Chapter 5 – The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

                No one expects an angel to set the world on fire.

That was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the character of the Fallon that would ensure me an entry to the Rios Mafia. A frail girl fortunate enough to be sold to a millionaire. Some might suspect me, but I’ll make sure to be consistent with my personality and just wait until they give up their suspicions on me. 

But in front of this man, Jett Rios, I find it hard to pretend to be weak when his stare is burning my soul. Not dangerous, just intense. It makes me uneasy, and the inner Hawk doesn’t want to back down to the stare and fight back but I’m not someone who has a large ego and a tall pride. So I bit my lower lip as if preventing it from trembling and lowered my gaze. 

“Didn’t you hear me?” He spoke again and lightly chuckled. “Did I accidentally purchase a deaf girl? I knew you were homeless but I didn’t know you were impaired too.”

I looked back at him and muttered in a quiet voice, “I-I heard you…”

He plopped his elbow on the armrest of the single-seated sofa and rested his chin on his fist, tilting his head at me. He acts so childish for someone with an entire organization on his palms. 

“I see. Are you still scared, perhaps? I know they’re scary,” his mouth pointed to the bulky men behind me, “but they’re nice guys. Or don’t tell me they didn’t treat you well?”

I stole a glance at one of them and noticed how they blanched with what the beastly man said casually, though I heard an underlying threat in his tone. I quickly shook my head. “N-No…They’re alright.”

“Alright,” he repeated, chuckling, both his deep dimples appearing. “Well, you must be scared of me, then. Don’t worry, I’m not aggressive. At least I don’t think so.”

Slowly nodding, I whispered a question, still avoiding his eyes. “W-When are we getting…married?”

I already knew the answer. I just wanted to ask clueless. I was a homeless waitress, after all. 

“Hmmm. Maybe next week? I have to prepare for the wedding first. Why? Are you excited?”

He wiggled his bushy eyebrows, eyes glinting with mischief. I did not want to know what thoughts his mind was overflowing with right now. I thought he’d be more intimidating, rude, and mature – like the usual boss. But I was way off and instead got myself tangled with a man child instead. Are they sure Jett Rios didn’t have a younger brother?

“N-Not really…Will I stay here only until next week?” 

“Oh, darling, no,” he quickly replied, shaking his head. “You’ll be here for over a year. Is the mansion that ugly for you to want to leave already?”

He should’ve just been a clown if he jokes this often. Does he not take anything seriously? His guards whom I had forgotten the existence of had been standing completely still behind me until he motioned one of them to come closer. I took a step aside, surprised, and watched the man lean into his Boss’s mouth as he whispered something. 

The man nodded continuously, and I quietly watched. Until the man left and the childish Boss turned to me. 

“I told him to get you some water and biscuits,” he casually informed me.

My brows rose, immediately masking the irritation with surprise. He whispered that long, only to request for a drink and some snacks? And here I thought they were talking about something important!

I gulped. “T-Thank you…I…Actually, I haven’t had a good meal for days…”

He dramatically sighed and fanned me from where he sat, as if the air he made would reach me. He hasn’t even asked me to sit!

“That explains your skin and bones body! That won’t do, darling! I don’t want to marry a corpse in a week!”

I bit my lower lip. His backhanded jokes are getting on my nerves.

Is he this childish? Or is he drunk? I can’t believe I have to put up with him for a year! He looked intelligent, domineering, and powerful at first glance but now that he opened his mouth, he’s a total jackass! I’ve never regretted accepting a mission but I think that streak is going to be destroyed soon. Nonetheless, I feigned to be offended by his remark and forced out crocodile tears. 

One trickled down my left cheek and I sobbed.

“I’m—I’m sorry, Mr. Rios. If you want another wife, I can— “

I stopped when he stood up and took the glass of water the man he ordered gave and made his way to me.

The amusement was completely gone in an instant and he turned nonchalant in the blink of an eye – is he sick? Suffering some kind of disorder, or does he just handles his emotion that well? I watched him near me and my gaze dropped to the glass of water when he quietly pushed it in my direction. The sudden change surprised me and my tears completely disappeared. 

                “I didn’t mean to make you cry, nor did I know that you cry so easily,” he murmured under his breath, his voice a pitch or two lower than his joking one. I clearly heard what he said because of our close proximity. “Well, I should’ve guessed it when you looked so frail and a total crybaby. Apologies, my bride.”

                He is a very confusing man. One moment he was like a twelve-year-old and then a completely mature man acting his age. I gulped and accepted the glass with slightly trembling hands. Hurried footsteps made their way outside while I drank and realized he had ordered them to leave, closing the door as the last one left. 

We were alone in the drawing room at past midnight. Finally, he offered me a seat at one of the couches and I hesitantly went to the widest couch. 

“I figured I wouldn’t joke around you too much, so let’s get to business,” he started and my nervous dark eyes met his calm, nonchalant light brown ones.

“I spent quite a lot for you, Fallon.”

The hair on my nape rose when he said my name. 

“A million dollars for a dirt-stained homeless girl like you who was fired at the club she worked at as a janitress for 10 years, where she also stayed. I heard you’re also an orphan and stayed at an orphanage for two years.” I was surprised when he memorized my background. “You could do a good makeover and you’d be perfect as my wife.”

“W-Was that…an insult?” I quietly mumbled. 

He barked out in laughter. “You seem to see everything negatively, my bride. It wasn’t an insult. It was the truth. But, don’t worry, because I’ll only ask for your presence for only a year.”

He casually continued, as if not realizing he insulted me again, “I need a wife for a year. Just a year, and it’s over. I’ll let you go, roam the streets outside or the rest of the world, I won’t care. Of course, you’ll be compensated enough to last you a lifetime, and I will get the legacy my mother left behind.” 

For someone who acts like a child, he sure does phrase things well. If I didn’t know the truth beforehand, I would’ve been enticed with this setup. But I don’t have a choice. To be offered this setup is the very reason I even bothered creating a weak, frail, and gullible Fallon Ravestreen.

“What do you think?”

I feigned astonishment and eagerly nodded. As a homeless, hopeless girl, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get out of rock bottom. As an undercover spy looking to infiltrate his organization, this is a plan going along smoothly.

But I knew I should’ve expected a childish guy like him not to run a multi-million-dollar chain of businesses and that my initial impression of him stands to be correct — that he was a savage beast. Like me, he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.