Chapter 6 Taste before it hits

Randall could not do anything but get swayed with the beautiful woman he is talking to. He could have left her just like what he used to do, yet something in him orders him to stay and listen. He, himself, doesn't even know what is happening.

"My stepmother's sick, she is dying." Gabrielle cleared her throat so she could talk freely. The gloomy expression in her eyes were too much to bear and it weakens the strongest foundation Randall have built over the course of the years.

"You see, at such a young age, I lost my mom." She sighed and grabbed her hair, trying to stay awake. "A few years later, my father married Laura. It's hard to adjust, I hate to replace the only mother who catered to me young."

Randall was all ears. He's invested in the story, like a child listening to a bedtime tale.

"Just as things were getting comfortable for me, my father passed away. And here I am... left with no choice but to take care of my stepmother, because how can I abandon her?" Gabrielle laughed as she chugged another glass of whiskey she snatched from Randall's hands.

"Must be tough." Randall was out of words. His eyes are just fixated on the beautiful woman in front of him and how her perfect face suits his standards of who he should be marrying.

"Yeah..." Gabrielle laughed wryly. "I would sell my soul to earn money, I would do anything."

Randall's ears felt tingly when he heard those words. He cannot fathom the fact that the woman would sacrifice a lot to get rich.

He is not one to understand. Growing up and getting everything that he had ever wanted was all he knew.

"Really? You'd do anything?" A smirk escaped his mouth. Randall thought of something he knew Gabrielle could never resist. Money is what fuels her to live, and that fuel is something that Randall has.

"Yeah? As long as it would put my mom in her misery and would pay my debts." She quickly responded.

Randall's eyes lit up as he looked beside him to bother Carl.

"What?" Annoyance crept into his friend's tone of voice. "Don't tell me?"

"Get the papers on my car and write us a contract this instant," Randall ordered Carl around. He is determined to keep her for himself and does not have any much thought to spare for it.

"Are you serious?! I have given you so many options for you to be fucking around. Wake up!" Carl refused to go.

"I am not asking you for permission. You should make one now or else, I'd fire you from your job and make sure no one would accept you." Randall's eyes darkened.

Carl could not say a word anymore and quickly went out to fetch some papers and write the terms and conditions of the marriage.

Gabrielle is falling asleep now and her head is already giving up.

He caught her and had her lean on his shoulder. He ran his fingers on her smooth, white, and fair skin and it made him feel so many emotions that he could not name.

"I just wish..." he was shocked when he heard the woman making gibberish with her eyes closed. He waited for her to finish her words and patiently looked up at the ceiling.

"I just wish someone would put an end to this miserable life and save me." Gabrielle hoped.

Randall stared at her and realized so many things. First, he never even held a woman that close except for his mother. Second, he hated showing sympathy and care for strangers. And third, he would never look at someone that long.

So many thoughts that he forgot to emphasize his own emotion.

"Alright. I'll put an end to that." He smiled daunting as he watched Carl enter the room once again.

"Sign this document and you'll be free of the financial burden you are currently in." Randall didn't even check the papers. All he wants is to have Gabrielle marry him.

Gabrielle, with half-eyes close, still managed to ask what was happening.

"What are you doing?" She curiously asked. The way her fingers ran down the paper while trying to read between her blurry eyes makes it all worthwhile.

Randall's proposition was anything but romantic. It was more of a business deal than a fairy tale proposal. "I need a wife, you need money. What can you say?" he said, devoid of any genuine affection.

For Gabrielle, it seemed like a marriage of convenience, bound by contract rather than love.

Randall dropped a bombshell: "My inheritance won't be mine unless I find a woman to marry. But don't worry, I can take care of all your financial needs. All you have to do is pretend that you and I are madly in love, and you'll be out of this miserable life." It was a shock to hear Randall say so much at once; it was the first time he had spoken so openly, and it was completely out of character for him.

"Am I dreaming?" Gabrielle whispered into the air as she tried to pinch herself. "Are you an angel...?"

Randall chuckled. "Quite the opposite..." he whispered in a hushed tone, making sure not to be overheard by the woman.

He took Gabrielle's finger and dabbed it on an ink. She's getting drowsier and he's ready to take advantage of it.

"What are we doing..." Gabrielle tried to resist.

Randall slyly pressed Gabrielle's fingerprint onto the contract alongside the marriage certificate, ensnaring her in his web without a second thought to her consent.

"Randall, you're going to regret this," Carl warned, unable to ignore the situation any longer.

Randall flashed a wry smile. "I might end up regretting this, but for now, marrying this stunning woman temporarily should suffice."

"I'd endure the worst rather than let her go," he mumbled to himself as he watched her drift into sleep.

The next morning, the news of the upcoming wedding will spread like wildfire.