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Mia's POV

"What do you mean? I'm not following." The other man, named Ian said.

I wasn't following either. I was impatiently waiting for Mr gorgeous to open his mouth and answer Ian's question but he just kept staring at me with a stupid smirk on his face.

"I'm gonna marry Red over here." He blurted out.

"What?" I didn't intend for my voice to be that loud, but I couldn't help it. This was the most hilarious thing I've heard today.

"Since you've been eavesdropping on us for a while, you probably already know that my fiance has been cheating on me. I'm supposed to get married to her tomorrow but I can't because of what I just found out." He explained slowly like I was a little kid who wouldn't understand if he talked faster than that.

"I still don't get why you want me to marry you." I said to the man, as I took a step back. I knew I should have run away when I had the chance to.

"It's so simple, Red. You damaged my car but you don't have the money to pay for the repair, that's fine with me because you can just act as my substitute bride tomorrow as payment for the damage you caused." 

Why was he talking to me like that, I'm not a kid, and why did he keep calling me Red? I had only known him for a few minutes and he already gave me a nickname. 

But that aside, was this man okay? He wants me to marry him just because I damaged his car? That's so unfair.

"I'm sorry, sir. But I can't marry you. I don't even know who you are-"

"I'm Allen Walker." He cut me off.

"Knowing your name doesn't change the fact that I can't marry you. Look, I'm gonna repay you back. I'll find a way if you just give me some time." Who was I kidding, I had no hope of getting a job anytime soon, I was planning to go back to Alex after a few days to beg him so he would let me work at the restaurant again.

"She has no job, sir." Ian spoke up. How did he know that?

Ian stepped forward and passed a tab to Mr gorgeous, he took the tab from him and kept scrolling. What was he looking at? 

"Twenty-two years old, dropped out of college two years ago, only child, parents died in a car accident, currently unemployed, and buried in debts." Mr gorgeous read from the tab before looking up at me, staring directly into my soul. I felt so exposed.

I stared at both of them with wide eyes. How the hell did they get all the information about me? Was that legal? No wonder Ian had been quiet for a while, he had been running a background check on me. Okay, I don't really know Ian but I disliked him.

"I don't see how you are going to pay me when you're unemployed. You only said that so you can run away, right?"

"No, I'm not like that. I'm going to pay you."

"And how exactly do you expect me to believe that? You think I'm stupid?" He said and then laughed bitterly. How can someone as handsome as this be so cruel at the same time?

I should have gone home straight after talking with Kara, I shouldn't have eavesdropped on their conversation, I should have minded my business from the start.

I felt like crying, but I wasn't going to cry. I was not a weak person, only the death of my parents and period cramps have succeeded to make me cry.

"I really don't know why you're hesitating. I'm offering you an easy option. Just be my substitute bride for a day."

My eyes lit up at his words, just for a day? I thought he wanted me to be his wife forever.

"Just a day?" I asked him, just to be sure he wasn't playing with me.

"Yeah."

I started to consider it. It wouldn't be bad to be a stranger's substitute bride for just a day. I know I've made so many bad decisions in my life, I just hope this wasn't one of them.

"Okay." I finally agreed.

"Good girl. Now, get in the car." 

"What?" I asked in confusion. 

"Get in the car, I'm not gonna give you a chance to slip away from me."

"I've told you I'm not going to run away. I will come to the venue tomorrow morning if you give me the address." 

"No way. We are going to my house right now."

"Fine!" I started to march towards the passengers' side. I wasn't always this fickle, but I figured arguing with this man wouldn't get me anywhere.

Ian and Allen entered the car and I did too, they kept talking about how they were going to stop Allen's fiance from coming to the wedding.

"What about your parents?" Ian asked, he was the one driving the car.

"I'm going to explain the situation to them tomorrow." Allen answered.

"So, you found out your fiance has been cheating on you, big deal. I don't see the reason why you have to get married tomorrow, you could just cancel the wedding since you have a very valid reason to." I spoke up for the first time since we entered this posh car.

He wouldn't be the first man to cancel his wedding and definitely wouldn't be the last. People cancel their weddings when situations come up or when they have issues with their partners.

But honestly, it was kinda too late to say that. I had agreed and we were on our way to his house.

"You think I'm happy that I found out my fiancee is cheating on me? You think all these are fun to me?" Allen asked, his voice was becoming hard.

"No, I'm just saying you can make this whole situation a lot easier if you-" 

"You don't know anything, so just shut up and do as I tell you." He barked at me.

If I had said anything else, I knew I would be getting myself into trouble. He would probably not want me as his substitute bride anymore and tell me to pay up, where would I get the money from? It was better to keep quiet.

We finally got down from the car after Ian had parked at the underground parking lot. Allen and Ian walked towards the elevator while I followed them closely behind.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this." I muttered to myself as we got in. Both of them didn't even try to talk to me. Ian pushed the P button, which obviously stands for Penthouse. Of course people like him lived in a penthouse. 

I wondered what his house would be like. Was he living together with Ian? Were they brothers? Nah, I don't think so, there is no shade of resemblance between them.

The elevator finally stopped and we stepped into the penthouse. Both men were out of my sight before I knew it. My feet remained glued to the hardwood floor and my mouth was left wide open as I took in my surroundings.

I had never been in such a luxurious house before. The furniture looked so expensive that I was afraid to touch them, the walls were painted in gray and white and I noticed there were no pictures or paintings on the wall. I thought rich people liked them.

Something caught my attention as I kept looking around, it was a room close to the living room, it had floor to ceiling windows. My feet moved on their own will and soon I was inside the room.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. I could see the city and the sky from up here. It was a really beautiful sight. I could stay here all night and watch the stars.

There was a coffee table in the room and it had a few chairs around it. I guess this was a coffee room. Everything looked so expensive that it made me wonder who this man really was. 

I brought out my phone and searched for his name. I gasped but immediately covered my mouth with my palm as I stared down at my phone.

"Allen Walker, the only son of the Walker Group and the CEO of the company." I whispered to myself like someone would hear me.

Just like I had guessed before, Allen is a billionaire, a popular one.

How did I not notice when he told me his name? I guess I was lost in thought when he asked me to be his substitute bride.

I checked further and saw that he was engaged to Sophie Gallagher, a popular actress. Kara had been obsessed with Sophie, I guess she wouldn't be anymore if I told her what she did to her fiance.

"Would you like something to eat?" I heard a voice behind me, making me jump in fright.

I turned around and saw that it was Ian, my face morphed into a frown. He was partially the reason why I was in this mess. 

"No, thank you." I said curtly as I started to make my way out of the coffee room.

"I'm really sorry for how things turned out this night, my boss is going through a lot right now. He made the right decision by choosing not to marry that woman, he deserves a lot better." Ian said as he followed me outside of the room.

"Well, you wanna know what I think?" I asked before turning around to face him. "I think your boss doesn't know what he is doing. He only made this decision because he's heartbroken right now, he could have just canceled the wedding and let everyone know the truth. That is a very easy option." I dumped all my frustrations on Ian.

"You don't understand. If he cancels the wedding and tell people the truth, it will not only affect him or his parent's image, but also the company's." 

I guess I would never understand how the world of business runs. I thought Sophie alone would be affected if the truth was exposed.

"I really have no choice, do I?" 

"No, you don't." He said with a tight smile.

"I'll take you to your room now. Some people will be here very early tomorrow morning to dress you up and prepare for the wedding." 

He took me to the room I was supposed to stay in for the night and stopped in front of the door.

"You might not see Allen again until you get to church for the wedding. You don't have to worry about him. Take care of yourself. Good night, Mia." He said with a slight bow as he turned back and made his way through the hallway.

I took a deep breath as I held the door handle and pushed the door opened. My heart kept hammering in my chest. Why did I feel like I was about to make a huge mistake? Was I about to make one? Lord, help me.