Chapter 5

"Lily…"

Carl's lips were trembling.

The love of his life was going to marry someone else.

And the Sables' infinite wealth was going to that person too!

That was when Lily turned to smile at Carl. "Sorry, Carl. I can't really talk now—it's been a while since I've met my fiance, and I should catch up."

"But I—"

"Read the room, dude!"

Skyler snorted coolly at Carl just then, looking utterly impatient. "We need space for some hanky-panky. Or are you so thick that you'd insist on third-wheeling?"

Carl wanted to leap toward Skyler and tear him to pieces.

But could he really do that? Absolutely not!

Even as his heart bled, all he could do was shoot a venomous glare at Skyler, and excuse himself with the worst smile ever…

"Skyler, come with me," Lily then said as she started going upstairs, and told the old butler who followed her into the mansion earlier, "Hugh, please send for Mr. Leigh."

-

Soon, Skyler and Lily arrived on the third floor to study.

It was locked from the inside, as Lily sat behind the expensive rosewood desk while Skyler sat opposite her.

She pulled a stack of documents from a drawer and started arranging everything, while Skyler kept staring at her.

Lily frowned, noticing that.

She was aware of why her grandfather had contacted a comrade before his passing to stage this fake marriage. After all, he foresaw that with his passing, she would find herself up against the innumerable rivals of Sablecorp, and her supposed allies coveting her family's wealth.

That was why her grandfather resorted to the strategy of misdirection—by diverting all the troubles she would face to a stranger—her fake fiance.

Her grandfather had told her that he was extremely skilled, and could stop any threats coming her way.

However, she was already getting worried.

The prick had hugged her as soon as they met, and was now staring at her too much.

Was Grandpa's plan really going to save her, or was he just sending a fox in the henhouse?

Honestly, Lily couldn't find herself having faith in him.

She abruptly looked up at him just then, "What are you looking at?"

Skyler simply chuckled. "...shall in Love delight, nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright."

Lily was left obviously stunned. "How'd you know…"

That was the poem from which her name was derived, and it shocked her that he recited it.

Still, she decided right then that her grandfather must have told him!

"Here's the agreement," she said, sliding the stack of documents she compiled towards Skyler in one fluid motion. "Run through it, and sign it. Any issues can be discussed at a later time."

It was a thick stack, but Skyler picked up the fountain pen without even a look.

It left Lily doing a double take. "You're not going to read it?"

"No reason to. For me, it's just a job."

Lily paused, hesitant but soon explained, "The gist is that 51% of Sablecorp shares will be transferred to you after we marry. However, you won't be involved in company management, you can't trade those shares with a third party, and you won't get a share of year-end bonuses."

"In a nutshell, you're a shareholder in name only, and without any authority it entails. We'd then divorce in a year, and all the shares would be returned to me, while you leave with no strings attached."

"No problem."

Lily thought it necessary to explain so that Skyler understood his position, but he simply nodded.

Lily mused to herself for a moment, before saying, "Naturally… After a year and the plan was executed perfectly, I could offer you further rewards…"

"That's unnecessary."

"Don't you have any requests?"

"Hmm…"

Skyler thought about it, and chuckled, "Can we cut this short?"

"What?"

"Like cutting the one-year contract to six months."

Lily stared blankly at Skyler, suddenly feeling ill at ease.

While the marriage was fake, and Skyler would be a fake shareholder, he would still be gaining a very glamorous position that many would respect, even fawn over…

But did he really not care for it at all?

At the very least, Lily was confident about her looks, and that countless men would desire to marry her… Even if it was a fake marriage.

But this man wanted to shorten it?!

"No? Fine. It's not that big of a deal," Skyler shrugged at Lily's blank look, flipping to the last page of the agreement and signing his name.

Whoosh!

Lily once again drew a blank as she saw Skyler's signature.

It was so beautiful, curved like a dancing serpent—it was the standard of masters.

"Done."

Skyler was done signing both sets of agreement, and returned the fountain pen to Lily.

"Oh…"

Lily came to her senses, checking the signatures before adding, "By the way, I've only covered the situation on Sablecorp. There are other details in there, so read through it after it's notarized."

"What details?" Skyler asked nonchalantly.

"No physical contact… unless it's in public, and we don't want to arouse suspicion. Only hug me or hold my hand when the situation calls for it—and when I say hug, make sure you're not touching me."

While Skyler was left shocked, Lily continued, "My bedroom is connected to this study, so you'll be sleeping here while I sleep in the bedroom. Not one step into my room!"

"I could sleep elsewhere—"

"No! People will see through us!"

As Skyler was left speechless, Lily added, "Oh, and you'd have to learn the etiquette for prestigious social events. You might be attending them with me."

"Alright, that's enough."

Skyler smiled, shaking his head from the sheer headache this was giving him. "I'll read through it when I have the time.

Goddammit.

He had only come to help, and she had to set so many rules… It felt as if he was forced by the Trade Federation to sign an unfair treaty that would legalize their invasion.

Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Hugh arrived with a middle-aged man—Julian Leigh.

He was a confidant of Lily's grandfather, and an executive in Sablecorp's legal department.

The two sets of documents would pass through him and the standard legal processing to ensure that both sides' interests would be protected.

That said, Skyler couldn't see how—in any way—his interests were protected in this agreement. But to be fair, he was here just to carry out orders from the geezer, and he had no interest in profiting from it.

Lily got on her feet, handing her a document folder, "Here's all the IDs and licenses you'll need."

And with that, she started outside the study when Hugh suddenly said, "With your permission, ma'am, I would like to speak with him."

"Sure," Lily nodded.

Once she and Julian left the study, Hugh studied Skyler from head to toe and asked, "You're the one? Sent by the friend of the late Master Sable?"

"Yes," Skyler nodded.

"Then you must do your best to survive over the upcoming year."

"I will."

"And that's why…"

Suddenly, the scrawny old man charged at Skyler, launching a punch with lightning speed, "Allow me to test if you're qualified!

Skyler's eyes widened—he was just so fast!

On top of that, the knuckle burst through the air with an audible pop!

He certainly ranked amongst the very best!

However, Skyler simply stood his ground and answered it with his own punch.

Pow!

There was a dull bang as knuckles collided, and a shockwave unfurled across every direction visibly from their contact point.

Skyler still didn't move, and turned to head outside. "If you have the right to challenge me, that is."

Thud!

On the other hand, Hugh's face had dropped as he stumbled backward, while quickly hiding his right hand behind him.

His hand kept shaking uncontrollably…