A deal with the devil

Chapter Six

Once I was done unpacking and arranging my things, I let out a huge sigh and looked around, feeling satisfied with myself. It looked so much better now with a touch of colour rather than before when it looked plain yet like a luxurious hotel room.

I heard a small knock on the door and rushed towards the sliding door to go and get the main door of the room. It can't be Xavier since he usually comes home late. Years of working in that mansion made me memorise his schedule.

Who else could it be?

"Ms. Abrams, Your lunch is ready." Ginny spoke as soon as I opened the door with a stern look on her face.

Crap! She knows. I should have explained everything to her. How did it slip my mind?

"Oh my God, Ginny!" I grabbed her by her hand and pulled her inside.

"Don't 'Ginny' me, girl. What the hell is all of this? Are you marrying, Xavier?" She bombarded me with questions as soon as I closed the door.

"I have a lot of explaining to do but why don't you sit down first?"

"Sit down? Young lady, I had to hear from your dad about your 'marriage'. When did you even secretly date him without my knowledge? You used to hate him. Heck, I thought you hated me up until last week."

"I still do. More than ever. Just hear me out, please."  I pleaded and Ginny shut her mouth immediately. I licked my lips and took a deep breath before breaking down the events of the past week to her while she patiently listened without any interruptions.

"Holy fuck! So all of this is fake?"

"Fake as hell. I'm just doing it for my personal gain. And you are not supposed to tell anyone, including my dad. You are just an exception according to our legal paperwork." I rushed, keeping my voice down even though I know it's just the two of us in his room.

"Damn! I still can't believe there was legal paperwork and everything. These rich people and the lengths they would go rather than settling down. I won't tell a soul but Aria, sweetheart, is this something you can handle? We both know about him and his anger issues. What will you do? A grown woman like me is scared of him."

"I know. I'm just gonna fake it in public. It's not like we are married for real. I'll be minding my own business and he would be at work most of the time anyway."

"Well, if you put it in that way and it's a good thing that I'm here for you. If he does some crazy shit or goes out of control, you better come to me. I don't care about my job. I will kill that asshole with my bear hands."

I burst out in laughter and took her hands gently in mine. I was so hesitant to tell Ginny about this because I was afraid that she might judge my morals.

"Are you not angry at me for doing this?"

"Angry? Of course not, sweetheart but worried? Yes. This is just a deal. People do a lot worse than this for getting what they want. You are just acting in front of media and you are getting paid for it in form of your education. I don't find anything wrong in it."

I smiled and hugged her tightly, blinking back the tears. She was right. I just have to act like I'm in love with him.

How hard can it be? Just a few kisses and fake smiles here and there. Easy-peasy!

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I was wrong.

I couldn't stand him for more than a second. What was I even thinking?

It was the day of our engagement shoot and we were in a scenic outdoor location to get good pictures for the media announcement. I was all dolled up in a pretty lilac dress that hugged my curves and reached mid thighs. It had a deep sweetheart neckline. Thanks to the people he hired for styling me. I almost gasped when I looked at myself in the mirror and that's when I realised. I wasn't ugly, I just didn't have money to look like this.