Chapter 3

Alexander is right. He is Lucas’s competitor, and if I marry him, Lucas will surely be more annoyed with him and hate him even more. That's when I will come into the picture and do my part.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I will need the documents tomorrow?" Alexander's voice came floating out of the living room and I strolled to him, and saw that he was still on the phone.

Did the man never take a break from work? 

Surely, his staff could hold the forte, especially after considering the fact that it was the night of his wedding and obviously his honeymoon. 

Even though our marriage was not real, I expected him to at least take a break. Just as I was about to leave, he ended the call so I decided to join him on the sofa. 

He turned towards me immediately, his brows raised. "I'm sorry, did you want something?" he asked me.

I swallowed, wondering where to start. His tone was somewhat cold.

"I was hoping that we could talk... You know, get to know each other?" I snuck a glance at him from under my lashes and ?ushed when I saw his steel grey eyes staring at me fiercely. 

That gaze unsettled me, had me stumbling to get the words out. "Seeing as we just got married and it's our honeymoon and all that... It's a good idea for us to..." I paused, groped for ways to express myself. 

"You're referring to us bonding, perhaps doing what regular married people do, am I right?"

I bit my lip. "Yes. More or less..."

"Flo, perhaps I wasn't clear when I told you about the terms of the contract. This is not a real marriage. Our union as business transaction, which is what it is. I want and expect no emotional connection between us. We will just have to live under the same roof, but we don't even have to see each other everyday. What I expect is for you to sometimes accompany me to some rather tedious business dinners as my wife—That's all. You are free to do whatever you want with the rest of your time."

I winced at his words. He sounded too dismissive. I'm not saying we should act like a real couple and do what real couples usually do, but at least we could become friends.

"Oh, we will be sleeping in different rooms. Your room is the first door on your right after you climb the stairs. If you don't like it, tell the housekeeper. She'll show you to another." He paused, eyeing me in a serious manner. "Are we quite clear now?"

I forced myself to meet his eyes. "Very clear!"

"Good. If you'll excuse me, I have some rather urgent business matters to attend to. Have a good night."

I clenched my fist to stop the urge to hurl one of the sofa pillows at his head as he walked away. A miserable, hollow feeling began to creep up my chest.

He was right... again. Our marriage was simply just for show. I had to put that in my mind and live my life the best way. But why was I so bothered that he wouldn’t bond with me? 

A minute later, I shufled to my room, turned off the lights and curled up in a fetal position on the bed. I lay awake for a long time in the dark, sad and trying to reconcile myself to the fact that my marriage to Alexander was not going to be hearts and flowers. 

“It’s just strictly business,” I mustered to myself before dozing off to sleep. "A pure business."

I woke up at the crack of dawn, showered, got dressed, had breakfast and then sat in my room, moping. I didn't know what to do with myself. The house was so big and I wondered how I would get through the days, weeks and months ahead. 

A knock sounded at my bedroom door. 

"Come in," I said. 

Alexander came in. He was dressed in an immaculate grey suit, white shirt and grey tie. He looked exotic and I flushed slightly.

"Hi." He gave me an appraising look. "Plan on staying in here all day?”

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll see something on the television later," I said vaguely.

"Instead of staying in this house all day, go out and spend some of my money. I have lots of it." He took steps closer to me and dropped a credit card on the table. "Buy anything you want. Clothes, bags, shoes, or cars. You are now Sterling, Florence... not Hilton."

Without another word, he turned on his heel and left. I fingered the credit card he left and after several minutes of thinking, I decided to go shopping. However, I was still shocked that he had given me his credit card. Lucas had never done that in our three years of marriage. 

I drove to a classy shopping mall I had never been to before. I was welcomed gracefully and I wondered if it had anything to do with being Alexander's wife. 

I went straight to the clothing aisle, browsed through pricey clothes and picked anyone that took my fancy. Having had enough of clothes, I turned the corner to the section for jewelry and almost bumped right into Lucas. I froze, as he did. Seeing him again sent a searing pain through my heart.

I looked away at once and made as if to pass him. 

"Florence," he barked at me. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

I walked on. He grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around to face him. 

"What the hell, Lucas?!" I hissed. "Have you lost your mind?!"

Lucas' eyes flashed angrily. "Don't you dare walk away from me when I'm talking to you! Why are you even here?!"

I scoffed at him. "What do people do in shopping malls?"

He grabbed the clothes slung over my arm. "Go shop somewhere else."

"Lucas!"

I attempted to take back the clothes. He drew his arm back and yelled in my face. "Are you bloody deaf? I said get out!"

"This is not your property—"

He sarcastically laughed. "I am one of the partners of this mall and I have the right to send out undeserving customers like you. Now leave before I call security to throw you out."

I started to say something, but stopped. Lucas' outburst had already drawn a circle of onlookers. I hesitated, then stormed out with my head held high. 

"That's right. Get out and never come back," he yelled after me. 

I fumed. He is really a douchebag. I had never been as embarrassed like that in my entire life.

I was so furious that my hands were shaking when I dialed Alexander's number. He was the only one who could solve my problem with Lucas and put him in his place. 

"Yes?" he answered curtly. "Do you need something?"

"I took your advice and went shopping!" I shouted at him. I don't care. After all, it's his fault. "I ran into Lucas at the mall and he threw me out. He said he’s one of the partners in the mall," I told him, my breath rising and falling. 

"What mall is that?"

“Leré!"

"Give me a minute. I'll call you back. Don't go anywhere," he replied, then ended the call immediately. 

I went into my car to wait, eyeing Lucas as he paraded around the mall in an attempt to taunt me. After waiting for about five minutes, I received a call from Alexander. I quickly answered it, hoping he had some good news for me. 

"You're now free to do anything you want in there. I just bought the mall for you from the CEO. All partnerships including with Lucas has been terminated. Any of the staff can call the head office to confirm this." He hung up before I could say anything else.

What the hell?

I know he's rich and he said I could spend his money on anything, but I didn’t know that I could also buy properties with it.

I stared at the phone, my mouth agape. Then the excitement hit. I could literally do anything I wanted?

I approached two security guards, and told them what Alexander had said. They checked and confrmed it was true. With the guards fanking me, I sashayed into the mall, and I found my ex husband talking to one of the mall's staff.

I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and did a double take at the sight of me. 

"Florence?" he thundered. "I thought I told you to get out—

"You are the one getting the hell out." I smiled at him sweetly. "Security, throw this man out."

The guards immediately rounded him up and began leading him out. When Lucas resisted, they grabbed his arms. And he stared at them in disbelief. 

"What the fuck?! Get your hands off me!" He shouted. "She doesn't give the orders here! Don't you know who I am?! Fuck, I'm your boss!"

"Not anymore, Lucas." His stunned look was like salve to my wounded ego. "I just bought this mall. My husband bought this for me, to be exact."