KAELAN
Kaelan slammed the door shut. She was gone. A single, cold thought crystallized in his mind: Problem eliminated.
His phone, the one reserved for family, buzzed on the counter. The screen flashed: Mother. The real world, with its far more tedious problems, was calling.
He picked it up on the third buzz, his voice a flat monotone. "Mother."
Eleanor Vance's voice was sharp, devoid of any trace of warmth. "Where are you? We've been waiting. Your father and I are at the house and your grandfather just left. We need to discuss the... situation about your marriage. Now."
Kaelan spoke through gritted teeth "There is no situation. It's handled."
Eleanor laughed. A sharp, disbelieving laugh. "Handled? The wedding is in tatters and you say it's handled? We haven't even met this imaginary fiancée of yours. Get home. Now. Or I'll have your grandfather call you himself."
The line went dead.
Kaelan clenched his fists as he stormed out of the penthouse. He arrived at the family mansion and strode into the grand foyer, his expression a mask of impatience.
His mother, Eleanor, was already waiting, perched elegantly on a couch. "Finally. Did you stop to pick out a new fiancée on the way?"
His jaw tightened, "What do you want, Mother?"
"We want you to fix this! The Cartier people are calling about the wedding bands. It's a humiliation. Where is your fiancée, Kaelan? Does she even have a name?"
A muscle in his jaw twitched, "If you're assuming that I lied about having a fiancée all these months, how wrong you are, Mother," he uttered bitterly.
She wasn't buying it, "Is this wedding going to happen or not?"
His response is clipped and evasive, "Isab_ she… My fiancée is unavailable at the moment."
"Unavailable, you say," his mother glared at him.
He chose his next words carefully, "We are just having some–"
His father, Alistair Vance, entered from the study, his presence quiet but heavy as he cut Kaelen off. "Her absence is a problem, Kaelan. This is not the time for games. Your grandfather is not well. The board is nervous. Silas Croft is circling."
Kaelan responded, his frosty tone matching his father's, "Then let him circle. He doesn't have the votes."
Eleanor spoke impatiently, her eyes burning with displeasure, "He will if you can't prove stable leadership. Your grandfather has moved the timeline. You have 30 days."
Kaelan's eyebrow shot up but his stance remained the same. "30 days for what?"
"To be married. A public, undeniable union. Produce an heir soon after. If not... everything goes to Silas," his mother said.
He almost scoffed in response and his mother raised a questioning brow at him, "My entire legacy hinges on finding a bride in a month? So the great Vance legacy boils down to a breeding contract."
"Yes, it does and it's that simple," his father said.
Kaelen replied with his voice dripping with contempt, "There you go again. Treating me like some godforsaken pawn in your twisted game."
Eleanor raised her voice and fired back at him, "We are treating you like a Vance! Start acting like one. Find a suitable girl. Any suitable girl! At this point, I don't care if you hire an actress!"
Kaelan stared at them, the gears in his mind turning.
"Eleanor," his father called her name softly in warning.
Without another word, Kaelan turned and stormed out, pulling out his phone to call the one person who could help him out of this.
"Leo. I'm on my way. We have a problem to solve."
Kaelan met up with his friend, Leo at a private lounge of one of Leo's hotels.
"Do you want something to drink?" Leo asked from behind the bar. He had emptied the lounge just for them.
"Anything strong will be fine," Kaelan replied as he took his seat on a stool in front of the bar.
"You sounded pissed on the phone. I'm guessing it has something to do with meeting the parents," Leo placed two shot glasses in front of his friend and sat down too with a bottle in hand.
"It's about the damn wedding. I can't believe Isabelle stood me up," he gritted his teeth as he thought of his vanished fiancée.
"I for a fact never liked that lady from the start," Leo said with a slight shake of his head.
"She was my way out. She's going to pay for what she's done."
Leo placed a hand on his shoulder, "Our priority should be fixing this. We'll deal with Isabelle and her sins later."
Kaelan told him about his family and the ultimatum. "They don't want a son; they want a circus monkey with a wife," he concluded.
Leo, trying to lighten the mood, made a joke. "Relax, Kai. If I swung that way, I'd marry you myself. God knows I'd look fabulous in the wedding photos."
Kaelan pinned him with a glare while Leo just laughed at his ordeal.
After throwing a few jabs his way to make him loosen up a bit, Leo turned serious, his business mind clicking into gear.
Then he finally spoke, "Your mother isn't entirely wrong. You don't need a wife. You just need a stand-in. Someone for the photos, the family dinners, the public eye. Just for a while. Someone who can fool everyone including your grandfather."
He leaned in, lowering his voice. "Someone you can control completely. No messy emotions. Just a simple, clean, business transaction. Rent a bride."
"That's outrageous even for you," Kaelan said calmly. "But I like it because it sounds perfect. I'll be winning without having to play their game."
Leo sprawled comfortably in his chair, a wild smile on his face, "See? I told you it was a brilliant idea. You get a wife without the pesky 'love' part. It's every billionaire's dream come true."
Kaelan's steel gaze was fixated on the content of his glass. "It's a strategic solution to a business problem. Don't romanticize it," his eyes momentarily glanced at Leo before he took a sip.
Leo comically stared at him, "Romanticize it? Please. I'm just picturing the pre-nup. It'll be the most romantic document ever written. 'Section 4.2: The Party of the Second Part shall not sigh dreamily at the Party of the First Part.' I don't think I get enough accolades for being so smart."
Kaelan doesn't smile.
His friend sighed dramatically, "Oh, come on. Lighten up. Think of the wedding! I'll be your best man, of course. We can coordinate our tuxedos. It'll be so much fun, people might even think you're marrying me." He winked. "Don't get your hopes up, big guy. You're not my type. Too broody."
Kaelan finally looked at him, deadpan. "Hilarious. Ensure the candidate is presentable, and most importantly, discreet. I don't need a liability."
Leo shifted in his seat, "Discreet, I can find. But let's be real, with your sparkling personality, we might need to offer hazard pay." He grinned, pushing his luck. "Your business acumen is unmatched, Kaelan. Your ego, however, is world-class."
The words landed differently this time, a strange echo in the quiet room.
"You're not that good, anyway. The ego, however, is world-class."
A sudden, unbidden memory flashed and a fleeting, frustratingly elegant scent of jasmine and night orchid that had clung to his sheets.
His jaw tightened, shutting down the memory and the banter at once. "Just find her. And keep the jokes to yourself."
He just pulled out his phone and called his personal assistant, David.
"I need an NDA and a spousal contract drafted by tonight. Terms: Three-year term. Strict confidentiality. Separate living quarters. A monthly stipend. A performance-based bonus for convincing public displays. And call my mother, there will be a wedding tomorrow." His voice was cold and clinical.
Leo choked on his drink, "Don't you think that's hasty? This is marriage we're talking about."
"It's purely business. I'm getting married tomorrow. I don't care who the bride is," he responded with finality. "So now what, genius?"
"We find you a bride," Leo shrugged, his eyes darting to his phone. "I have this charity auction to attend in two hours. There's going to be tonnes of ladies to pick from."
"Then let's go," Kaelan said and got up on his feet immediately.
The two strikingly handsome men walked into the high-society charity auction and it caused a few whispers. Their names on people's lips.
Kaelan scanned the room with contempt. He swiped a glass of whiskey from a tray and took a sip. He mentally disqualified every woman he saw.
None of them really appealed to him.
Then, a slight commotion at the entrance caught his attention. Elara entered on the arm of her friend, Miles. She was beautiful, but it was her aura of defiant pride that cut through the room.
She was wearing one of her own designs. Something striking and architectural that set her apart.
Kaelan didn't recognize her. "Do you know who she is?"
Leo arched a brow at him and smiled, "That's Elara. Her father's company is about to go under. They're desperate for a Vance lifeline. She's perfect. Ambitious enough to take the deal, desperate enough to not ask questions."
Kaelan just silently watched her. He saw the way she interacted with Miles, a genuine smile that doesn't reach her anxious eyes.
He saw the way she avoided her parents and saw the leverage. When he saw the opportunity, he made his move.
The moment she turned and her eyes met his, the recognition was a physical jolt.
His initial shock was instantly replaced by cold, hard calculation. "Of course. It was all an act. The tears, the outrage. She was scouting her mark. And now her family has sent her in for the kill."
His eyes narrowed to slits. Any hesitation about the plan vanished. She was a perfect, loathsome solution to his problem.
"Are you stalking me now?" came her remark.
His jaw clicked, "It seems our paths are destined to cross, Miss…?"
"I don't have the time for this," she rolled her eyes at him and tried to walk away.
He casually said over his shoulder as she walked past him, "Your family's situation is unfortunate. I have a proposition."
She stopped. "Excuse me?"
Then turned fully to him.
He too turned to face her. "That's why you came to me last night, isn't it?"
She took a step towards him and sized him up despite their height difference. She refused to be intimidated.
She poked his chest defiantly as she spoke, "I don't know what you've been fed with all your life but you should know that the world doesn't revolve around you, Mr…"
"Vance," he said. "Kaelan Vance."
She stumbled backwards and her eyes widened. She glanced at her parents from across the hall, who smiled triumphantly.
He was indeed Kaelan Vance. Kaelan Vance was her one night stand!
"You want to save your family's business and reputation, don't you?" he said with a hint of impatience.
"T_this is not the place to talk," she managed to recover and point out.
"Follow me," he said in a clipped tone and turned around.
She hesitated. Her parents urged her with their eyes to go after him. And she did.
He led her to his car at the entrance, "Get in."
"Are you always this bossy?" she said as she got in.
He ignored her comment and went straight to business, "Your family's business is groveling."
"Tell me something I don't know," she said in a bored tone.
"David, the papers," Kaelan ordered.
The assistant handed the document from the driver's seat and exited the car.
He dropped the pre-written contract in her lap. He simply watched her as she eyed the thick stack of papers.
He laid out the terms, his voice devoid of all emotion. Three years. The act. The rules. The payment. He presents it as an inevitability.
"You will be my wife in name and appearance only. In return, I will make your family's financial troubles disappear. This is the only offer you will receive."
She was still reeling from the shock of the auction, then the offer.
He met her eyes, his gaze utterly merciless.
"Sign it," he said, his voice dangerously quiet, "or pick up the phone and tell your father you just watched his life's work turn to dust."