Chapter 4

Emily was shaking inwardly, her thoughts were consuming her as she ate cup noodles with her younger brother. 

"Earth to Emily," Nate, her brother, who was lying on the ground, partially leaning on the wall, caught her attention.

"Y-yes?" 

He blinked at her. "I was talking for ten minutes straight, and you haven't heard a thing?" Nate was looking at her knowingly. "What's bothering you, sis, hmm?" He leaned forward, his eyes filled with concern.

If she were to describe her brother, she'd say adorable. Nate was already eighteen years old and he's one of those popular boys at school, not only because of his looks but also because of his charm and intelligence. But in front of her – his sister – he was a baby. He was pouting at her for not answering his question.

"Tell me, are you having a hard time at work? Did anyone bully you?" He suddenly turned serious, so Emily poked his cheek. 

"As if anyone can bully me." 

Nate nodded in agreement, "True," then he whispered, "because I'll punch them hard if they did." 

Emily heard it, so she flicked Nate's forehead, and he pouted even more. Both of them laughed afterwards.

It was a light dinner, and they were both having fun talking to each other and sometimes teasing each other until they cleaned up and got ready to go to bed. 

But Emily still couldn't shake off what happened two days ago. Everything was still fresh in her mind, as if it had just happened a while ago. How could she even forget that? 

She was about to make a contract with the devil... 

Richard Beaufort Cooper had just told her to fake date him.

It was all for the sake of his peace, according to him. The old man – Edward – Richard's grandfather, wanted him to have a love life, so he wouldn't be consumed by work and become a ruthless person solely living for the sake of earning and expanding connections. His grandfather was worried sick about him, but he was brushing it off – for him, he was just doing what he was best at – that's to work professionally, may it be in the form of ruthlessness or arrogance; he didn't care.

Emily could still remember how she reacted to him explaining. Being the kind of person she was, Richard's principle in life didn't sit well with her, of course. She didn't really answered him directly. 

He just handed her a piece of paper where the content of the contract was written. And that piece of paper was now in her hand, she was scanning it over and over again, trying to think clearly and be smart with her decision.

The introduction of the contract was simple – it was rather short. It only stated an oath of loyalty, which both of them had to agree to before signing anything. 

"As we previously discussed, I require your presence at various social events to maintain the illusion of a romantic relationship for the benefit of my grandfather – and me. In exchange, I will provide you with a generous compensation package, including a monthly allowance and reimbursement for all expenses incurred while accompanying me to events. Your role will be to pretend to be my girlfriend, and you will be expected to maintain this charade in public at all times. This arrangement will remain in effect until further notice."

She could still hear Richard's voice, like it was ringing in her ears. Tomorrow was the weekend already, and they had to go to the Philippines. 

Emily was still excited. At least that feeling didn't die down. It was her first time going to a charity event like that, and she wouldn't miss the opportunity because it had always been her dream to help others in need. 

Tomorrow would be her basis if she'd agree to the contract or not. She just wanted to know something about Richard – she wanted to get to know him, even if it was just a little bit.

She was sighing and thinking about the contract until she fell asleep. 

Morning came, and she woke up really early. It was Nate; he woke her up because someone was looking for her. 

She was still half asleep when Nate said that a handsome man with a Mercedes-Benz S-class car was outside, waiting for her. Hearing that, she forced herself to wake up and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 

It was 5 am! 

She wanted to kick Richard's ass for ruining her weekend sleep after tiring her for the whole weekdays.

Grumbling, she readied herself and tried her best to look decent. She hurriedly went down after making sure everything was good and ready. She was about to walk outside her room when she heard her brother and Richard's conversation.

"Wow, you're really a CEO?! I'm not dreaming, right? You also own that Mercedes-Benz outside, too, then?" He was clearly beaming. 

She heard Richard laugh lightly, "Yes, you're right."

"If you're the CEO, then why are you the one fetching my sister?" 

Emily hurriedly intervened, hoping to put an end to the questioning. She shot Richard a warning smile, but he just smiled even brighter.

"Your sister is my girlfriend, Nate," Richard said casually, dropping the bombshell. 

Nate's mouth dropped, and he gasped loudly as Richard rested his arms on Emily's shoulders. Emily's face turned beet red, and she was about to remove Richard's arms when Nate suddenly grabbed her and positioned himself between her and Richard.

"Don't touch my sister," Nate said seriously, his eyes blazing with a protective glare.

Rchard looked taken aback by the sudden change in treatment. 

Emily calmly intervened, trying to diffuse the tension. "Hey, it's okay, Nate."

But Nate was not having it. "Is he telling the truth?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at Emily.

She felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Richard was staring at her intently, waiting for her answer, and Nate was glaring at her, expecting the truth.

Emily took a deep breath and tried to muster up a calm smile. "He's courting me, I haven't answered him yet." 

Nate looked relieved, but Richard's face was a mask of confusion. 

Emily could sense his surprise, but she didn't care. 

She was not going to commit to anything until she saw how the charity event went and got to know Richard better. And who knows, maybe she could even tame the devil himself. 

'If you have a chance to be tamed, I'll definitely accept the challenge to tame you,' she thought, as she was slyly smiling at the back of her head.