Page 69 of My Ruthless Opponent

I mull over it for a minute before muttering, “Fair enough. Every round is going to be about photos and videos, right? A setup. So, the wedding round will be a setup too, right?”

He shakes his head slowly. Panic builds in my stomach.

“Everything is going to be real. The date, The Proposal, The Wedding.”

“How is this possible? You said we are going to present two different ideas for each round. That means two dates, two proposals, and two weddings?” This is sounding absurd.

“Not the wedding. We are going to get married at the resort only once. Here’s where the competition between us gets challenging. As the third round will be the deciding factor, we’ll have to bereallycreative in this round. Our teams will have only one chance to capture the beautiful moment of love in a picture. Because that picture will be uploaded on the website of the resort.”

“But the wedding will be for the show, right?”

“I am afraid not. Everyone’s eyes are going to be on us. We can’t call the wedding off after the contract is executed. That will ruin not only ours but also Archer’s reputation. People will call us con artists. Nobody will trust us.”

I fold my hands in my lap, suddenly numb from hearing all this. He has planned this thoroughly.

“What are you suggesting we do then?” I ask weakly.

“We have to stay married for a full year. To make our act believable. Because if we annulled our marriage in a month that will raise questions on the authenticity of our relationship. And we can’t have that.”

I swallow the knot in my throat and push to my feet. “Okay.”

Raleigh stands. “Okay?”

He is staring at me as if he can’t believe I agreed so easily.

Beggars can’t be choosers. I can’t demand changes in his plan. I would have never agreed to something so treacherous if it weren’t for Dad.

I thought Raleigh and I would be acting as models for this contract. I assumed we would only have to act like a couple for a week. But this changes everything.

A real wedding.

One year as Mrs. Raleigh Jackson.

This is a gamble. One year of my life is at stake. And no guarantee of winning the promotion. Even if I lose, I’ll have to stay married to Raleigh.

I rub my face, too overwhelmed to continue the conversation. I need to be alone. “I’m in. Pick me up at eight in the morning. We should go there together. It’s good for our pretense.” I mumble and head to the door and hold it open.

He approaches me and narrows his eyes. “Looks like you’re in a hurry to get rid of me.” No shit, Sherlock.

“Do you have plans for tonight?” Yup. I have plans. I intend to take a long shower and hit the bed. The pleasant feeling from the bike ride is ancient history. I just want to be left alone.

“Maybe I do,” I murmur, hoping Raleigh could take a hint and get going.

Raleigh’s face tightens. “I see. Are you seeing someone?”

I frown. Why is he stalling? “Why do you care?”

“Cancel it.”

My eyes widen. “Excuse me?”

His eyes bore into me with a dangerous intensity. “You’re are my fiancée.”

“Yourfakefiancée.” I grind my teeth. It’s fascinating how he can make my blood boil at record speed.

I am dead tired but I can wrestle him right this second. I don’t have any plans. But he doesn’t get to dictate me.

We glare at each other.

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