Chapter 1
“Why must I get married?” Nathan yelled at his father through the phone. His father, Antonio Rossi promised him his inheritance three days after his twenty eighth birthday. Nathan had been ecstatic about it. His inheritance was supposed to grant him seventy five percent of his father’s company Rossi’s Empire.
His birthday had passed and he fulfilled his father’s condition but now his father was asking for more which infuriated him.
“That’s my condition for you to get your inheritance.” Antonio said with a firm voice.
“But you promised that I would get it when I’m twenty eight years, do you know how many years I had to wait for this moment?” Nathan asked, leaping out of his Porsche.
“Is marriage really necessary?” Nathan continued, stuffing his hand into his suit pockets.
“Of course, it is. You need to settle down and have a family. You are twenty eight for goodness sake. What’s the point of being rich without having a heir? What’s the point of having so much money without no one to share it with?” Antonio growled.
“ Marriage is simply hard work and requires a lot of commitment and I don’t do commitments Dad.” Nathan grumbled further as he scanned his surroundings. He was in a alley, leaning against his car. A small restaurant stood few meters away from him and he wasn’t interested in eating even though he was dreadfully hungry. He was simply hungry for his inheritance!
“That’s my condition and it’s final. You can choose to leave it or take it. If you can’t get a wife, then I’ll give your inheritance to Anna and I am sure you won’t want that.” Antonio growled.
Not Anna.
He and Anna were never on good terms. Anna was his hot tempered younger sister. At least when she was a baby she was very cute. Now she’s just impossibly stubborn and vain.
“Fine, I’ll think about getting a wife.” Nathan muttered, cutting the line. He clenched his teeth and exhaled deeply, he was about to open the car door when he heard a scream.
Nathan turned back and noticed a young woman on the floor, covered in flour. She wore a pink knee length gown with a white apron on it.
Her Amazonian figure sat well on her slim body. She had a decanter shaped waist and her complexion had an impeccable hue. Her hair was as was like a loom of molten-gold and it swooped past her arched neck, framing her face perfectly.
Her eyes were seductive and rhapsody-blue. His heart nearly stopped when she gazed at him. Her eyes were like two blue gems slumbering in milky pools. They were a lit with passion and had a hypnotic quality to them. They were gleaming with an unearthly quality above her cheekbones and they shone with the faraway look of a star gazer.
Her sliver-of-moon eyebrows were black. Nathan stared at her pouting lips. They were red and looked as sweet as strawberries. She had a telegenic look, it was comely to the eye. Her ears were tucked away in the glorious tresses of her hair. It looked delicate and paired to perfection. The only thing ugly was the endless tears that flowed down her cheeks.
His possessive side screamed at her, he wanted her.
And he was going to have her.
Nathan swallowed a thick mold of saliva, he was completely memorized by her beauty. His legs suddenly had a mind of their own and he took quick strides, advancing towards her.
Nathan stood tall and mighty in front of her and extended his right hand. With a thick, husky voice.
“Marry me?”
Rachel thought she hadn’t heard right, An handsome stranger oozing with divine sexiness begging for marriage. She thought he was crazy and had a few screws unloosened. She had just been fired by her boss for refusing to serve a customer properly and now someone was begging for her hand in marriage.
She refused to serve the customer properly because he was a pervert, his hands kept tugging on her skirt when she bent slightly to drop the tray of food but what enraged her was when he squeezed her breasts through the fabric roughly. She slapped him across the face and accused him of harassment. She was shocked when her boss poured flour all over her body and relieved her of her job on that very spot, she then realized that her boss cared more about his customers than his employees.
Rachel looked at the stranger who hovered over her. His hand was still stretched, waiting for a positive reply. His eyes were the blue of fresh water glinting in the sunlight off an ocean. His lips were pale and thin and his nose slender and rounded.
A prominent jaw curved gracefully around and the strength of his neck showed in the twining cords of muscle that shaped his entire body; strong arms, bold thighs and calves, a firm chest and abdomen that could be visibly seen through his tight fitted blue suit. He was an Adonis among the other men who each pale in comparison. She was sure one look and both women and men swooned at the sight of him no matter their sexual preferences.
“E-Excuse me? Y-You want to marry me?” Rachel stammered, taking hold of his outstretched hand. It was warm and hard, just as she guessed it to be.
“Yes, I want to marry you. I am very desperate for a wife.” Nathan replied.
“And why are you desperate for a wife?”
“I need a wife to secure my inheritance from my father.” Nathan replied with a shrug.
“And what makes you think I want to be anybody’s wife?” Rachel asked as her knees rose up from the ground steadily.
“You are very beautiful and I feel like we look very good together plus you seen like a damsel in distress.“ Nathan tried to convince her with a smile.
“I am not a damsel in distress, I just lost my job. I don’t fucking know you . I am sorry but I can’t marry you.” Rachel argued with a frown.
“I’m not asking you to do this for free. Would you marry me for a million dollars?” Nathan asked, placing a kiss on her knuckles.
Rachel laughed loud and hard, he looked truly desperate for a wife. She pondered, her eyes fixed on the light blue sky. If she married him, She would be able to pay off her debts. Her rent bills were piling up gradually and she hadn’t finished paying the student loans she owed from college. A million dollars would settle of her problems and still leave a lot of money for her to pursue her dreams.
“What’s the marriage deal like?” Rachel uttered with worry etching on her face.
“It’s just for a year and then we go out separate ways through a divorce. Just pretend to be my wife for a year but I have conditions you must follow. You mustn’t fall in love in me and nobody should know about this agreement. Just do all that and your million dollars is secure.” Nathan assure with a teasing grin on his face.
“I don’t know, this might be an elaborate plan to kidnap me.”
Nathan made a throaty humorless laugh.
“I absolutely have no intentions of kidnapping you. I said I want to marry you.”
“What about your parents?” Nathan asked.
“My parents are dead.”
“I’m sorry about that and it makes this arrangement less complicated for us. Let’s finalize this deal with a hand shake.” Nathan suggested, stretching forth his hand.
Rachel appeared to be thinking deeply about the deal.
Wait a minute, She didn’t even know his bloody name!
“Excuse me, Mr. Stranger I don’t know your name”
“ Oh, I must have been carried away, my name is Nathan Rossi”
“ R—O—S—S—I as in the Rossi’s Empire?” she said in a stuttering voice.
“ Oh I know, My family is super popular and also presently breathing down my neck so will you accept?”
Rachel pretended like she was still thinking about his request, she brought out her iPhone and searched Nathan Rossi on Google.
She looked at the pictures and looked up at his smirking face. Yes, it was definitely him.
“Okay, It’s a deal!” Rachel shook his hand gratefully, her voice raised in excitement.
“Hop into my car, I need to polish you up before you see my parents.” Nathan pointed at his car with his index finger.
“Don’t I need to get my luggage and all?” Rachel asked as her brows lifted in astonishment.
“I’ll take care of all that, now we really have to go!” Nathan commanded, leading her towards his black Porsche.
Everything was moving so fast and Rachel was getting agitated and excited at the same time. He just offered her a freaking million dollars without blinking an eye.
She buckled her seat belt and shot a quick glance at her future husband and her uncertain future.
Well her future ‘fake’ husband.