Love, Lies and Billionaires

Palms jamming together rented the air as he took his pace beside his father. “Over the years, Alexander here has been more than the son I asked for. And his hard work has made him who he is today,” Mr. Blackwood said.

Maren couldn’t help but smile at the corner, and the crowd also agreed.

“Now that aside, I’d like to officially hand over the ownership of my companies to the last man standing in the blackwood family.” He announced. Clapping and cheers filled the air and even Alexander couldn’t hide his grin.

Mr Blackwood gently stepped away from the pulpit, carefully supported by the guards who stood beside him, and Alexander stepped forward.

He cleared his throat and scanned the crowd before looking back at the microphone like he was nervous. “I, um- it really is a pleasure being here tonight-”

Maren couldn’t help but stare at this man who she was locked in with. It was true they had had an encounter a long time ago before she and William’s break up and they had made out over drinks.

But that was a long time ago, and she hadn’t taken it as anything even when she found out he was a rival with William because it didn’t matter- right?

“…I’m really grateful to my father, Philip Blackwood, and my lovely wife, Maren Blackwood, for this opportunity…”

‘Yeah, it didn’t matter that she had also cheated,’ Maren thought and blushed when Alexander smiled at her. She turned to the crowd and caught Irene holding on to William with a scowl on her face.

Her smile grew broader. ‘William never deserved you,’ she told herself. And definitely not that bitch of a person she used to call her best friend. ‘He definitely didn’t deserve Nathan, and he isn’t going to lay another finger on him,’ she swore.

“…Come on up, Maren,” she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name. She turned to the stage where Alexander stood beaming and gesturing for her to come up.

She gave a brief smile and climbed up onto the stage, accompanied by cheers from the crowd. She got to where Alexander stood and he surprisingly grabbed her by her waist and gave her a peck.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Fighting to keep the red from appearing on her cheeks, she turned to the crowd. A wide grin displaying on her face.

“Now I know what you all are thinking- our marriage was sudden. It was probably planned.” He paused and scanned the crowd. “Well, I can assure you that it wasn’t”

Maren’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained her cheerful guise. ‘What the hell was he doing? Their marriage was exactly planned! What would people say when they parted ways after the six months of the contract elapsed?’ her mind raced.

“We are in fact as in love as many of you once were…” Alexander said, insult intended.

Maren checked her phone and took a glimpse of the time for the umpteenth time. Not that she wanted to, but she just saw that as a better thing to do than stare into the eyes of strangers who either adored or wanted to murder her.

Turning her gaze back to the crowd, she caught sight of Irene leaving the exit, but William stood firmly in place. His face exhibited signs that he wasn’t buying an ounce of what Alexander was saying.

It was as if William sensed her staring at him, and he turned to her. But she was quicker and looked away.

“That being said, I’d like to thank each and everyone of you who made it here tonight and to my dad who’s trusting me with this weight of responsibility.” He finally said, and Maren quietly sighed in relief.

“Thank you all, and goodnight.

“Bold move back there,” Maren said dryly as they both walked into Alexander’s living room.

Alexander shrugged, “Well, I had to say something”

“Well, you did say a lot,” she said quietly as he sank into one couch, not knowing what she wanted his reply to be.

“My dad did seem pleased”

Maren rolled her eyes. He always had to bring up his dad. Couldn’t he just do something because he felt good about it?

“Are you always trying to please him?” her voice was almost in a whisper as the entire building was thrown in silence from the night.

Alexander didn’t reply. He just sat there scrolling through his phone.

“What’s your plan?” She asked, trying to draw his attention back to her.

“What do you mean?”

“You were trying to convince everyone that we’re in an actual marriage. What happens after the contract is fulfilled?”

“That shouldn’t be your problem. I’ll handle it”

Her brows furrowed, not just because of the way he just brushed her off, but because of his nonchalance. “But it is my problem. You just convinced the entire city that we are in love and in five months, we’ll be separated. How do you want people to view me?”

“You really shouldn’t care about what people would say,” he said and stood up from the couch. Heading towards the staircase.

“I’m more worried about how other kids would act towards Nathan.”

This made him stop in his tracks. He withdrew the foot which rested on one of the stairs and turned back to her. He took her face in his palms and stared into her eyes, instantly giving her jelly feet.

Despite her heels, he still was inches taller than her, making his eyes leave dents in her face.

“I am Alexander Blackwood. No one dares make fun of anyone I care about, okay?”

Maren wasn’t sure what he meant by that and she didn’t want to get her hopes high, so she was at a loss of words. She just stared back at him and nodded.

Frankly speaking, she’d choose Alexander over William anytime, but Alexander was someone she has never learnt to read. He always gave mixed feelings and had different energies around her.

She couldn’t say the same when he was around Nathan, though.

When words failed to roll out of Maren’s lips, Alexander took the opportunity and leaned forward to kiss her.

She moved her head backwards a little and looked deep into his eyes. “Do you love me?”