Chapter Two ✷ Wedding Contract and Pr Arrangements
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It had been about a week since the initial meeting, and Kaliyah's life had been nothing short of chaos.
The media storm was already brewing, with rumours swirling about her and Max Verstappen, though no official announcements had been made. She had barely had time to process the situation herself, let alone prepare for the whirlwind that was to come. But the worst part wasn't the media, the lawyers, or even her father's cold business logic—it was Max.
After the contract meeting, Kaliyah and Max had been encouraged—no, forced—by their teams to meet up privately to "get to know each other," as if this were some kind of romantic courtship instead of a corporate merger disguised as a marriage.
The idea was that they needed to be comfortable around each other before their engagement was made public, and they needed to look convincing when the cameras eventually turned their way.
But when they had met, it had gone nothing like she had hoped.
Kaliyah, still fuming from her father's high-handedness, had gone into the meeting with the expectation that Max would be on the same page—that they could at least talk things through like adults. Maybe they could figure out a way to manage the situation without making things worse for either of them. But Max, it seemed, had a completely different attitude.
He had arrived late, which had already set Kaliyah on edge. When he walked in, cool and collected, dressed in casual clothes that screamed indifference, she could feel the tension rise before they even exchanged words.
"Nice of you to finally show up," Kaliyah had snapped the moment he entered the café where they were meeting, crossing her arms defensively.
She hated the way his presence made her feel—on edge, like she was constantly bracing for a fight.
Max had raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed by her irritation. "I'm not exactly thrilled about this either, you know," he had replied, his voice calm but laced with something sharper.
"Let's just get this over with."
That set the tone for the rest of the meeting. What was supposed to be a chance for them to talk things through quickly devolved into a heated argument.
Kaliyah, with her temper still raw from the confrontation with her father, had found herself lashing out, accusing Max of being arrogant and cold. She couldn't believe he could be so calm, so detached about everything, when her life was being completely upended.
Max, in turn, hadn't taken kindly to her accusations. He had called her spoiled, accusing her of being out of touch with reality, and implying that she was nothing more than a pampered princess used to getting her way. The words had stung, but more than that, they had infuriated her. Who was he to judge her? He didn't know anything about her, about the work she had put into her career, or about how hard it had been to build something of her own under the weight of her family's name.
