Chapter 2

At six o'clock in the morning, I was woken up by someone dumping a bucket of ice-cold water on me.

It was real, freezing cold water.

I shrieked and jumped out of bed, soaked from head to toe and completely disheveled.

Alexander stood by the bed, holding an empty glass pitcher, his gaze cold and commanding as he looked down at me. "Mrs. Grant, if you have any misunderstanding about the on-call 24/7, I can arrange for the legal team to give you a legal briefing."

He was dressed in a deep blue tracksuit, obviously back from his morning run. A light sweat on his forehead, he was practically radiating testosterone.

But to me, Alexander was nothing more than the king of hell in disguise. "Alexander! Are you insane? It's only six o'clock."

I wiped the water off my face, shaking with anger.

"I want my coffee on the table at exactly 6:15. Freshly ground Sumatra Blend, no sugar, three tablespoons of milk." Alexander didn't even spare me a glance as he turned and walked out. "Every minute you're late is a $30,000 penalty."

I dragged myself out of bed, teeth clenched.

For twenty million dollars, and to keep myself out of jail, I'd endure this crap.

I rushed into the kitchen, scrambling to grind the coffee beans.

As the machine roared, I seriously wished I could shove Alexander's head in there and grind it up with the beans.

When I got to the office, the real nightmare was only getting started.

Alexander didn't give me any actual work to do.

He put my desk right in his office, directly across from him.

Whenever Alexander looked up, there I was.

"Olivia, go make a hundred copies of this document."

"Olivia, go grab some bagels from that shop on the south side; make sure they're fresh."

"Olivia, the AC's too cold. Turn it up by one degree."

"Olivia, the AC's set too high. Turn it down by half a degree."

All morning, Alexander had me running around like a headless chicken, jumping at his every command.

Everyone in the executive office was watching, clearly enjoying the show as I struggled.

In the break room, I overheard the secretaries gossiping.

"Is that the new assistant? I heard she's Mr. Grant's college classmate."

"Classmate? Please. I bet she tried to get into his bed and failed. Now he's treating her like his personal maid."

"Exactly. Look at her, all disheveled, and she's wearing a fake Chanel. What a joke."

My grip on the coffee cup was so tight my knuckles turned white.

Hell no, that was not a knockoff. I busted my ass for three months to afford the real deal!

I brought the coffee back to his office.

Alexander was in the middle of a video conference.

He was speaking a fluent foreign language, looking totally focused and confident.

I had to admit, when this jerk was working, he actually seemed like a real person.

When I walked in, Alexander pointed at the empty cup sitting on his desk.

I went over, ready to pour the coffee.

Suddenly, he reached out as if he were going for a file.

His elbow accidentally knocked into my wrist.

The piping hot coffee went flying, soaking his million-dollar contract and splattering all over me, too.

"Crap!" I yelped, instinctively reaching out to wipe the coffee off the contract.

"Olivia!" Alexander shot to his feet, his face dark with fury. "Are you blind, or is your head full of mush?"

He shoved me hard.

I stumbled back, my waist slamming into the corner of the desk; pain shot through me like a knife.

"I'm sorry, I..." I said.

"Get out!" Alexander jabbed a finger at the door, his glare dripping with disdain. "Don't stand there making a fool of yourself.

"You can't even pour a damn cup of coffee. How does someone as useless as you pretend to be a Westbridge University grad?"

In front of a dozen executives on the video call, Alexander crushed my dignity under his heel, grinding it to dust.

*****

At seven o'clock that evening, I was at the Brooks estate.

This was the pivotal moment in my fake marriage drama.

My father, the chairman of Brooks Enterprises, was throwing a party tonight.

On the surface, it was to celebrate my marriage into a wealthy family, but in reality, he was trying to force me to hand over the Grant family's wedding gift in exchange for that five percent stake.

Alexander had promised to attend.

But he didn't show up on time.

He kept everyone waiting for forty whole minutes.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was so awkward it could've cut glass.

Victoria chimed in, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, Olivia, is he too busy? Or maybe he doesn't give a damn about you?"

Chloe giggled behind her hand. "Olivia, you didn't get a fake marriage certificate to trick Dad, did you? I mean, everyone's getting fake papers these days."

My dad's face was getting uglier by the second, and he slammed his fork down on the table. "Olivia! What's going on here? If Mr. Grant doesn't show up, don't even think about getting any of that stake."

I sat there, feeling like I was sitting on pins and needles.

On my phone, Alexander's last message was from two hours ago: [We'll see how I feel.]

We would see how he felt?

He knew exactly how important tonight was for me.

Just as I was about to lose all hope and get up from the table, a servant called out from the entrance, "Mr. Grant is here!"

Alexander walked in.

He was dressed in a sharp black suit, his aura so powerful that it instantly shut down all the drama and scheming in the room.

My dad immediately put on a fawning smile and hurried over to greet him. "Oh, Mr. Grant! What an honor to have you here. Sorry for not meeting you at the door."

Alexander gave a cool nod, his gaze sweeping past everyone and landing right on me.

His eyes held a hint of mockery and a touch of indifference.

There was none of that loving couple vibe I'd hoped for.

As soon as everyone took their seats, Victoria jumped in, barely able to contain herself. "Mr. Grant, Olivia is so lucky to have married you. According to our tradition, the wedding gift..."

She flashed two fingers. "Twenty million dollars, surely that's not unreasonable, right?"

My stomach dropped.

Twenty million dollars, that was the exact amount Alexander wanted me to cough up as a penalty.

Alexander took a sip of his red wine, his movements graceful and refined.

He set the glass down, giving me a smirk that hovered between amusement and indifference. "Twenty million dollars?"

Alexander let out a low chuckle. It was quiet, but it instantly silenced the whole room. "Olivia, do you really think you're worth twenty million dollars?"

I snapped my head up, meeting his icy stare.

He was humiliating me.

Right in front of my family, Alexander ripped off my last fig leaf.

My dad's face changed in an instant. "Mr. Grant, what do you mean by that? Didn't Olivia discuss this with you?"

Alexander leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. "Discuss? Ms. Brooks really knows how to play her cards."

He pulled out a napkin and leisurely wiped the corner of his mouth. "Since we're family, it's not like I can't hand it over."

Alexander turned to me, his gaze cold like he was sizing up a lamb for slaughter. "Olivia, all you have to do is beg and clean my shoes."

He casually extended his foot, those pricey leather shoes sporting a barely noticeable speck of dust. "Maybe I'll give you that honor."

The room went dead silent.

My dad, Victoria, Chloe... Everyone's eyes were glued to me.

There was glee, contempt, and anger. But not a single person showed me a shred of pity.

My blood rushed to my head, my mind buzzing so loud I could barely think.

Alexander was cornering me.

He was burning my dignity alive.

If I begged, I'd never be able to look him in the eye again.

If I didn't, tonight would be my doom. I'd end up with no shares, get kicked out with nothing, and maybe even go to jail.

"What, you don't want to?" Alexander checked his watch, then got up without hesitation. "Seems Ms. Brooks isn't serious. Guess there's no need for this marriage after all."

He started walking out.

"Wait!" I called out, my voice shaking.

Tears stung my eyes, but I held them back with everything I had. I refused to let them fall.

I looked at the man towering over me, the same guy who used to argue with me over the best spot in the Westbridge library back in college.

Now, he was nothing like the person I once knew.

I slowly stepped away from my seat.

I begged.

In that moment, I could almost hear my pride shatter.

"Mr. Grant, please wait." I dropped to my knees and picked up the napkin.

My hands trembled, and it felt like my heart was bleeding.

Alexander looked down at me, and for a split second, something I couldn't quite read flickered in his eyes.

Was it triumph?

Or... Disappointment?

"Olivia, remember this feeling," Alexander said coldly, like he was speaking from the depths of hell. "This is the price you pay for lying to me."