Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Elle
A surprised laugh breaks free, startling me. I cringe at the sound. “You’re insane.”
God that was loud. But it makes a hell of a lot more sense than paying two million pounds just to get in my pants.
But Sebastian doesn’t laugh.
And then the waitress brings our food and I have to sit there, seething, while I wait for her to leave. All with a polite smile on my face. The second she’s gone, I hiss at him.
“Please tell me you’re joking.” He doesn’t reply. “So let me get this straight,” I say, trying to process what he’s saying. “You want to fake a relationship, announce our engagement, and then get married in two months, just so I can lose my virginity in return?”
Sebastian looks at me, his eyes steady. “That’s the plan. But I promise, the marriage is just a formality. We can annul it after a year.”
“A year?” I practically screech before realising that people are staring and dropping my voice. “But what about my family? My friends? My brother?”
“I’ll handle everything,” he replies, his tone confident. “This is my problem, not yours. I’ll make sure your family and friends know everything they need to know.”
I take a deep breath, trying to weigh my options.
“Seb…why?”
“My father’s had enough of my ‘whoring ways’ as he put it. He’s issued an ultimatum. I have to be married within three months or he’s cutting me off.”
I feel bad for him, but still…he’s asking a lot. Too much.
“A year of my life in exchange for one night?” I whisper. It doesn’t seem worth it. It doesn’t seem fair . “Seb?—”
“Elle, please. I promise I’ll make it worth it.”
“Why me?”
“My father has a list. Of suitable candidates for marriage. All of the women on that list are awful, Elle. I can’t do it. You’re the only person I could even begin to tolerate having by my side through this farce.”
I sit in silence, processing Sebastian’s proposition, watching him get stuck into his food with gusto. I poke at my fruit salad, but my appetite is gone.
He’s basically offering me a bargain: my virginity in exchange for a fake marriage. It’s not as if I have many options, though. My family’s reputation and the stipulations of the auction contract are looming over me like a dark cloud, suffocating my chances of a normal life.
“What if I say no, Seb?” I ask carefully. His eyes darken and his hopeful smile turns into a scowl.
“Don’t. Please,” he implores, sighing. He puts his cutlery down and stares at me across the table. “I’d hate to have to use…information against you, Elle. Please, let’s keep this on good terms.”
“Okay,” I finally say, my voice barely above a whisper as he backs me into a corner with unspoken threats.
Sure I could get angry, I could fight, but the shame I could bring down on my family…I can’t do it to them.
“This is a one-time thing though, Sebastian. We’re not going to continue sleeping together after the contract is taken care of.”
Sebastian’s eyes widen in surprise, and then he nods. “I understand. I promise I’ll make this bearable, Elle. I won’t ask for anything more from you.”
I take a deep breath and nod, deciding to go along with Sebastian’s plan. The alternative is unthinkable because I know that my mother is also planning impending nuptials to some man off an approved list too.
I can’t marry a stranger.
“Alright, deal,” I say, standing, trying to regain control of the situation.
He grins, relief and victory written all over his face. “Excellent.” He stands up, too, and takes my hand in his. “Let’s get started on planning the wedding then, shall we?”
“I think you’ll need a ring first. If we’re doing this, Seb, it needs to be believable. Neither of our families will buy into this if we go about things half…way.”
“You’re right. Leave it with me. I’ll do it by the book, a proper proposal and everything.”
“And you have to tell Aiden. I’m still not speaking to him.”
“Tell him the truth or…?”
“God, no. He’d rat me out to my mother in a heartbeat.” I push my untouched fruit salad away and reach for my coffee instead.
Sebastian nods, understanding the gravity of the situation. “I’ll handle Aiden. You focus on making our dating believable.”
“Sync me to your calendar so I can check your availability.”
“Elle, I’m a playboy bachelor set to inherit billions. I’m always available.”
“You do know I have a job, right?” I huff, amused.
“No?” He blinks at me, seeming confused by my statement.
“I’m not some kept, spoiled little rich girl,” I sniff. Though, in reality, I am.
My father pays for my London flat and gives me a generous allowance. I pretty much only work as a show of independence. My salary at Maison Amara, my high-end fashion boutique, is plenty to live on, but not to keep me in the lifestyle befitting a Rialdi.
“Well, sync me with your calendar then so that I can plan dates around your commitments.”
I’m tense as we shake hands on the deal. It’s almost laughable, the idea of a fake engagement, but I have to face the reality that it’s my only option right now. Sebastian paid two million pounds to trap me into this arrangement. Even though I know he’s taking a risk with his reputation by proposing this crazy plan, I secretly admired his ingenuity for getting his father off his back. It’s a little extreme, but I almost wish I’d had the idea to appease my mother.
As the weight of our agreement settles between us, Sebastian pulls out his phone and opens his calendar. He hands it to me for me to add my calendar to his.
“Do you plan everything on your phone?” I ask, amused.
“Most things,” Sebastian replies, “I find it more efficient.”
He moves his finger down to today’s date and a highlighted block, which I instantaneously recognise as busy. Now. With me. At the diner.
He scrolls a little more.
“That’s my evening off,” Sebastian explained. “I do occasionally help my father out with work. But I’m free tonight, so perhaps we could start getting to know each other over dinner?”
There’s a sink of dread in my stomach at the thought of pretending to be in love. That we’re even considering this is proof of how desperate our situations are. Different, but the same. Two fold.
“Alright,” I agree reluctantly, “Let’s do dinner.”
Sebastian smiles, looking almost relieved. “Excellent. I’ll plan the details and text you with the location. Shall I send another car?”
“No. I can call my own.” Seb frowns. “What?”
“Actually…if we’re doing this properly, I guess I should pick you up for the date?”
“Why are you asking me?” I laugh.
“I don’t date much.”
“You’ve dated every girl I know, bar Candy,” I point out, trying to mask the annoyance in my tone.
“No,” he replies. “I’ve fucked every girl you know, bar Candy…and you… and I’ve fucked a fair few you don’t know too. But I don’t date.”
Right, well that pretty much makes two of us on the not-dating side of things. Obviously not on the fucking anything that moves side of things.
How will the pair of us ever pull this off?
“Pick me up at eight,” I tell him.
Then I give a half-hearted smile, slide out of the booth, and walk away, leaving Sebastian to make the arrangements for the rest of our fake engagement.
Thankfully, the car waited for me, so I’m able to slip inside the cool, darkened space, and only once we pull off, do I put my head into my hands and groan.
What the hell have I got myself in to?
After everything with Seb today, I barely make it home before I’m on the phone to Candy, telling her I need her at my place, now . It’s hardly half an hour before she’s at my door, wine in hand, slipping off her shoes like she still lives here.
As soon as Candy’s on the sofa, she’s already pouring me a glass and pressing me for details. “Alright, Elle, spill. What’s going on? Your message sounded…intense.”
I sink down beside her, trying to find the right words, biting my lip, feeling the weight of it all as I stare at the glass she’s thrust into my hand. “Intense doesn’t cover it, Candy.” I pause, taking a deep breath, watching her eyes go wide. “It’s…a lot. Sebastian Sterling-Knight just proposed to me.”
She actually chokes on her wine, wiping her mouth as she stares at me like I’ve gone mad. “He…what? Elle, this isn’t the 1800s – since when did he think that’s how things work? It’s insane. Is he joking? He can’t just?—”
I let out a half-laugh, half-groan, sinking further into the sofa and sipping my wine. I hold up a hand to stop her, the words tumbling out before I can second-guess them. “Oh, it’s worse. It’s not even a real proposal. He wants a…‘fake engagement’ for two months. And, um, a wedding.”
Candy’s mouth drops open, and she stares at me in disbelief. “You’re telling me he went from dating to fake-engaged to married ?”
“It’s not like it’s a real proposal. It’s a fake marriage proposal, to ‘help us both,’ he says. Apparently, his father threatened to cut him off if he doesn’t settle down, and he thinks I’m the perfect candidate.”
She stares at me, wide-eyed and horrified. “Let me get this straight. He wants you to marry him so Daddy won’t take away his trust fund?”
“Pretty much.”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “So this guy’s so afraid of losing his money that he’s basically blackmailing you into a fake engagement? Classic Seb.”
I take a deep breath, my voice low. “But it’s not just that…he’s using my virginity against me.”
Candy’s expression twists into rage, and she looks like she might throw her glass across the room. “ Excuse me ?” Her voice is full of icy fury. “Elle, that’s just…that’s low. Even for him. He can’t do that! I swear, if he thinks he’s going to hold this over your head?—”
She stands up, pacing the room in a huff. “What kind of scumbag blackmails a girl over her virginity? I’m serious, Elle! He’s a nightmare! Just like that damn best friend of his. Just…just sleep with someone and be done with it. Then he has nothing on you!”
“Trust me, I’ve thought about it.” I let out a bitter laugh. “But if I bail, I’ll be forced to pay him back, plus the auction fee to the charity for forfeiting.” I swirl the wine in my glass, trying to keep my voice steady. “And that’s more than I can afford. Way more. Honestly, even my family would struggle to cover it if I could even bring myself to tell them why I need the money. And I’d die before that happened.”
Candy stares at me, fury flashing in her eyes. “I cannot believe this.” She clenches her fists, taking a deep breath like she’s about to march right over to Seb’s and give him a piece of her mind – or a punch to the face. “I’ll hurt him. I swear, Elle, I’ll mess him up. Street Candy can come out for an encore performance – just say the word.”
I let out a laugh despite everything, grateful for her fierce loyalty. “As much as I’d love to see you unleash ‘Street Candy’ once more, babe, I think we can put her back in her box for now. Besides, my family would kill me if I got involved in a tabloid scandal involving my best friend knocking out the heir to Sterling-Knight Diamonds.”
Candy grins, but her eyes are still full of rage. “Only for you would I hold back, babe. But this? This is so messed up.” She shakes her head, exhaling deeply. “And you don’t even…I mean, do you even want to go through with it?”
I lean back, sighing as I think about the mess I’m in. “I don’t know. But maybe it’s not all bad, you know?” I glance at her, trying to make sense of it myself. “If Seb and I pull this off, both our parents would finally be off our backs. My mother’s been threatening to set me up with someone for months now.”
Candy sighs, nodding in understanding. “Same here. I get it. But marriage , Elle? That’s a whole new level.”
“I know,” I murmur, running my fingers along the rim of my glass. “But it might actually work. I mean…I don’t know, maybe I’m just holding onto how things used to be.”
Candy gives me a questioning look, and I find myself smiling softly as memories start to come back. “Seb wasn’t always this insufferable. When we were kids, he was actually nice. He used to make me laugh, and when I fell off my bike that one summer, he’d come around every day with ice cream until I felt better.”
She raises an eyebrow, looking doubtful. “That doesn’t sound like the Seb I know.”
“I know, right?” I laugh. “Sometimes I don’t even recognise him anymore. But then, every so often, I’ll catch this glimpse of the old Seb. And…I don’t know, I feel like maybe he’s still there somewhere. Buried under all that arrogance.”
Candy sighs, her expression softening a little. “You’re too nice, Elle. Too forgiving. I’d have told him to shove his ridiculous proposal and let him figure it out on his own.”
“Trust me, part of me wants to,” I admit, feeling the weight of it all again. “But I just feel so…trapped. And not just by him. It’s my family, expectations, society…all of it. If I don’t go along with it, he’ll find a way to keep me out of the club too. And if I do, at least I’ll have my freedom at the end of it.” I hesitate, searching her eyes. “It’s not ideal, but maybe…maybe it’s the best option.”
Candy nods slowly, still looking reluctant but more understanding. “Alright, babe. But if he so much as tries to cross a line, you let me know. I’ve got a set of heels with his name on them.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I know you do. And I love you for it.”
“Elle, just remember – you’re allowed to have boundaries. And you don’t owe him anything, no matter what he thinks. Just…think about what you really want, okay? If you do this, make sure it’s on your terms.” Candy sighs, reaching over to take my hand. She squeezes it, her anger giving way to warmth. “Whatever you decide, Elle, I’ve got your back. But if this guy hurts you, I swear he’ll wish he’d never crossed paths with either of us.”
I give her a grateful smile. I know she’s right. But it’s a lot to unravel, and I can’t shake the feeling that this deal is going to change everything.