Page 31 of Dr. Billionaire's Fake Marriage

I am glad my maids are away for the weekend. Henry continues to speak, "I found out that her mother has been to the hospital twice in the last two weeks. The most interesting part is that she came when Camile was not on her shift." Henry pauses. "Apparently, she was diagnosed with cancer on her second visit. Stage one cancer."

Now, I get why Henry is here to tell me about Camile's mother. He thinks I can offer to pay her hospital bill in exchange for Camile to marry me.

"I don't want to sound like a monster," I say, realizing how harsh it is to use her mother's health as leverage.

Henry chuckles, "You don't seem to have a choice. Otherwise, you are stuck with Emilie forever." Henry gets up to leave. "I will see you on Friday." Seeing me on Friday means he will see me at the proposal party.

I watch Henry leave the house, and think of calling Camile, but talking about my plans over the phone will be unwise. I need to see her physically, and I need to talk to her.

If Henry were here, he'd say I only need an excuse to take her out on a date. I am not sure he would be right about that. But I look forward to taking Camile on our first official date.

****

Camile sits across from me in the M&H restaurant. "I always want to try the shrimps here. I heard they are good," she says and looks at me like an alien when I tell her I don't eat shrimp.

“I am allergic…” I say, “since I was a boy.”

Camile starts to eat anyway while I dig into the spaghetti before me. "If you are here to talk about what happened last time, I don't think it is necessary."

I shake my head. I can see the disappointment on her face.

She really wants to talk about the night we spent together even though she just lied about it.

I clear my throat, not knowing how best to tell her I'd love to marry her on a contract basis.

I take a minute, lost in Camile's beautiful eyes, and later catch myself when I get that Camile is uneasy. I eventually blurt out, "I want you to marry me."

Camile laughs as if I had just told her the best joke. "You are kidding, right? Is this some sort of prank?"

I shake my head, and the smile on her face dims when she sees that I am serious. "You are not kidding!" she says. "You really want me to marry you."

I tell her about Mother's plan and the truth about Emilie's ruse to take a good portion of the family's property.

"What makes you think I am not like Emilie?" she asks, raising her brows, waiting for an answer.

I swallow to prevent my throat from drying. "Because you are not like her."

She shakes her head, dabs her mouth with a napkin, and stands up. "Your mother doesn't know about this, does she?"

I don't answer; she knows Mother is unaware of my plans. "I can't do it," she answers.

"What if I pay for your mother's medical surgery?" I say, "Full payment, not a dime will drop from your pocket."

Camile’s eyes widen as she asks, "What surgery?" Then, I understand that she is unaware of her mother's stage one cancer diagnosis.

"You didn't know?" I sigh, realizing that this will be more difficult than I thought.

Chapter ten

The Contract

Camile

This all seems like a dream to me. I am sitting across from Troy, listening to him telling me to marry him because he doesn't want to marry the lady his mother has arranged.

He tells me my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and I am mad because it only shows how desperate he is about the whole thing. He doesn't need to lie about her health to convince me to go through with his plot.

"You are joking, right?" I say. "You should stop if this is an expensive joke."

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