Chapter 5 - Gina
My eyes widened, and I was a little in shock. Had I just heard him correctly? Did he just offer to marry me?
There was no way that Lucas, one of the many who tortured me and the guy who was my childhood bully, was offering to marry me so I could get the house. There was no way. It went against everything he was. All the ways he had consistently proved how much he hated me.
I shook my head, knowing my ears were just mistaking something else. This was Lucas, after all. He enjoyed seeing me in pain. He enjoyed making me feel small.
"You're funny," I said, shaking my head, hating him a little bit more. "Let's torture the poor girl while she's trying to hold onto something that's outside of her reach, is that it? You seriously haven't changed, have you?"
Lucas scowled. "No, I was being serious. I will marry you if you want the house."
I blinked and then felt my jaw drop slightly. I blinked again and felt like my entire brain had just stopped working. There was something wrong here—something I wasn't seeing.
Lucas frowned. "You good?"
"No," I said, shaking my head. "I can't marry you. I don't even know you. And that would never work." I shook my head. "I'm not in a mood for jokes right now."
"I wasn't joking," he said, taking a few more steps towards me. I wanted to move back, but the chair didn't give me anywhere to go. "I was being serious. If you want the house, I will marry you."
"I..." I was about to say I didn't need to be married, but that was a lie. If I truly wanted this house, I needed a husband—or at least someone who looked and behaved like one.
I shook my head. No. That was a crazy idea, and no one would even believe it. Chris, especially, would see right through it all.
"Why not," he asked, shoving his hands back into his pocket.
"Because it would never work."
He shrugged. "You don't know until you try. What do you have to lose?"
I'd already lost everything. I frowned. "My dignity. It is all I have now, and before you even ask if that's important, it is."
Lucas gave me a half-smirk, and I was pretty sure it was the first time I'd ever seen it. "I'm offering to help. I know we didn't get along when we were younger."
I frowned. Had he really said ‘get along’? He bullied me, and it wasn't simple things, either. He tormented me, and any chance he had, he made sure to make it known. This plan would never work, and I didn't want to be a part of it.
I shook my head. "Lucas, you were terrible to me. You treated me like I.." I was about to say the weakest link but couldn't finish the sentence. Did he still see me that way? Is that why he was offering?
He sighed, sounding irritated now. "Believe it or not, I'm not a terrible person, Gina. You've stayed alive this long, so you clearly know what you're doing. If you're the last living relative to inherit this place, you've grown yourself. Don't you think I have?"
It was a compliment, and I didn't know how to process it. I had thought those words for so long. All those years of planning and training to improve myself—had they paid off? I should have felt like a million bucks, but I didn't. I still felt like that little girl aching for her family to approve of her.
"Do you mean that?" I asked, waiting for him to add something or to take it back altogether.
"Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?'
"Because you used to say that I was a waste of space and that someone was going to challenge me for fun and win, and no one would mourn my death."
Lucas frowned, and I could see regret on his face. "Well…I was clearly wrong."
"About my death or being a waste of space?"
He took a deep breath in and sighed. "You know our pack is toxic. It's why I left."
"Not much of an answer or an apology."
Lucas looked me dead in my eyes and gave me a soft smile. "I know. Because words wouldn't express how sorry I feel right now, Gina. So, marry me. Let me help you get this house and whatever else you want. Let me make up for everything I did."
I wanted to agree because maybe I could finally get what I deserved, but I couldn't marry Lucas. Even if he was sorry, it didn't make up for years of bullying, all the heartache, and worry it caused me.
"As lovely as that sounds, I can't. I can't marry you, Lucas." As sappy as it sounded, I still wanted to fall in love, and I couldn't do that with a husband attached to me.
"Then fake marriage," he offered.
I rolled my eyes. "No, one will believe that."
"Won't they?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "I can be very convincing." My mind traveled back to that night in the restaurant and how he kissed that girl. I saw the way his hand traveled down her front under her dress. He was making a loud and clear statement: He didn't want me.
I shook my head. "Everyone knows what you thought about me."
He nodded. "Yeah, and they only see me maybe twice a year."
He had a point there. He only came down a few times, not on holidays. His folks traveled up to him, so the pack didn't see him or know much about his life.
"There are still so many other questions that would come up."
Lucas frowned. "Gina, if you want this, and I mean, if you really want this house, nothing is going to stop you. You can think of a story, you can stitch up whatever tale you want, and I'll go with it if it gets you this place. But I'm not offering this again if you say no now."
My throat felt dry. Was I really considering this? Fake marrying Lucas to get the house?
"Why? Why are you offering this? What's in it for you?" I asked, unable to see what he would get. He had to want something.
He remained silent for a moment before he frowned. "Maybe I want to make up for my past."
I shook my head. "No, it won't work. Even if it's fake, I would still need documents and a marriage license. Chris would need actual proof that we are married."
"Then we get a divorce," he stated. "The marriage can be as fake as you want it. Just real on paper."
I swallowed, knowing the idea was crazy and that it wouldn't work. But what if it did? What if I could get Chris to believe it? Even if he didn't, if I had a marriage license, he couldn't legally deny me the house. It would be proof; after everything settled down, Lucas and I could just go our separate ways.
It was crazy, but it was the only idea. It was the only way for me to get this house.
"So?" Lucas asked, crossing his arms. "What will it be?"
I looked Lucas up and down, taking in his large frame. He looked a lot like I remembered but different somehow. He still had his black hair, which he kept to the same length and style. His green eyes used to always look so menacing, but right now, they just looked at me patiently, almost calmly.
Lucas was still much taller than me. Everyone was since I was only five feet tall, and I knew he was at least six. Yet, as tall as he was, he wasn't making me feel off like he used to. If anything, I felt like I had someone on my side, which scared me even more.
"Fine," I said, "but we will need to have a story and everything figured out before Chris comes."
"Fine with me," he said.
I pulled myself up. "We can talk about this more tomorrow then. Until then, I'm going to speak to your boss."
I arrived at the hotel and threw myself onto the bed. I stared at the ceiling, my heartbeat ringing in my ears. I felt like my mind was going a mile an hour. Had I agreed to marry Lucas? Fake or not, it was real. The legal part would have to be for me to get the house.
I sat up and frowned, realizing he would see things like the money in my savings account and the funds I had set up for myself. While I wasn't broke by any means, I didn't need everyone to know what I made. And Lucas would likely have to see those things. Wouldn't he?
"Shit," I was suddenly rethinking it all over again. If we got married and divorced, would he want half of everything? Would he have a right to it?
I chewed on my cheek, suddenly wondering if we needed to sign a prenup or an agreement. I'd worked too hard for this to blow back up at me.
My phone started to ring, and I rolled over, grabbing it and feeling my stomach dip in another way. It was Chris.
I swallowed, wanting to ignore it, but I couldn't. They said they would call him about the fire since he was legally the person in control of it.
I clicked answer, and right away, Chris snapped. "What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to fucking burn the house down?"
I frowned. "It was a freak of nature, Chris."
He laughed, but it wasn't because I was being funny. "You could burn the house down all you want, Gina. You still aren't getting it. You could ruin the entire house and its land, and you're still not getting it. You left before I could even tell you that I was next in line for the house, and I don’t appreciate you fucking around with it."
Rage built up. He was next in line? Why? Why in God's name would he get it? "You're incorrect. I get the house if I'm married, and my wedding is in three months." I cringed internally. Why would I say three months? There was no way in hell we were going to get this figured out in three months!
"I'll believe that when I see it," Chris said, still laughing.
I knew I should just keep my mouth shut, but it wasn't that simple. I was so tired of everyone thinking they were better than me, so tired of everyone thinking I was just a mess.
"It's Lucas." I blurted. I knew his name still held weight even if he didn't live there. His parents were close friends with mine and were still very much involved with the pack.
Chris stopped laughing and went silent for a moment. I almost smiled, proud of myself, when Chris growled. "Bullshit. Lucas wouldn't marry you. You're not even on the same wavelength as him. Quit wasting my time, Gina, and tell me the truth. You're not getting married, and we both know it."
"I am," I snapped back. "He's my mate."
"Whatever. I don't believe you, and in a couple of days, when I visit, I'll see that isn't true, and you will hand the key back to me."
The line ended, and I sat frozen. I knew I shouldn't have barked back, but I couldn't help it. I wasn’t going to lose the only thing I wanted.
I looked down at my phone, staring at my contacts, and saw that Lucas was now in it. He'd taken my phone when I was talking to Ayden and put his number in, saying to call him if I had an emergency.
It brought tears to my eyes since no one had cared about me before, not even my parents. I remember when I broke my arm at school, and no one came to the hospital for me. My mother finally pulled up after they put the cast on and took me home. Instead of asking me what happened, she told me I should have been more careful and leave the big kids alone. The truth is that I was pushed off the slide because I was small.
I quickly shook my head and wiped my eyes. I was done being pushed around. I was getting what I deserved, and I deserved this.