Chapter 4 The deal

Bianca

"Come in," Liam blinked, his jaw tightening.

Belinda opened the door and walked in.

"Sir, Ma'am, the boss requests your presence." She said, eyes fixed on the ground.

"My wife and I will be downstairs shortly," Liam replied. "You may go,"

Hearing him call me his wife made my eyes lift a little and I felt a bit calmer inside.

Liam cleared his throat.

"As I was saying before the interruption, I think we could both make this work,"

"How exactly?" I asked, voice low.

"I'm proposing a fake marriage," he said

I frowned.

"We had an authentic marriage," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

What the hell did he mean by a fake marriage?

"Yes, yes of course we did," he said, "but neither of us truly wanted this,"

"What exactly is your plan?" I asked.

"A happy marriage for the world, especially my dad. No intimacy, nothing real. We just have to keep up the act," he replied.

My eyes widened as his words sank in.

"And what if I refuse?" I asked.

Liam gave a wide grin. "Look around you lady, do you really have a choice here?"

The truth was, I couldn't say no to his proposal.

Maybe this was my one chance to align with Liam even if just for show. I could be happier this way.

"Well.. Deal or no deal?" He asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Deal," I replied.

We went downstairs for dinner with Fredrick and found him smiling, accompanied by his girlfriend Victoria.

"Good evening Mr Fredrick, Victoria " I greeted.

"Good evening Dad," Liam said, ignoring Victoria. His dislike for her was very clear, and I couldn't help but wonder why.

She seemed pleasant to me.

"Liam, Bianca, I looked all over for you at the party," he said, his voice full of excitement. He stood tall in his sharp suit, smiling wide. "Victoria and I have an announcement,"

Liam and I exchanged curious glances as we stared at them.

"We're engaged," Victoria said with a smile.

"And also expecting," Fredrick declared loudly.

"Uh, Dad, can I have a word? privately," Liam asked, his tone flat and serious.

"Sure," Fredrick replied. He leaned toward Victoria and whispered "I'll be back shortly, babe," and she gave a small nod.

Liam and Fredrick left the room, leaving me alone with Victoria.

I offered a polite smile.

"Congratulations Victoria. Welcome to the family."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile.

The silence that followed grew heavy.

Victoria cleared her throat. "I have to use the restroom, the usual pregnancy thing," she chuckled nervously, rising from her seat. "If you'll excuse me,"

"Of course," I said, with a soft smile.

As Victoria walked away, a folded paper slipped from her purse. I bent down quickly, picked it up, planning to keep it safe until she got back. But curiosity got the better of me, so I opened it.

I froze.

It was an ultrasound photo. But the name printed on it wasn't Victoria's. It wasn't even a woman's name. It was a Google watermark.

My hands trembled as I held the paper, my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

It was one thing to suspect, it was another to have proof.

Victoria wasn't telling the truth. Still I couldn't go straight to Fredrick. But I could tell Liam first, as soon as dinner was over.

I hurried back to my seat just before Victoria returned. Soon after, Liam and Fredrick joined us and we all sat down to dinner.

The meal was oddly quiet and rushed. I noticed Liam's coldness and couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the pregnancy and engagement.

After dinner, we walked into our bedroom.

Liam began unbuttoning his shirt hastily, and I stared lustfully at the hard lines of his chest for a minute. I blinked rapidly, swallowing hard.

"Liam, I need to talk to you," I managed to say.

"About?" He asked, not looking up, focused on unbuttoning his shirt.

"It's about Victoria," I muttered, my voice barely steady. "I think she's lying about the pregnancy,"

"Oh, please," Liam scoffed. "What the hell are you talking about?" He slipped his hands into his trouser pockets, jaw tight.

"Here, I found this," I said, giving him the folded paper. "It slipped from her purse earlier shortly before dinner."

He took the paper and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Look at the scans, they're fake. And this report? No doctor signs with initials only." I said, as Liam took a closer look.

He lifted his eyes to look at me.

"Are you trying to cause trouble? You're barely a part of this family and now you're starting rumors." he snapped.

"Liam..I only.." I barely got the words before he cut me off.

"Listen to me," he stepped closer, "you're nothing but a debt repaid, you'll never be a part of this family, don't you ever meddle in our affairs again."

"I only wanted to help," I muttered.

I glanced down, my throat tightening as heat rushed to my face.

"You ain't helping lady, you're trying to cause some trouble here." He said. "Hell yeah, I don't like Victoria either, but stooping to this.." He tossed the paper toward my face.

"Liam, that's enough," I managed to say, my voice shaking but steady. "We both know Victoria is definitely up to something. I can feel it, and whatever it is could ruin everyone living under this roof and that includes me." I breathed hard, staring into his eyes.

Liam said nothing, holding my gaze.

"So you just expect me to walk up to my father and tell him that you think his fiancée is faking a pregnancy just because you found some paper lying somewhere," he managed to say, breaking the brief silence.

"It slipped from her purse, it could mean something," I said, jaw tightening.

"I don't have time for your mindless games," he said, throwing the paper aside.

My breath caught, tight with hurt I couldn't hide.

"I'm trying to protect you, to protect this family," I said.

"I don't need your damn protection, We're the Smiths, what makes you think we could use some protection from you," he snapped, pointing a finger at me.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say a word, the door pushed open, and Fredrick stood there watching us.

I froze.