Chapter 4

When Brooklyn woke up, he felt sore all over and realized he was still naked. He looked at the love bites and hickeys all over his body as memories of the previous night flashed in his mind.

He was dumbfounded and unable to believe he'd done something like sleeping with a total stranger. To tell the truth, he still felt rather hot.

He struggled to sit up so he could take in his surroundings. He was still in the same room as last night—it just looked messier than before.

Brooklyn looked around. The dim lights kept reminding him of the embarrassing things he'd experienced last night. What the hell had gotten into him? How could he have had the nerve to act like that?

He felt thoroughly embarrassed at the thought of the things he'd done and tried to burrow under the sheets again. Then, he looked up to see a man seated at the entrance, looking at him gently.

This scared Brooklyn. He hurriedly pulled the sheets over himself to cover his naked body. Dimitri smiled gently when he saw that and said to a maid standing outside, "Get Zachary some clothes."

Brooklyn watched Dimitri as he approached. His name still wasn't Zachary.

"Uh…" He tightened his grip on the sheets and licked his lips. "I think you might have the wrong idea here. I might look like Zachary Hart—"

"You're just denying this because you don't want to marry me, right?" Dimitri's gaze suddenly turned cold. He didn't understand why Brooklyn was being like this. "But we're already engaged, and nothing is going to change that. You have to marry me even if I'm crippled."

Brooklyn looked at Dimitri's legs. He figured Zachary must have been wholly against marrying a cripple like Dimitri, which was why he'd fled.

But to Brooklyn, Dimitri was handsome and gentle. His features were chiseled, and he always had a faint, gentle smile playing on his lips. A look at him was enough to give one the impression that he was a proper gentleman. Aside from his legs, he was perfect in every way.

"No, it's not that. I do want to marry you…" Brooklyn felt that had come out wrong. He hurriedly said, "No, I didn't mean it like that. It's not that I want to marry you—I can, but…"

That didn't seem to sound right, either. He watched as Dimitri wheeled himself closer and instinctively shuffled backward. Dimitri merely threw some clothes at Brooklyn and said, "These should fit you."

Brooklyn didn't dare say anything. He looked at the clothes before him, not even daring to try them on. Dimitri had already seen every inch of his body, but he still wanted to retain some dignity.

"You were the one who said you could marry me." Dimitri held Brooklyn's hand and looked at him tenderly. "This might only be a political marriage, Zachary, but I promise I'll love you with all my heart."

To tell the truth, Brooklyn was touched. Still, he wasn't Zachary! He couldn't turn into someone else to marry Dimitri—the latter didn't like him, anyway. Zachary was the one Dimitri liked.

"But—"

"Mr. Wood, Mr. Hart's father is here. He's waiting for Mr. Hart at the entrance and looks like he has something important to say." A young woman's voice came from outside the room. She was Sharon Gray, the female butler.