The Millionaire’s Fake Wedding

*****

The next morning Belle woke up rested, but still unsatisfied. The weirdest thing was – she woke up in her bed, under the blanket, undressed. She looked around the room: her clothes were neatly folded on a chair. It was bright and hot outside, and the room was stuffy, so Belle opened the window and went to the bathroom. She had time to take quick shower, and when she returned, there was a knock on the door.

Allen came in. “You awake? I heard the shower running.”

He was still dressed in his workout uniform. Belle wanted to kiss him, to finish what they had started, but there seemed to be some distance between them that morning, and she held back. Allen was showing no intentions either.

“Come on down, breakfast is ready, alright?”

“Did you carry me to bed last night?”

He looked away. “Yeah. I hope you don’t find it… disrespectful.”

“No. It’s actually very sweet. Thanks.”

“Slept well?”

“Like a baby!”

“Good. Well, I’m waiting downstairs.”

He left her to get dressed, and ten minutes later she joined him at the kitchen table. There was fresh fruit, and pancakes, and eggs to choose from.

“I didn’t know what you would like, so I threw together a bit of everything,” Allen said. He was drinking one of his protein shakes.

“Your diet is odd,” Belle said, taking the plate full of pancakes and some fruit. “Steak for dinner, milkshakes for breakfast?”

“That was celebratory dinner. Plus, I gotta eat real food every once in a while, right?”

Belle smiled and dug into her breakfast, which consisted of very real and tasty food.

After a few minutes, Allen said, “Alright. I’ll take a quick shower, get changed, and we’ll go.”

“Good plan.”

Half an hour later they were rolling out of the gates, this time in a convertible. Belle didn’t know what make it was, but on the outside it looked a lot less flashy than the Bentley. She guessed Allen didn’t want to show off in front of her father. Although, of course, it was no big secret that he had a small fleet of pricey vehicles, so it’d be hard to come off as anything but flashy. Belle hoped for the best.

“Are you sure you’re still up for this?” she asked. In reality, it was she who didn’t feel up to the task.

“One hundred per cent, Belle. Are you?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Don’t worry. It’s the right thing to do, so we will be just fine. I promise.” She didn’t reply, only looking at him with a touch of a smile on her lips, so he asked, “What is it?”

“I just remembered that movie with Ashton Kutcher. Where the girl brings him to meet her black dad.”

“Oh. That wasn’t so good.”

“I had a few laughs with it…”

“Well. Let’s just hope today won’t be like that movie. I can’t imagine the situation could get any more disastrous!”

“Tell me about it!”

Suddenly, she reached and kissed his cheek – she just fell so excited and cheerful at that moment. Most of all, she felt safe. If he weren’t holding both hands on the wheel, she’d take his hand in hers, and just drive beside him like that. Like more than a fake wife – like a real girlfriend. That sounded funny at first, but Belle was warming up to it every minute. Like Allen had said, they were doing the right thing, and this, too, the whole situation, felt like the right thing. She’d done a 180 since last night, but now she was sure – everything was going the right way, and in the end they’d be together. She even forgot about the contract she had signed with Natalie, the one that required them to keep the relationship strictly professional.