Chapter 3

Seaport City's most famous playboy, a regular on the third floor of the Ginza Lounge.

The moment I walked into the lobby, a man in a black suit came to greet me. "Miss Winfield."

I nodded, and the man turned to the side and said respectfully, "Miss Winfield, Mr. Gilbert sent me to bring you up."

I followed him upstairs. The Ginza Lounge was full of the sound of clinking glasses, men and women crowded together—lively, and chaotic.

When I pushed open the door to the private room, it was even livelier inside than downstairs.

Joseph sat in the very middle, a drink in his hand, surrounded by several young, pretty girls.

One was rubbing his shoulders, another was pouring his drink.

Seeing me come in, Joseph lifted his hand. "You're here?"

One of the girls beside him was clearly unhappy, pouting and cooing, "Joseph, exactly how many more people are you planning to invite tonight?"

Joseph blanked for a moment, then laughed. "Hey, you can't go saying things like that! They don't know, so don't be upset with them."

Then he raised his hand and pointed at me, introducing me. "This is my fiancée."

The private room went silent all at once; the girls were plainly panicked.

The ones who had been draped over him a moment ago all sat up straight, and even the one closest to him flustered her way half a meter off.

Joseph chuckled. "What's all this? Don't be nervous."

The smile disappeared completely from the girl's face. "Joseph..."

Then they looked at me, uneasy, and kept apologizing.

I raised my hand. "There's no need to be nervous. He only just got a fiancée himself."

Joseph glanced at the time. "Right."

The girl shot him a glare, picked up her bag, and left. The rest exchanged looks and, knowing better than to linger, left too.

I watched them go, and honestly felt nothing about it.

Anyone in Seaport City with even a bit of a social circle knows who Joseph is.

A notorious playboy, a thorough libertine, running wild since he was a kid.

He poured me a drink and gestured for me to sit. "Don't look at me like that. Before the wedding, I'm single—it's normal socializing."

I laughed and tugged at his collar, marked with lipstick. "This socializing of yours looks pretty enjoyable."

Joseph laughed once, then dropped the devil-may-care act. "All right, let's talk business."

The phone he'd set on the low table flickered and lit up.

He was in that group chat too, and the messages there were still scrolling nonstop.

"I saw the messages in the group chat. Is Lionel really getting married?"

I looked up at him. "Mm."

"How long have you known each other?"

I took a sip of my drink. "One day."

Joseph nearly choked on his drink. "How long did you say?"

"One day."

He was silent for a few seconds, then finally gave me a thumbs-up. "Yeah. Impressive."

I couldn't be bothered to say anything else ugly about it, so I just told him plainly that the bride price talks had broken down, that Lionel wanted to give the ten thousand dollars he'd saved to Melanie, and that in the end he'd told me to come find Joseph.

When he'd heard it, the smile on Joseph's face dimmed a good deal. "He told you to come find me?"

"Mm."

"His exact words?"

I took a sip of water. "He said you have money, and told me to come ask you."

Joseph looked me up and down. "Does he know what the relationship is between our two families?"

"No."

Joseph stared at me for two seconds, then suddenly laughed. "Fine. Since he's so generous, then I really won't hold back."

I looked up at him. "I didn't come to you to spite him."

Joseph set down his glass. "Of course I know that."

"My dad tried to bring us together a while back. When he was about to go talk about a marriage alliance, you'd started dating someone."

The Gilberts and the Winfields have stood as Seaport City's two great powers for years, partners and rivals both across many fields.

The Winfields and the Gilberts, and the two of us both only children—for both our families, a marriage alliance is the safest choice, no matter who you ask.

I understand that, and so does Joseph.

He took out several documents and pushed them in front of me one by one.

Shares the Gilberts were transferring to me, several properties, and a project the two companies were about to launch together.

The last one was the marriage agreement.

I skimmed through it.

It was thorough down to the last detail, and didn't look like a day's work. The contract laid out both parties' interests after the marriage very clearly.

I closed the agreement. "You put this together too fast."

Joseph leaned back on the sofa. "It's not that I was fast. Before I came, I asked my dad. He knew about it, and laughed for three minutes on the phone."

As he said it, Joseph held up three fingers. "Really, no exaggeration—three minutes."

That got a laugh out of me too. I flipped through the agreement to the last page, and then something occurred to me and I looked up suddenly. "Uh, I haven't told my family yet, and I don't even know how much of a dowry my parents are planning."

Joseph swirled his glass idly. "Doesn't matter."

He handed me the pen. "Sign first, lock it in, and we'll deal with the rest afterward."

I didn't take it. "That trusting?"

"What's there not to trust? Odette, a marriage alliance between our families was never about who comes out ahead. Us getting married is good for everyone."

I gave a bitter smile. Just a few hours ago, Lionel had been asking me, with ten thousand dollars, whether I'd be willing to marry him for a little less.

The contracts laid out in front of us now cost more than ten thousand dollars in drafting fees alone.

Joseph glanced at his watch. "And judging by the time, my dad should already be at your place by now."

I picked up the pen and signed my name on the last page.