CHAPTER 4  

DIANA’S POV

I couldn’t believe it. I just said yes to the proposal of a total stranger. What was I thinking when I said yes? He wasted no time, bringing forth a contract, which we both signed—a legal agreement that would bind us indefinitely.

I knew I would need money to raise this child without Leonard, and I also wouldn’t want my child to grow up without a father figure. Connor was willing to provide that, also offering to give me a job so I could start something for myself. On his end, he only needed a wife and a child to regain control of his company.

We had agreed that our marriage, in two days, would be fully based on the contract terms, and from then on, neither party would expect or request anything else from the other. This clause detailed that there would be no intimacy, forced proximity, or any emotional attachment or sentiments, as it was strictly a transaction between the parties.

“Hey, I’m back...” he said, walking back into the hospital room where I was after being out for over two hours.

He walked closer to me, and I could see his hand moving in his pocket. Suddenly, he brought something out from his pocket.

"Here, you'll have to put it on to validate our engagement in front of my parents," Connor said, tossing me something.

Picking it up, I noticed it was a ring box. I flipped it open and found a sparkling diamond ring.

At that moment, the choice I had made dawned on me all over again. To show it was just a mere transaction between us, I was supposed to wear the engagement ring on my own finger.

"Don't you like it? I can get you another one. Getting you a new ring wouldn't be a problem, as long as you'd put it on," he said desperately, desperate to regain control over his company.

"It's okay," I murmured as I took the ring and wore it on my finger.

"The doctor said you'll be discharged tomorrow. I'll come pick you up, so you have to be ready. We'll be having dinner with my parents tomorrow as well, so I'll be here in the morning," he said with a detached voice, like he was having a meeting with a staff member.

I nodded. He turned and walked through the door.

---

I had woken up as early as 7 a.m. to get prepared. I was discharged an hour after that.

I was stranded and couldn't go anywhere after being discharged, so I sat on the hospital bed waiting.

All I waited for was for him, Mr. Connor, the man I was going to get married to the next day.

Just as I looked at the time on my phone and wondered why he hadn’t come yet, the door opened, and I raised my head.

"Hi," I said calmly, seeing him walk in with a neatly pressed suit.

"Get your things and let's go," he said. His response to my greeting was just a nod; he didn't even say hello or a simple good morning.

He was the one who came late, but all he did after the delay was ask me to get my things and follow him, like he was my boss and we were at work.

I sighed. I had nothing to get. I was rushed to the hospital, and I didn’t even pack my things from Leonard's house as I left immediately when I learned about the pregnancy.

"Do you have any belongings you would like to take from your ex-husband's house?" he said, adjusting his tie.

I cleared my throat before speaking, my emotions choking my voice as he reminded me of Leonard again. Thinking of Leonard also made me think of Claire, the two people who betrayed me.

"I have nothing," I said to him in a calm voice as I stood up from the bed, hoping to follow him out.

But then, I noticed the way he was looking at me. He glanced at me from head to toe and sighed frustratingly.

"Is this all you have? No clothes?" he asked, as if shocked by my response.

"You've been married for three years and have nothing in your husband's house?" he asked.

"I... I just don't want to go back there. He warned me never to return," I said, avoiding his gaze a little because I felt ashamed of the situation I was in.

"We'll go to the store from here. If you're going to be my wife, you'll have to start looking like one," he said bluntly, and I was taken aback by his sudden change of attitude this morning. He wasn't so detached the previous night.

"Thank you," I murmured, and he didn't even give me a nod or any gesture in response. He turned and walked out.

I stood there a moment after he walked away, realizing what I had gotten myself into all because I needed money to take care of my baby.

Seeing the way he acted this morning, I believed he was trying to send a message across to me, reminding me that we owed each other nothing apart from what was stated in the contract.

I walked out of the hospital room and made my way to the expensive SUV belonging to Mr. Connor.

"Get in, let's go. We still have a dinner with my parents to prepare for," he said, and I quietly nodded and stepped into the car.

He drove off. Throughout the ride, he didn't even speak—not a single word to me. His eyes didn’t even turn in my direction; they were focused on the road.

Arriving at the store, he pulled out his wallet. He reached for a black card and handed it over to me.

"Take it. You can use it to get whatever you want from the store, but don't keep me waiting for long," he said. He sounded a bit rude, making me reconsider my choices.

I stared at the card in his hand for a while before moving my hand to receive it. He wasn’t acting that cold the first time we met. I was beginning to wonder what had changed.

"Thank you, I won't waste your time," I said to him, about to step out of the car, but then he cleared his throat.

"You should stop thanking me when I do things for you. This is all part of the transaction; it's a business. You have to understand that," he said in a low, calm but cold voice.

"Saying thank you doesn't mean I'm breaching the contract terms, Mr. Connor," I said to him, becoming a little irritated by his actions.

"I just wanted to show appreciation for—" I began to speak again in a lower voice this time, and he cut me off.

"For contracting you to be my wife? If that's not it, then I wonder why you keep thanking me," he said bluntly, and I stared at him for a moment, uncertain about what this marriage would be like for me.

I couldn’t complain, right? I knew exactly what this was before I signed up for it. He was right, it was a business, but it still didn't mean we would stop talking calmly and reasonably around each other.

He looked at me with a calmer gaze this time, his voice softening a little. "Look, what I'm saying is... you shouldn't forget that we are total strangers. I'm doing all this because I need you and your baby; that was why I signed to take care of all your responsibilities and needs."

"You can't thank me," he added, turning away from me to face the steering wheel.

I got out of the car without saying a word. I grabbed a few things from the store and wasted no time.

I got back to the car and slammed his black card into his hand, making him know I got the message and wouldn't say thank you to him again.

He froze for a moment, staring at me, but without words. I turned all my attention to my phone, pretending to be engaged by something.

He drove off with a force that almost made me bang my head against the dashboard.

---

"I'll show you to your room," he said, leading the way up the stairs.

I held the bags containing the things and clothes I got from the store as I walked up the stairs, following behind him.

We arrived at a door in no time, and he unlocked it and handed me the key.

"This will be your room. I'll have my assistant send some money into your account. She'll also help you with the work details at the office, but that won't be today, as we have to go to dinner."

I stepped into the room and sat on the bed, my eyes moving across the walls. I couldn't believe I was going to be living with a stranger indefinitely.

When I raised my head, I saw he was already gone. But before I could even think of going to shut the door, I saw him walking back into the room.

Just as he reached the bed where I sat, he tossed a tiny journal onto my lap.

"That's everything you need to know about me. It includes everything I already told my parents about the bride I was going to marry—her name, her life before we met, where she is from," he said, and my brows furrowed in confusion.

"Her... Her name? Do... Do you mean I'll have to—" I started, but he cut me off immediately.

"Yes, Diana. You'll have to change your name, your lifestyle, your hobbies, your life—everything needed for you to match what my parents already know about the lady who had the miscarriage," he said bluntly.