No Way Out

Ana

I entered the office to find two men seated and discussing. One was Ben, and the other was a man I'd never seen before.

Ben gave me a strangely comforting smile and asked, “How was the ride over?”

“You basically forced me to come here but sure, it was fine.” I glared at him.

He ignored my retort and continued. “Ana, this is my lawyer, Remi Laurent. Remi, this is my wife, Ana.”

Remi chuckled mischievously at the mention of ‘wife’ and Ben gave him a warning stare. I could tell that their relationship was more than that of lawyer and client. They were friends.

Remi rose and came over to where I stood. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Please, call me Remi.”

We shook hands. He was friendly, warm and courteous. He was so different from Ben's brooding personality and that was a welcome change. I liked him right away.

Ben poured himself a drink from the bottle of whiskey standing on his desk. He got up, picked up the glass, and went over to stand at the window, his hands in his pocket. He stared outside from the window, his back to us.

“Ana, we have a problem,” Remi said, opening a drawer. He brought out a newspaper and placed it on the desk in front of me. A copy of the contract I'd signed stuck out from under it.

“Remi is the lawyer that drafted the contract you signed,” Ben explained, turning briefly from the window where he stood.

But I still wasn't sure where any of it was going. My main purpose of coming all this way to meet him was to let him know that I wanted out of the agreement.

I wasn't going to take bullshit from him just because of money. I'd been a hard worker since I could remember and would do whatever it took to take care of my family, with or without his money.

And as for Tony? I would deal with him in my own way, like I'd always done for the past three years.

So I looked at Remi and stated boldly: “It doesn't matter anymore. I'm out. I want out of the contract.”

Still staring out of the window with his hands in his pocket, Ben chuckled and took a sip of his drink.

“I'm afraid you can't do that Miss Ana.” Remi said with a shrug.

“What do you mean?” I had a sinking feeling something sinister was going on. And just then, I remembered that I didn't go through the fine print before I signed the contract.

“Well, unfortunately, the terms of the contract states that you cannot terminate the arrangement you have with my client until 30 days elapses.”

My blood boiled and my face turned red in anger.

I was naive not to have read it but Ben was not going to force me to be his wife if I didn't want it. He was delusional for thinking he could.

“That's not my problem anymore. Here's your card Ben. Goodbye.” I dropped the Amex card on his desk and turned to leave.

“Aren't you a bit curious as to what will happen if you refuse to adhere to the terms of the contract?” Ben asked from the window.

But I didn't care at that point. I was done with whatever the hell this was. I got to the door and grabbed the handle, about to open it.

“You..will..go..to..jail, Miss Ana.”

I froze in my tracks. Did Remi just say jail?

“Excuse me?”

Ben turned and faced me fully, a devious glint in his eyes. “It's not his fault. I asked him to make it as foolproof as possible. And I was right to do it, knowing I could meet someone like you.”

My lips parted in shock, because it sounded like a joke and I didn't believe it. I snatched up the contract and pored intensely through it, but sure enough, there it was in very fine print:

Article VII: Early Termination Penalty

In the event that the Wife elects to terminate this marriage agreement prior to the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of execution, she shall be liable to six months jail time or a financial penalty in the amount of $1million, payable to the Husband within fourteen (14) days of such termination.

This penalty shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other rights or remedies available to the Husband under this agreement or applicable law.

By signing below, the parties acknowledge that they have read, understand, and agree to be bound by this Article VII.

Ben was such a selfish jerk! How could he not have told me?

“How could you not have told me about this ridiculous idea?”

“Who says I didn't? It was right there on the paper you signed. Missing it altogether was your fault, not mine.”

I clenched my fist, and shook my head in disbelief. How could I have been so naive? He'd deceived me.

Feeling foolish and defeated, my legs shook as I slowly turned. I took three steps back and soon found myself on a chair. I sank onto it and folded my arms on my chest in defiance.

He nodded towards Remi. “Give us a minute?”

Remi mouthed the words: “I'm sorry,” as he left the office. The door closed behind him with a gentle thud, leaving me and Ben all alone.

He came back and took his seat, directly facing me. He had a serious look on his face.

“Trust me, the last thing I want to do is be anyone's fake husband but we had an agreement and I need that deal with the investors to go through. So don't take it personally, this isn't about you. You are the last thing on my mind right now.”

What a load of crap.

He reached across the desk and pushed the newspaper closer towards me. “Check out the front page. You're famous now.”

My eyes widened on seeing the picture of me and him at the lounge. It was when he took me aside to argue, but they had taken the picture when we were both relatively calm, making it seem like two lovers who were just talking normally to each other.

It was then I understood why people were staring at me earlier.

However, the caption made me laugh out loud despite myself.

It read: DUMPED AT THE ALTAR, JILTED BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN FINDS LOVE AGAIN AFTER FIVE YEARS.

The man wouldn't know what love was if it hit him between the eyes.

“What's so funny?” He asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

‘What wasn't?’ I thought, but instead I answered simply, “Nothing.”

He was a grouch. He wouldn't get it.

“So? what does this have with anything?” I finally asked after reading the newspaper.

“You would have to move in with me.”

“Why don't we get married and have a big, nice wedding while we are at it?”

He gave me a strange look. “Careful what you wish for.”

Silence.

“I can't move in with you,” I finally said in a firm voice. “I have too much at stake.”

“Such as?”

“My mother is sick and needs someone to look after her.”

“Your mother? I thought you said it was your father who was sick?”

Shit! I'd slipped up.

I scrambled around in my mind for something to say but he cut me off before I could even begin to speak.

“I'll take care of your sick mother. That won't be an issue. She's going to get the best medical care possible.”

I released a sigh of relief.

I didn't want Ben finding out about Liam. I had a feeling it would only make things worse with him. But the thought of spending six months in jail was non-negotiable, and paying him a million dollars was obviously out of the question.

Fine, I would be his pretend-wife for 30 days, but I wasn't about to drag my innocent child into my mess.

“Listen, it's already out there in the press. Your stubbornness isn't going to change that fact. If we're supposedly married, people would naturally expect to see us together, especially at home.”

He removed his glasses and reclined in his chair, a tone of finality evident in his voice, “Get yourself ready, because you're coming home with me as soon as I make the necessary arrangements.”

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