7.

Ivanović POV

Groaning, I turned on the bed and my hand hit something, opening my eyes at once. I winced when I saw the naked feature sleeping so peacefully beside me.

I was really drunk last night and I’d thought that the girl would’ve left by now. I hated waking up with my one night stand still by my side.

“Get the hell up, you should leave,” I tried to be as nice as I could as I nudged her awake but she still didn’t stand up and she’d instead changed her sleeping position.

Frustrated, I shook her till I was sure that she was fully awake, “what time is it?” She slurred but I didn’t care about that, all I wanted was for her to get the hell out of my house.

“Time for you to leave, I guess,” I answered as I helped her with her bags and clothes, “I had a great time, you can leave now.” I finished as I pushed her out of my bedroom naked.

I had no idea if she left already but if she knew what was good for her she would leave before I came back outside. Tired, I walked back to my bed to check the time and it was past midnight already.

Burying my face in the pillow, I decided to go back to sleep.

******

The loud noise that came from my bedside alarm jolted me awake and I had my Virtual Assistant call out my schedule while I got ready for work.

I needed to address the press about the progress of our new partnership and I also wanted to let both of my best friends know that I’ve found Lexi, the girl I was in love with for years.

“Cassian!” Ansel called, jolting me out of my thoughts. I’d tried to stop thinking about her but it seemed as though the more I tried the more I couldn’t stop.

“We have a lot of work to do and Reece is already so busy as it is considering you don’t have a personal assistant,” he said urgently, “what do you want to tell us?” He finished with a question.

“I found her.”

“Found who?” Ansel and Reece asked almost at the same time and I rolled my eyes as I groaned.

“Lexi Finn.” I answered but that didn’t clear their confusion. Pulling off my jacket, I reminded them about Lexi and told them everything they already knew about me and her before they were able to remember it all.

“So, did she recognize you? Did she tell you why she did what she did?” Reece asked and I shook my head negatively.

“She met me as Ivanović Volkov and we’re getting married in three days.” I answered and Reece’s iPad had almost fallen out of her hand.

“What?!” They both yelled, I was expecting the reaction from them so I took my time to explain to them that it was nothing serious.

“I’m over Lexi and we’re only getting married because that way I’ll be able to take my revenge on her,” I smirked.

“She’ll only be my wife on paper, nothing more than that, I just want to give her a taste of the medicine she fed me years ago.” I explained.

“It’s been years, Cassian, you claim to have moved on but then you go ahead to propose a contract marriage because you know that her step father needed the help your Russian family will render while you’re married to her?” Ansel pointed out and I nodded.

I was over Lexi Finn but I wasn’t over the way she made me feel that night on our last prom, I told her all about my plan only for her to make me look stupid for planning it.

I was known as the nerdy boy and Lexi has always been popular, she moved around with the queens and kings of college and when we started talking I knew that there was no way she would want a guy like me.

I was myself with her, she loves technology so much that we’ll spend hours talking about it and that night I’d asked her to be my date which she agreed to.

FLASHBACK

Waiting under the blizzards, I knew that Lexi wouldn’t stand me up and she was probably just running late because of the problem her parents had.

I was unable to hide my shock when my supposed date came to prom with the school’s famous baseball player hand in hand.

“L… Lexi?” I called, my voice failing me as I called her, she had walked past me and acted like she didn’t see me standing, waiting for her.

“Hey, Cassian, meet Xander, my boyfriend.” She introduced her date to me and I could swear that everything around me paused when she introduced him to me as her boyfriend.

I asked her to be my date and she agreed, I’d planned on asking her to be my girlfriend. I spent three years of my life in high school serving her, she was everything to me.

“Isn’t that the loser that calls you every night?” Xander asked and Lexi only laughed, “Thanks for all the homework, I’m top of the class and still on the baseball team thanks to you.” He finished as they both walked into the school hall.

It all made perfect sense to me now, Lexi was only with me because she needed my help, she needed me to help her boyfriend remain on the baseball team.

I did all of the assignments and wrote all the essays because I thought it was hers and it made her happy anytime I finished. It usually makes her so happy that she would hug and kiss me on my cheek.

I should’ve known.

Humiliated, I ran out of school and got myself lost in the woods that my parents had to find me and that same night, I lost both my parents in a car crash.

**********

“Making her suffer and keeping her caged in something as huge as marriage is too much.” Reece’s voice put a halt to my thoughts.

Shaking my head negatively, I told her that it wasn’t even enough and I intend to make her suffer much more than just keeping her in a marriage.

“She has to feel the pain I felt and I won’t stop until she comes crashing down in front of me.” I said through gritted teeth.

Picking up my phone, I decided to call Lexi for a private meeting in order to discuss the term of the contract she’d signed.