Chapter 8
“Sheena is your sister! How could you do this to her?”
Florence said in a sobbing voice, sounding displeased.
“Hand me the phone. I wanna talk to her.
After some rustling, Kenneth’s voice rang out, as deep as ever.
“Nevaeh, clarify on Twitter right now and say you’re the one getting treated in the hospital.
“We raised you for more than twenty years. Stop being so selfish. It’s time to look out for our family.
“If this goes big, it’ll do us no good.”
“Dad, I’m recording our conversation.”
Nevaeh’s voice wasn’t loud.
Kenneth fell silent for a dozen seconds.
Then he hung up decisively.
“So, they know their words couldn’t stand scrutiny?” Nevaeh thought.
She let out a low chuckle as her tears fell onto the back of her hand.
She didn’t do anything wrong. Why were they treating her like this?
***
At 9:50 a.m.
Nevaeh arrived at the city hall ten minutes early and was surprised to see Erasmo already there.
His silver hair and tall, refined presence made him stand out easily.
As he looked so out of place, passers-by all glanced at him.
Nevaeh got out of the taxi and ran over to him hastily. “Hey, you really are here!”
She sounded surprised.
Erasmo turned around and frowned at her red hair. “Didn’t I tell you to change your hair color?”
Instead of answering him, she took out his neatly folded tie from her bag and gave it back to him.
“Sir, we were both drunk yesterday. Our deal didn’t stand.”
He glanced at the tie but didn’t take it.
Even the air around him seemed to freeze.
Nevaeh suddenly sensed danger as her gaze fell upon his bodyguards.
She hastily explained, “Sir, we only met yesterday. Don’t you think us getting married sounds a bit insane? Do y even know me? No, right? And I don’t know you either…”
“I don’t have to,” Erasmo interrupted her impatiently.
“We’ll get a divorce three months later. Then I’ll give you 15 million dollars as a thank-you.
“Our marriage will be kept a secret, and I won’t see your family.
“Think about it. If you don’t want to do this, feel free to leave.”
199
He said this in a business-like tone that she felt he was securing a business deal instead of proposing.
She was furious, thinking, “I thought he had a crush on me last night.
“This is so humiliating.
“But…
“I can have 15 million dollars after three months? This is a great deal.”
She asked, “Sir, you’re so well-off. Women must be lining up to be with you, right? Why me?”
“I need a temporary wife. A stranger will make everything easier,” Erasmo said concisely.
He was running out of patience, and the scorching sun was making him all the more irritable.
“Any other questions?” he asked sternly.
Nevaeh asked, “Why does it have to be three months?”
His assistant quickly explained, “His mother is critically ill and wants to see him get married again before she passe away.”
Nevaeh nodded, thinking, “So, that’s why he’s so eager to get married. Wait… Again? What’s that supposed to mean Does he have an ex-wife? Forget it. That’s not important.’
She said to Erasmo, “15 million dollars, you said? How should I know you aren’t lying to me?”
Erasmo waved his hand at the car, and one of his bodyguards pulled out two suitcases from the trunk right away.
The bodyguard then opened them in front of her, and countless stacks of bills came into her view.
