Chapter 005

~LANA~

The next morning, I woke up as usual and prepared myself for work.

I dressed up and put on a jacket because the weather was a little bit chilly.

I tied my hair into a bun, and when I was satisfied with my look in the mirror, I headed to the kitchen to have breakfast.

After I was done and had had breakfast, my phone beeped.

A text from Dax.

Dax: "Be ready in two hours. I'm going to pick you up. I have a meeting that I need to attend with you."

"He got to be kidding," I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I read the text.

But then again, I didn't tell him that I had a job at the coffee shop.

As I was contemplating whether to go to work or not, my phone beeped again. Money transfer of $5,000.

And a text from Dax.

Dax: "Get yourself a nice dress."

'Did he just send me my monthly salary to get a dress with it?' I muttered to myself as I looked at the bank notification.

I sat down on my kitchen chair, and it then started to sink in that I signed a contract with Dax to be his fake wife in exchange for money to get my heart operation.

What I didn't expect was for him to start sending me money for things such as dresses to wear for him.

And I wondered... 'Why the fuck do I still need my job again?'

I took $4,000 from the money that Dax sent me and got it into my savings account because I knew that with the thousand, I was going to get a very nice dress and shoes.

No one would know how much it cost me.

"Good morning, Ben," I said on the line after he picked his phone up.

"Yes, Lana. Why aren't you at work?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, I'd like to report in sick." I bit my lip, nervously dreading his response.

"You used all your sick days, Lana. You're facing another warning if you're not going to report to work in 30 minutes." His voice came out harshly as usual.

I contemplated my next answer because I had two hours to get a dress for whatever meeting that Dax needed me to attend with him.

"Fine, Ben. I quit," my heart raced.

I wondered if I was making the right decision by quitting a job that I struggled so hard to keep.

I'd been working in the cafe for the past year, and it helped to settle a great amount of my student loan and pay my rent.

It turned my life around, and I was able to look after myself and not worry about where my next meal would be, even though some days were better than others. I survived with that job.

"What? No, you're not! You need the money, and I want you in here in 20 minutes!" He snapped.

"Sorry, Ben. I quit," I said as I quickly hung up the call.

He called back after a second, but I sent him through voicemail.

Ugh, there was no need for me to work there anymore. I was going to make enough money being Dax's wife, and I would be able to get my heart transplant and open my gallery someday to sell my drawings.

I went back to my bedroom to change and headed to the nearby shopping center for a little shopping.

I found a very beautiful silk, black dress that was long and had a little cut on the left thigh.

I already imagined myself in it, being snatched from the waist by it. And Xavier seeing me in it... Ugh.

I was so confident that I was going to look fire in it. And it only cost me $187!

I bought some shoes too with a matching handbag and they both cost $436.87.

I saved $376 from the thousand budget I had.

I was happy. I had to remind myself every second I was in that clothing store that I was doing this for the money.

It was not for me to get clothes and look fancy, but it was for me to get my heart and live.

"If it isn't Miss Williams the orphan..." A familiar voice I detested with every ounce of my flesh said behind me.

I was in the queue to pay for my outfit when I turned around and saw her and her group of friends.

Sasha Johnson. Even after high school, she still found the pleasure of making life horrible for me by making snarky comments about me being an orphan.

I put a smile on my face and pretended as if I wasn't bothered at all. Just like I had always done.

"Hey there, Sash."

"Oh, aren't you so lovely? Why are you here?" She looked me up and down.

"Shopping for a very special date." I smiled.

She chuckled. "Oh, my word. You don't say. You’re spending all this money here for a boy? Aren't you homeless or something?"

Her friends laughed.

I composed myself as best as I could and tried not to snap in front of the whole store.

"Pfff... Me and homeless? You've got to be mistaking me with somebody else. Unlike you, I don't get things given to me with a silver spoon, I work my ass off for every dime that I have now."

She snarled. "At least I don't have to worry about where my next meal of the day is going to be."

I smiled. "Luckily, I don't have to worry too."

"You will always be -"

"Excuse me, I have to pay for this before I get late for my date." I cut her off before she could finish her sentence and turned around to the queue line and paid for my purchases.

When I walked out of that clothing store, I was on cloud nine.

I was cruising on air and just happy at how perfect my day had started.

Nothing gave me more happiness than knowing that I did not let anyone walk over me and talk anyhow to me because they think that they have the right to.

Sasha was good at talking people down so that she could feel better about herself, which wasn't hard for me to see.

But now, we were out of high school, and compared to her, I was doing much better.

She only depended on her parents' money while I worked for mine.

***

About an hour later, Dax came with his car and picked me up.

We went to his penthouse first to pick up a few things when we walked in on someone in his living room.

"Hey baby, you're home -." She stood up the moment she saw me walking inside the house with Dax.

"What is she doing here?" She pointed her finger at me.

"No. What are you doing in my house, Sasha?" Dax asked her.

"Who is she to you, honey?" I asked Dax.

Dax sighed. "Get out of my house, Sasha. And give me back those damn keys."

I felt goosebumps. A smile just spread on my face, and I was beyond happy.

Seeing her being humiliated in front of me was a joy. I couldn't even bother that they had a thing going on.

What mattered was that I was the one he made the contract deal with, and I was going to get the money and be out of his life.

Maybe then, she was going to get a chance to claim him as her own.

"Who is she anyway to you? You skank, did you just -" She was about to insult me when Dax cut her off.

"The skank you're referring to, Sasha, is my wife." He said firmly.

I folded my arms, and a crooked smile spread on my face.

I didn't realize that it would sound so perfect to be called his wife until this very moment.

It finally seemed like I was going to have the best year yet because of this title in his life. And my heart flattered.

She scoffed. "What? You're joking, right?"

"She's my wife, and I'm not joking, and I want you out of my house," Dax answered.

"I'm your girlfriend, Dax." She protested. "Not a while ago, you were fucking me in your office!"

"I told you, and I will tell you again, you and I are not in a relationship! Got it?" Dax grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the door.

"This is not over, Lana. Mark my words." She snarled before the door got closed in her face.

"She was your girlfriend?" I asked once Sasha was thrown out.

"No, we were just fucking." He answered, rushing to get whatever we came to his penthouse to get.

"We know each other," I commented.

"I noticed. But that doesn't matter now. You are my wife, and we have to make everyone believe that." He said, browsing through a file.

I nodded and bit my lip. "Yes. Right. So, why didn't you ask her to be your wife?"

Dax stopped browsing his file and looked at me. "I have my reasons for doing things, Lana, and I don't need to explain my life to you."

Truly speaking, I wasn't expecting that kind of answer.

I swallowed hard and decided to keep my peace and stop asking too many questions when this was going to save my life.

And besides, I didn't need to know anything about his life.

I only needed to play the perfect wife for people to see and go with him wherever he wanted me to be.

When he had found his file, he closed the door, and we left for his meeting.

I hoped that now that people were going to know that we were married, I was not going to get myself in hot waters.

After all, Dax was the billionaire bachelor who owned clubs and bars around the country and was an heir to the biggest company in the country.

He was a dream of every girl.

Except mine... Of course.

When we got inside the car, Dax rolled down the windows and looked at me.

"My father, Xavier, and other people are going to be there. So, I need you to relax and only talk when they ask you something, okay? And don't forget how we met if the others ask."

I nodded and hoped that I wasn't going to ruin anything, considering that Xavier was going to be there.

It wasn't really necessary for him to be there. He must have jumped at the opportunity of being in that meeting to only see me and make sure that he exposed my lies just like he almost did at that family dinner.

"Do you think your brother likes me as your wife?" I asked Dax as he was driving.

"What do you mean?"

"He was mean that night, don't you remember?"

"He was being protective of me. That's what he always does. And, of course, he does like you," he looked at me and smiled.

I smiled back.

"He mentioned that your parents died. When was that?" He was looking at the road.

I sighed and looked away through the window. "My parents died when I was 5 years old."

I felt emotional and didn't want to tell him everything that happened that day they died or what happened to me next.

My life has been hard without my parents, and I didn't want people to see that.

It was already enough that I grew up being bullied by Sasha because I was an orphan.

I didn't want someone else to pity me.

"Oh, Lana, I am so sorry. I can't imagine what it must have been like losing your parents at such an early age. I am sure a family member was happy to take care of you," he drove to a stop.

I looked at the building and turned my attention to him with a smile on my face. "Can we go inside now?"

"Sure, if -"

I got out of the car and didn't wait for him to say whatever he wanted to say after I told him about my dead parents.

We were here to make our fake marriage believable, nothing more.