Chapter 4

Two months flew by in the blink of an eye.

With graduation just around the corner, the campus was practically deserted.

All those couples who used to make out in the shadows of the playground had vanished without a trace.

That dinner two months ago was basically our send-off meal.

Nobody wanted to spoil the mood by talking about it, everyone was just hyped for what was next, dreaming about the future.

Dragging my suitcase, I wandered the empty campus all by myself.

One could almost smell the goodbye in the air, it was everywhere.

Just as I got to the school gate, I saw Sophie's Porsche 918 waiting right outside.

I rushed over, dragging my suitcase behind me.

Sophie slid off her sunglasses and reached out her hand.

"Hop in. We're off to get our marriage license," she said.

I buckled up.

"What's the rush?" I asked.

Sophie rubbed her slightly rounded belly.

"Come on, quit stalling. Did you bring your ID?" she asked.

"Yeah, I got it!" I said.

I quickly handed her my ID.

We rolled up to city hall in no time.

The place was almost empty, so we didn't even have to wait.

With a heavy thud of the stamp, that marriage license landed right in my hands.

Along with it, she slid over a job offer letter.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll be working at Sterling Enterprises. 10 grand a month, and it's basically a cushy desk job," she said.

The cloud hanging over me vanished in a flash, and I nodded with excitement.

"Anything for you, my queen, even if it kills me!" I said, grinning from ear to ear.

Sophie rolled her eyes at me.

"My dad still has no idea about any of this, so keep it on the down low," she warned.

With that, she drove off without another word.

I waved the marriage license in the air, cursing after her, totally exasperated.

"Hey! The least you could do is give your new husband a ride home!"

Great, looked like I was back to being her human shield again.

After all this time, I finally figured out why Sophie wanted me as her contract husband.

She'd started taking over her dad's company a year ago, and things were pretty much set up.

But right at that moment, she got pregnant.

No way those sly old foxes on the board would ever let an unmarried, pregnant woman become chairwoman.

So she brought me in as her contract husband, just to shut everyone up, including her dad.

Fine by me! As long as her company stayed afloat, I would ride that cushy 10 grand-a-month gig for as long as I could.