Chapter 4 - Blair
We drive through the city, and I realize I haven’t even asked him where he’s taking me.
At first, I thought he was just going to take me home, which is silly because he doesn’t know where my home is.
I should ask, but as I stare down at my hands and see how badly they are shaking, I decide that, for now, it doesn’t really matter where he’s taking me.
I don’t particularly want to be alone anyway.
When those four men surrounded me, I was terrified. Fear knotted in my stomach, and I completely froze. It makes me so angry with myself for not screaming or making a scene. The street we were on wasn’t packed full of people, but someone would have heard something.
No.
I just froze.
It’s kind of pathetic.
Sighing, I knot my fingers together to try and stop them from shaking so much.
Simon reaches out and gently touches my leg.
“I think you’re in a bit of shock. It’ll take a little while for the adrenaline to leave your body,” he says gently.
I nod. Glancing out the window, I notice we are driving next to the ocean.
Thank goodness he was there.
What would have happened if he wasn’t? This is so crazy!
He pulls off the road and stops in front of a massive estate. The big iron gates slowly open, and a guard nods at him as he drives inside.
“Where are we?” I finally find my voice and ask.
“This is my home,” he says, stopping the car in front of a mansion that looks like it was designed for a modern-day king.
The raw cement mixed with glass and steel gives the place a stark, minimalist yet very modern design. Massive green tropical plants with giant leaves add splashes of color against the grey, silver, and glass building.
He shuts down the engine and turns to smile at me. “I think you need a drink?” he says.
“Sure, I could probably do with something to calm my nerves.”
A flicker of nervousness rushes through me. I’m at a stranger’s home. But just as quickly as it arrives, it disappears. He just rescued me. He brought me here to make sure I’m okay. He’s being really thoughtful and nice.
Simon pulls the car door open for me and offers me his hand.
As I stand up, I realize my legs are unsteady. My whole body feels weird. It’s definitely the adrenaline. A drink would actually be nice.
I can smell the ocean as we walk toward the front door. The salty air helps clear my thoughts a little as I take long, slow breaths.
Stepping into his mansion, I’m pleasantly surprised by how open and full of natural light it is.
And I’m shocked by the beauty of the view as he leads me into the living room and tells me to take a seat.
“Wow,” I mutter quietly.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” he smiles, following my gaze to the stretch of private beach right in front of his home.
“You really live here, this is like something from a magazine,” I whisper.
“Do you want a vodka? Or maybe a whiskey? Or are you a gin girl?” he asks, standing next to a bar built into the wall.
“Vodka lime?” I ask.
“Good choice.”
Simon chats about the architect who designed his place while he pours two vodkas. I listen absentmindedly, thinking again that it was sweet of him to bring me here. It’s protective, and I rather like the idea of someone like Simon being protective of me.
The past week, he’s been on my mind a lot, and I’ve kept kicking myself for not taking his number that night. I reasoned that fate hadn’t meant for us to be anything more than strangers in passing. But now I see that maybe fate had other plans.
Before I go home today, I have to remember to take his number. I can’t make that same mistake twice!
He presses a button, and the glass doors leading out onto a wooden deck overlooking the beach slide open silently. Fuck. This isn’t just wealth; this is the kind of wealth that is impossible to comprehend.
Simon sits down next to me, handing me a crystal glass with ice chiming against the side.
“Thanks,” I smile.
He sits quietly, giving me the space to breathe and process as I sip my drink and stare out at the view.
I jump when there is a knock at the front door, then laugh, embarrassed at myself.
“It’s okay, it’ll just be one of my security guys,” he reassures me. “I’ll be right back.”
One of his security guys? How many does he have? I saw a guy standing at the gate. But I guess I haven’t been paying proper attention. Is it to protect the house? I guess he must have a lot of expensive things in here.
I hear muffled voices and the front door closing before Simon returns, carrying papers, with two men following him.
A cold shiver ripples down my spine. The look on his face has me sitting up straight and setting my drink down.
“Blair, this is my lawyer, Tim Volkov, and my head of security, Philip.”
Standing up, I smile tensely. “Hello,” I say nervously.
Simon comes to stand next to me and sets the documents he’s holding on the coffee table in front of where I was sitting.
“I’m going to need you to sign these papers,” he informs me in his deep, commanding tone.
My eyes drag onto the documents.
Across the words marriage certificate.
Confusion slams into me.
“What? Why?” I laugh, thinking this has to be some kind of joke.
“Because it’s the only way I can keep you safe,” he says calmly.
I look toward the lawyer. His expression doesn’t change in any way.
“Marriage papers?” I stammer.
“Yes, Blair. You need to become my wife so that I can make sure nothing happens to you,” he says.
Another nervous laugh slips from my lips as I take a step away from him. Suddenly, the whole situation is completely ludicrous.
This isn’t a joke.
He’s being deathly serious.
“Simon, I am not signing that!” I blurt out, shaking my head as I try to move further from him. I glance over my shoulder, plotting my path so that I can make a bolt for the door and get out of here. Maybe I can run out onto the beach.
But while I’m still trying to figure things out, he grabs my arm, digging his fingers into my skin too roughly.
“I can’t let you leave, Blair. Unfortunately, this is not optional,” he says, still as calm as ever.
“This is crazy. You’re crazy!” I blurt out. “Let me go right now. I have to go home!”
“Let me tell you exactly what will happen if I do that. Those men who surrounded you tonight—that wasn’t a standard mugging, and you know it.
That was strategic. You saw the van, right?
They planned carefully, intending to drag you into that van to kidnap you.
And trust me when I say you do not want to be kidnapped by men like that. ”
“They… they were just trying to mug me,” I stammer, realizing as I say it that it really isn’t true.
“Did you see what they were wearing? Did they look like your average muggers?” he asks.
I shake my head, biting my lip, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
“I don’t know why they are after you, Blair, but I can keep you safe.
Or I can let you go. You’ll go home. They’ll be waiting for you.
And if they aren’t there tonight, they’ll be at your work tomorrow.
Either way, they will find you again, and they will take you, and I’m just not willing to let that happen. ”
I stare at him, trying to process everything he’s saying. Ok fine, so it wasn’t a mugging, but why? This doesn’t make sense. What would they want with me?
“How in the world does marrying you keep me safe?” I ask, wanting to ask a hundred more questions, but sticking to just that one for now.
The thing is that as I stare at Simon, I realize something else.
He wasn’t there by accident. For some reason, he was right where I was when those men showed up.
There is so much more to this than he’s telling me, and the more I come to this conclusion, the more scared I get.
“I already told you, I can keep you safe. If you are married to me, then you carry my name, and my name carries weight in this city. No one will touch you. You can keep living your life, seeing your friends, and going to work. You can enjoy the protection I offer while still being you,” he says.
How the fuck is he so calm?
“I don’t want to do this,” I mutter.
“The alternative has been explained to you.”
I swallow hard, taking a deep breath. Ok. So, it’s marry him or get taken by those men. Men I don’t know. Men who looked damn terrifying.
I close my eyes and try to stop my thoughts from spiraling.
“I don’t…” I mutter. I don’t want to come face-to-face with those men again. Glancing at the marriage papers, I can’t believe this is all happening. This morning, my life was boring, normal, and mundane, and now, suddenly, I am in a billionaire’s mansion, arguing over signing marriage documents.
I must be losing my mind.
It’s the only thing I can think of as I take a breath and say, “Fine. I’ll sign them if you promise you can keep me safe.”
Simon looks visibly relieved.
“On one condition,” I add, and his eyes narrow as his fingers tighten on my arm again.
“What condition?” he asks.
“I want a clause added to the document. I want it to say that as soon as I am safe, I will be able to divorce you immediately, and you won’t argue.”
Simon’s eyes cloud with darkness. He glances at the lawyer.
“I can add it in; we can just write it manually as long as you both sign next to it,” he says.
Simon lets out a huff. “Do it,” he says gruffly. He lets go of my arm, and briefly, I contemplate trying to run again. But where would I go? Apparently, there are monsters after me. Monsters I don’t understand.
The lawyer steps forward and picks up the documents. He carries them to the bar and starts writing in the additional clause.
My heart is racing a million miles an hour. Is this real? Am I really going to sign?
While the lawyer is busy, I let my eyes really study the place we’re in. I notice the additional guards outside, patrolling past the view that distracted me earlier. I can’t deny his insane wealth, which means he has insane power too.
I’m actually going to do this!
The lawyer sets the adjusted paperwork down on the coffee table and hands me a pen.
I carefully read the clause he’s added.
Then, with shaking hands and a racing heart, I scribble my signature on each page where he indicates I should sign.
Simon does the same.
I feel like I’m in a movie, like I’m not the one in control of my body. Everything is surreal as the lawyer picks up the paperwork and talks to Simon. I hardly hear any of it. My head is spinning.