would agree to a whirlwind marriage but that's just the way it is.” Gemma laughed, but that was not what Cora was shocked about. Was she seriously planning to hire a husband? 

Unfortunately, she was! She would not have even thought about it if it was not her last resort. She didn’t have much choice now. Who would have thought that she would one day fall to such a level? 

If she knew that she would need a husband, she would have delayed her ultimate plan. However, there was no use regretting it now. 

Her phone rang and she answered it without paying any attention to the caller identity, so Sofia’s voice caught her unawares.  

“Gemma, I would like to go to school. “ The woman went straight to the point as soon as she answered the call. 

Gemma burst into laughter and hung up the call. That brainless young woman must be ready to die. She was becoming more and more gutsy lately. It seemed like she needed to spend more effort ‘taking good care’ of her. 

_

The CEO of Le Dumont Group, Livian Dumont, rested his head against the backrest of his high quality leather chair with a hand behind his head as he gently swung. Was it really possible for fate to be so twisted? It was almost as though he had merely taken a nap and when he woke up, his little gem had slipped right through his fingers, gone. 

“Sir, the managers are waiting for you in the conference room.” The voice of his assistant pulled him out of his thoughts, He raised his eyebrow wondering why the managers were waiting for him, then suddenly remembered that he had a meeting with the higher managers, which should have started a minute ago. His little gem should return soon, otherwise he would totally mess up his work. 

All the hard work he had done to ensure he provided her with all the luxury she deserved would no longer matter, because he would probably be a lunatic. 

“Do you think it’s too late to win her over?” He asked out of the blue as he prepared to go to the conference room. 

His executive assistant adjusted his glasses and was unsure how to respond to his boss. The man had been asking such bizarre questions lately, it was almost as though he was under a spell sometimes. If one were to see the dark circles that were constantly gracing Livian’s face, they would believe that he was either depressed or slowly losing his mind. 

The only saving grace was that he was insanely handsome, so women still fell head over heels for him and squealed when he walked past them on the hallways. 

The situation was different this afternoon. As Livian walked towards the conference room, he realized that the women seemed to be buried in discussion. They were so engrossed in gossip that they didn't notice his presence. 

He wasn't paying attention to them but on his way back, he overheard tidbits of their discussion. 

"It's a socialite. She wants to hire a husband. Gee, rich people have too much money and nothing to spend it  on!"  A female employee in a bob haircut exclaimed. 

"Why am I not a man? I would sign up." Exaggerated another, and the group burst into laughter. 

"Check yourself out in the mirror before you do that. You have to be handsome."

"There's a requirement?" Yet another asked. 

 "Of course. It's Gemma Arnaud. She wouldn't choose a random man to be with. He has to be at least a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, 6 feet tall and all that." 

"You seem to be having an interesting conversation. Want to share?" Came a deep husky voice behind them, making all the women shut their mouths. 

It was none other than the CEO, who made their hearts tremble. His sculpted face and body would have been better off gracing men's beauty and fashion magazines if he weren't a businessman. His green eyes looked like they could almost see through a soul, and although he was always wearing suits and tuxedos, they would often imagine the abs he must be hiding underneath those suits, and blush at the thought of them. How ironic that despite the fear he evoked in them, they still blushed at the sight of him. It was as though being terrifying was part of what attracted them to him. 

"Good afternoon, sir." They greeted him with red faces and racing hearts. 

His eyebrows knitted ever so slightly. So they were unwilling to share what they were chatting so happily about. 

He walked past them and made them wonder what they had done to upset them, so they hurried off to work before they could lose their jobs for idling about too much. 

"Check what it is about Gemma Arnaud." Livian instructed his assistant as soon as they returned to his office. 

The man nodded and got to work immediately, returning with the results of his research within a few minutes. All he had to do was ask the gossipy women and they were willing to spill everything they knew. "She wants to hire a husband." He repeated the rumor to his boss. 

"Ha-ha." Livian reclined in his chair with a deep, low laugh. "There's never a dull moment with her. She never has enough scandals, does she?" 

The assistant wasn't sure how to respond to that and could only awkwardly stand aside and wait for the next instruction. 

"Bring it here." He asked for the phone from which his assistant was reading the detailed information. 

He read through the requirements once and let out a scoff. She had to be kidding to come up with this sort of nonsense. 

"He has to be tall? Look at me." He stood and pushed his chair back, so he would stand straight. 

"Am I tall?" 

"Yes sir." The assistant answered with a confused tone. Not only was Livian tall, but he was so tall that women would imagine themselves in his embrace. 

He nodded in satisfaction and l checked the next requirement. "Am I handsome?" 

It was awkward to answer such a question to another man but the assistant had to rub his nose and resign to his fate. "Yes sir.". 

"Do you think I'm loyal?" He asked yet again, and the man was silent. 

"Am I loyal or not?" He demanded. 

"You are very loyal sir." The assistant coughed, thinking about how he had been randomly hearing his boss ask about some anonymous woman. 

"What about the billion dollar requirement? Am I poor?" 

The man almost fainted. What kind of question was that? "How can that be? You are one of the wealthiest men in the nation. Le Dumont Group is enough to buy several cities."

Livian frowned. "Very well. The company is yours."

"What?" The assistant was flabbergasted. 

"I'm going to try out the position of Gemma's contract husband. Do you have a problem with that?" Livian stared him down sternly. 

The man shook his head and tried to maintain his composure. "I don't dare. I will take good care of the company while you're gone."