6.

Jasper

I glanced at her and saw she was curled up in the passenger seat with a nervous look on her face. I could tell she wasn't comfortable being in a car with strangers. She turned to face me and said, "Where are we going?"

I kept my focus on the road and said, "The contract. We have to get the contract for you to sign."

Her gentle aura was like a glove that engulfed everything around her in warmth. I didn't know anything to have that effect. Not even Bri—

Stop thinking about her. It's not worth it.

It was a struggle taking her out of my mind but focusing on the road helped. Chester edged forward with the help of his unscorched hand.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on here?" His eyes moved from her face to mine and back.

"Relax, Chester." I sighed knowing he would do everything but relax.

"Well the least you could is introduce us."

He had a point. "Chester meet —" I realized I had forgotten to ask what her name was.

Awkwardness settled in the car like a thick mist. She made a nervous move and said, "It's nice to meet you, Chester. I'm Bella."

I turned sharply to face her. I hadn't pegged her for a Bella. Maybe a Jane or Stephanie but definitely not Bella. Her gentle eyes glowed as she smiled at Chester.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." Chester said in a flirty baritone that didn't belong to him. It was annoying hearing him sound like that.

I studied her for a moment and realized with a warm feeling she wasn't as nervous as she had been some minutes ago. The peachy color had returned to her face and her smile was more sincere than it had been.

We arrived at the palace some minutes later. Chester kept Bella busy while I ordered one of my trusted guards to get the contract ready. He blinked at me in momentary confusion but I told him sternly what I wanted. He listened with the keen silence of his training and when I was done, he nodded without a word and left.

Moments later, he returned with what I needed. I looked through the fine prints to confirm there was no error and I wasn't disappointed.

"Good job, Alex. It's better than I expected." I admitted.

He bowed. "Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"

"Yes." I said. "Summon my guest. She's in the lounge listening to Chester's nonsense."

Without a word, he bowed and left. In a few minutes he was back with Bella moving silently behind him. She seemed more confident and I had to admit I liked the change.

Alex bowed before turning to leave. Bella watched me with tender eyes and I could easily see the uncertainty in them.

"Here." I handed the document to her. "You'd want to go through that."

Bella took the files and moved to the corner. I watched her expression closely as she went through the pages one by one.

The grand reaction I'd been expecting never came. She was either a very good poker player or she honestly wasn't bothered about the terms of our agreement if she signed.

I waited until she turned the last page and sighed before I asked, "So?"

She made a move to speak but stopped. She hesitated. "Can I take a minute to think about it?"

I told her it was fine and she could. My palm felt clammy and my heart raced as she paced back and forth. For the first time since meeting her that afternoon, I realized how much I wanted this to work out.

The gossip spreading about how I'd let Bridget publicly humiliate me in front of the royals would end if she signed the contract. It would also ease my father's mind knowing I handled it like he wanted but a part of me knew these weren't the reason I wanted her to sign the contract. It was something else.

"No entanglements between the parties involved." She said almost to herself.

I moved closer. "It's a business proposal. Involving feelings will just complicate everything."

Bella nodded without looking up from the document. "Yes. Yes, you're right."

She took a deep breath before facing me. "Where do I sign?" She asked with a determined look.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She said without flinching. "I'll do anything to save my sister."

Her words touched me. She was willing to throw her independence away to save her sister. Most women would have been interested in the offer because of the status of being my Luna and the clout they would get from it but not her. Not Bella.

I showed her where she could sign and she put her signature. Her eyes searched mine as I checked the documents to make sure it was in order.

"What?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering what's next."

"Well." I thought about it for a moment. "Naturally we should meet my parents."

Bella blinked and she turned away. Her confidence was gone and she was once again the nervous sad girl I'd met outside the hospital.

"It's going to be fine." I assured her.

She forced a smile on her pretty face and nodded but I could tell she was just trying to be strong. The slight trembling of her body and the line around her lips gave her away.

"You can relax." I said, grinning. "My father can be terrifying but he's alright."

"I'm scared they will see through this and know we're faking it."

She was right. I wasn't sure how we were going to pull it off but we had to. We just had to make it work somehow and I could tell it wasn't going to be easy because we had no chemistry at all. We were like strangers and in a few hours we were going to be put in a situation where we had to convince my parents we are something more.

"It's going to be fine." I said with a renewed conviction. "I believe in you."

There was something about Bella that reassured me that we were definitely going to pull it off. An hour later, my father called to invite us for dinner. Apparently a little birdie told him I'd found my mate and Luna and he wanted to see us.

I told Bella about the dinner invite and ordered Alex to go shopping for a dress along with a maid.

At 7pm, I walked out in a tuxedo fitted and custom made by Levi Guiseppi himself.

I stood at the foot of the stairs waiting for Bella to come down. I consulted my wristwatch once more and looked up in time to see her coming down.

She was a marvelous sight in a radiant blue dress. Her hair was done in a bun held in place by a golden pin. Her eyes glowed beautifully as she took each step and I had to struggle to keep myself from thrown off by her elegance.

"Wow." I muttered as she reached me. "Shall we?"

She linked her hands through mine and we walked together to face my parents. The real test has just begun.