Chapter 2

After an exhausting day of playing the part, we finally saw off the last of the guests.

Looking at Elena sitting on the plush king-sized bed in our honeymoon suite, I pressed my lips together nervously.

"I'm sorry. I made that decision today without consulting you first. If you regret it, we can quietly get a divorce as soon as the media buzz dies down."

A flash of surprise flickered through Elena's eyes. Her left hand unconsciously twirled the wedding band on her ring finger, and she suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

"Don't worry about it. Chloe acted completely out of line today. Consider it me cleaning up my sister's mess."

Hearing her laugh made me breathe a sigh of relief, though I still managed a bitter smile.

"Chloe doesn't love me, and I can't force her. But our families' marriage impacts our business partnership. If things had blown up into a scandal today, I wouldn't have known how to face my parents."

Elena nodded understandingly. "I thought the same thing. Our companies are in the middle of closing a critical joint venture. If anything went sideways, our rivals would take full advantage."

I nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Well... I'll take the guest room next door tonight." Glancing at the single bed in the room, I smiled awkwardly.

Since she clearly had no real romantic feelings for me, lingering in the room would just make me look like a creep.

"Stop right there," she said. "If you walk out that door tonight, I become the joke. Do you want everyone to know our marriage is a sham?"

I froze in my tracks, my ears heating up. "Then... I won't leave."

She raised an eyebrow with an amused smirk. "Why so nervous? I'm not going to bite."

I wanted to say I wasn't nervous, but the heat rising up my neck made me feel completely exposed.

Apart from Chloe, I had never shared a bedroom with another woman like this—let alone one who was now legally my wife.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself together, grabbed an extra blanket from the closet, and sat down on the sofa. "I'll sleep on the couch!"

This time, she didn't object. After washing up, she lay down in bed to rest.

The suite fell dead silent. My eyes unconsciously drifted toward the bed, only to lock straight onto Elena's bright, piercing gaze.

I flusteredly looked away.

Her voice drifted over through the dim light.

"Even though this is just a marriage of convenience, no one else can know that for now."

I nodded. I understood that much.

She continued, "In front of outsiders, you must play the devoted husband flawlessly. You follow my lead. In return, I will play the perfect wife until this arrangement ends."

"Understood."

"Also, I will not tolerate any lingering drama with Chloe. If you drag the Sterling name into a tabloid scandal because of her, I won't hesitate to tear up our business contracts."

At the mention of Chloe, my chest felt heavy again. If she hadn't run off today, none of this would have happened, and Elena wouldn't be dragged into acting out this charade with me.

"You have a problem with that?" Her tone sharpened slightly, as if displeased.

I answered quickly, "Not at all. I give you my word."

Since I had already decided to let go, drawing a clear line was the bare minimum.

I didn't sleep well that night and woke up at the crack of dawn.

Knowing there was someone else in the room, I tiptoed around, luckily without waking her.

The moment I clicked the front door shut, I let out a long breath. Looking at the sunrise outside, the knot in my chest loosened a bit.

Things didn't seem as bad as I had feared. At the very least, Elena was an exceptional partner to work with.

"Julian."

Chloe suddenly appeared in front of me, her face pale with exhaustion.

Catching the faint scent of another man's cologne on her, my stomach churned, and I instinctively took a step back, pushing past her.