Chapter 004

Madison's POV

“Your stupid relationship advice turned my girl into a bitch,” he snapped at me, “And I finally have the chance to take out my revenge on you.”

I was tongue-tied, yet again, as I recalled the story of the young billionaire who had gotten dumped by his girlfriend on the night that he tried to propose to her. 

The incident had gone viral almost immediately it happened a year ago, and it had been the talk of the whole city of Vegas. I could recall the comments I had made, which had clearly mocked the man who had been brutally turned down.

If only I knew I would wind up with the man in the present moment, I would have commented much differently back then. But it was too late. 

“What do you want? Please…” I had to beg, as it wasn't something that money could take away. “Just say it.” I was desperate to save what was left of my reputation.

He stared at those cold, brown eyes, which I had thought to be cute when I looked into them for the first time at the bar. But then, his stare was nothing short of cruel. 

“You and I, Madison,” he said, slowly backing away from me, as he turned to the drawers on the bedside table, “are going to make a deal.”

My conscience kept lashing at me, as I just couldn't take my eyes off his finely cut muscles, which looked almost sculpted. Edmund was miles away from that sort of perfection. 

I hated the fact that I was still comparing every man to Edmund at that point. That jerk wasn't supposed to be in my thoughts.

“What sort of deal?” I asked, bringing myself back into the moment, as I watched Kylian taking out some documents from one of the drawers. 

“You will be the mother of my children.”

I was suddenly still, as I waited for him to say that was a joke. But then, he didn't say anything, as he stared me in the eye with a serious stare. He had meant every word of what he had just said. 

“What?” I wanted to believe that my ear was still faulty from my unprecedented call from Edmund. 

“You will be my wife and the mother of my children,” he reiterated with a resolve that couldn't be mistaken. “The contract will be for a duration of two years, after which we will part ways.”

I suddenly broke out into laughter. “Good one…” I said, still laughing. But I noticed that he wasn't laughing at all. “You're serious?”

“Well, I am,” he retorted with a frown. “That's the only condition that will keep me from releasing your sex tape.”

The fearful feeling returned to me, as I was met by the dilemma. 

“So what's it going to be, Mika?” he asked, smiling. “Sex tape or—”

“Fine, I'll get married to you,” my sudden response took him by surprise. There was nothing more I could lose at that point. “I'll be the mother of your children.”

He was speechless, as he had probably been expecting more resistance from my end. “Alright then, you will need to sign on these—”

“But before that, I need to handle some unfinished business,” I interrupted. 

***

I was still incognito as I stood at Edmund's doorstep. It was still nothing short of a miracle how I had managed to get myself out of Kylian's hotel room without signing those papers. 

“Don't try anything funny…” Those were his last words to me when I left. He knew nothing of my plans to get away from Vegas to begin a new life after seeing Edmund one last time. 

There was no way I could be married to that monster, let alone be with him for two whole years. Speaking of living hell.

That was what I had purposed to do, and it seemed to be going perfectly as planned, except for the fact that I couldn't get myself to push the doorbell. 

After so many moments of hesitation, I decided to swallow my pride and announce my presence at Edmund's doorstep. I wanted to hang on to the hope that we could talk things out, and restore everything to the way it was. 

I had barely pushed the doorbell when the door came open. But it wasn't Edmund who opened up to me.

“Who are you?” the blonde woman who had opened the door stared at me with her brows furrowed. “Wait a minute… you are Madison…”

“Babe, who's at the door…” Edmund stopped halfway as he stood behind the woman, both of them staring at me like they had just seen a ghost. “What are you doing here, Madison?”

It was all happening too rapidly for my heart to keep up with the acceleration of the action. 

“Who's she?” I asked, trying to keep myself from breaking down. How could he have moved on so quickly, after ruining me and my career? 

Edmund sighed in seeming annoyance, as he turned to the strange-looking woman. “Babe, could you head in for a second, so I could handle this?”

“Handle this? Like I'm some sort of nuisance?” I bottled up my stirring emotions, as I was determined not to cry in front of him. 

“Well, you are a nuisance, and I don't want you anywhere in my life,” Edmund has never sounded so hateful in all our time together. “That's why I went to such extents to get rid of you.”

“But Edmund —”

“Don't call me,” he snapped at me. “Hearing the sound of my name come out from your lips makes me sick. I don't want to ever see you again.”

“Edmund, please…” the door slammed shut in my face, leaving me to the embarrassing solitude on his front porch. I took off the shades to wipe off the tears streaming down my face. 

I drowned in the abyss of hopelessness, as I wandered through the streets of Vegas. My life was in ruins, that couldn't be rebuilt. 

As I walked aimlessly, suddenly a car stopped in front of me, and two men came out from it. Without saying a word, they grabbed me and hurled me into the vehicle.

“Let me go…!” I screamed as the car zoomed off.