Chapter 3 Being the Fool

It was Clara.

She had done the most unimaginable thing.

She was married!

Married to a man she didn't even know well at the time!

She seemed to have gone completely crazy after learning of Jake's adultery.

The woman was truly losing her mind, so perhaps she should make an appointment with her former therapist. She was going to Looneyville on a first-class flight. She got Lindsay Lohan out of this predicament, so forget about it!

As she dragged her feet behind the wide back of the man in front of her, she was perspiring profusely and felt as though the marriage certificate she was holding was burning her skin.

He was going to be her spouse from now on.

Unbelievable.

"We need to go over the details of this marriage because I'm honestly starting to get cold feet."

"Isn't that something you get before getting married?"

"I have a knack for not doing things in the right order."

She gave his sarcasm a nod. "Okay, let's do so. Where do you wanna talk?"

"There's a café nearby. We can go there."

She hesitated.

The man glanced over his shoulder and saw that she was not following him. "Is there a problem? Why aren't you coming?"

Clara questioned whether mentioning her fear of recognition would come across as arrogant.

Fortunately, David saved the day. "I think it would be better for Miss Raymond to not be seen in public with you as yet."

Only then did Nicholas realize.

"Okay then. Let's do it in the car."

Immediately, the man made his way to his white Cadillac Escalade. As they sat facing each other, Clara gave him a look. Her glance told him all he needed to know of her readiness for him to express whatever he wanted to say.

She gave the impression that she was eager to finish this and was running late for an appointment.

The idea that he was a bother to someone else truly irritated him.

She beat him to it, which just made things worse.

"I want to say thank you for marrying me. I don't know exactly how you'll benefit from this entire ordeal. I just overheard a few business concepts. But because of your sacrifice if you need anything, please let me know."

"You're telling me to ask you for favors?"

She gave a nod.

In awe of what was transpiring between them, his hands folded themselves.

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?"

Clara gave him a serious look. "Why should it?"

After that, none of them made a move, keeping a close eye on the other's response.

Nicholas laughed lightly, relieving the strain.

He remarked, "You're an interesting one."

"I don't know if that's a compliment or not."

"Let's say it's somewhere in the middle."

He stared at the gleaming watch on his wrist, his eyes sparkling. "Also, you don't have to worry about me asking for favors, no matter what form they may be."

His voice didn't reveal anything, so she wasn't sure if she should have been insulted.

"I think I'm the one who should be more concerned about who gets what out of this marriage."

That scuffed Clara's throat.

"What exactly are you implying?"

"Your goal." He squinted.

His unexpected roughness made her choke.

"What is it?"

When she said, "I don't have any,"

He gave an eye roll.

Her jaw tightened at how disgusting that was.

"At least not the one you're thinking of."

"So you do have one? You just said you didn't."

"Did you bring me in your car to interrogate me, Mr. King?"

His eyes were still amused as he shook his head. "Of course not, Miss Raymond. You can't blame me for being this way after marrying a stranger."

"The last time I recalled I never dragged you by your legs, kicking and screaming to do this with me."

It was "You're right," he admitted.

With a sedative from her reminder, his gaze fell on hers.

"So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop looking at me with a hint of suspicion."

"Am I?"

"You are."

He drew a long breath. "I didn't mean to. I apologize."

She dismissed it with a quick "It's alright," as he had admitted his error.

"You said you don't want any favors from me but I have one to ask of you."

Nicholas pleaded, "Say it." and then pulled at his suit's neck.

He questioned her once more, and I knew I shouldn't have believed her.

"I don't want you to interfere in my matters."

The understanding made his lips quiver. "You're telling me to mind my own business?" he asked.

Did she say that was a favor?

Clara started to defend herself, but after giving it some thought, she realized that was precisely what she was saying.

"If you want to take it that way, fine."

This woman was so daring that he nearly burst out laughing.

"Do you have any more requests, Your Majesty?"

She disregarded his irony.

"I expect a level of respect where exclusivity is involved. Not to the whole world but between us. We're married so I won't get involved with someone else during this time. I also expect you to do the same." She was sincere in her tone of voice.

Her brief but powerful requests caused Nicholas to give her a sly smile.

"Okay, I promise you those two things. Is that all?"

She gave a nod.

"Are you sure? I thought you'd ask for something else."

"What? Like your Cadillac?"

The woman gave him a sharp glance.

She wasn't usually like this, but he was making her feel agitated.

What more could he have hoped she would ask for?

With his cologne filling her senses, he glided across to her with such ability that her heart sprang in her throat.

"No need to have an attitude. I was just asking."

"I would have told you if there was something else."

"Are you sure there's nothing?"

She sighed in frustration. "Why are you-"

"Nothing about...skinship?" He traced a long finger across her smooth skin, raising goosebumps on the occasion.

"U-uh..." Clara swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling like sandpaper.

Clara had no intention of entertaining Nicholas King by sleeping with him as his "wife," regardless of how little she knew about him other than the fact that he currently ruled the kingdom of entertainment.

She didn't think it would get that far because it was all a lie.

Furthermore, the woman didn't believe she was even close to acknowledging that option.

The thought of Jake not being the one to experience that pleasure with her, as she had always dreamed, caused tears to spring up in the corners of her eyes.

Perhaps he had been too forward in his approach, Nicholas thought as he leaned back against the leather seats and saw the sweat that pooled at his audacious comments.

He gave a loud clearing of his throat.

"I will give you some time to take care of the current issues that you are facing, especially with your hopefully soon-to-be past relationship with your fiance. However, after four months, I have to publicly announce our marriage. It is not within my plans to give you more time than that. After all, that's the reason I got married in the first place."

Clara nodded heartily, "Thank you."

Later, when she recognized how strange her joy was, her smile vanished.

I get that the woman was insane, but a man purposefully marrying you isn't a reason for a dance party.

"Also...I think it would serve us more benefits to live together. It will be much more convenient during this period. You can have all your belongings be moved to my place. My assistant will be in touch with you whenever you indicate to me that you're ready. He will also assist with the entire move to where your new home will be."

This seemed a bit absurd to Clara.

If this was all supposed to be a hoax, why did she have to move in with him?

But she recalled that if you put yourself into a role, you can only perform it more effectively.

With a dutiful nod, she responded, "Okay, I'll let you know."

In any case, she had no personal liabilities that were preventing her from moving forward.

Speaking of which, Jake had been formally removed from her life, even if he was unaware of it at the time. Both as a person and as a fiancé.

If it wasn't strictly business-related, she didn't want to interact with him at all.

She needed to sort out a few things first, though.

Clara needed to know that Jake would be held accountable for his treatment of her.

"Good."

Clara then departed the company of Nicholas and his aide.

"Sir, where are we headed to now?" David said as he climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine while glancing into the rearview mirror.

"Do you trust her?"

His helper blinked quickly.

"Excuse me, sir?"

In response to his query, Nicholas stated, "Because I don't."

All of this worried David a great deal.

"If I were to offer my two cents, I think it would be appropriate to clear any worries that you have by keeping track of her."

"You mean stalking her?"

The man's gaze expanded. "That's not what I meant-"

As Nicholas saw Clara reverse her car, he said, "I think that's a good idea. Let's follow her to see exactly where she's headed now."

How opportune of her to ask him to marry her at that very moment! There has to be a catch on her end someplace.

The most dishonest people were always those with innocent-looking faces like hers.

Naturally, being the head of a global entertainment company, he was familiar with Clara Raymond.

After earning her first Golden Globe, the once-famous actress abruptly disappeared from the public eye two years ago. She was blacklisted after making the error of upsetting the director of FG, the leading entertainment company. Following her announcement that she would be signing with her second agency, Starz Entertainment, all of these episodes occurred, and she gained notoriety after her relationship with the boss, Jake Mallion, was made public.

Clara, meanwhile, was attempting to come to grips with the way things were going to proceed going forward while driving on the strangely quieter street.

From now on, it seemed as though her whole existence would be undergoing renovations.

She sat there in shock as the picture of Nicholas King flashed through her head.

He was a beautiful man.

A very characteristic aspect about him shouted devil, with an angelic face.

Given his icy demeanor toward her, his reputation preceded him.

Clara mentally noted that she should avoid doing anything that would irritate him.

Despite not knowing her true motives, he was nevertheless gracious enough to marry her.

To be honest, Clara didn't even know what they were.

The continuous ringtone lighted up her cracked phone. It was impossible to resist the urge to tense up at the mention of that traitor, Jake.

Before responding, she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts.

"Hey."

"Where are you right now?" he questioned impatiently, ignoring Clara's one-word greeting that was so out of character for her.

"Leaving the Civil Affairs office."

"Good."

Alright? She pondered.

"I need you to attend a very important fashion showcase for Stella today. She's not feeling well. I'll have the makeup team prepare a costume for you so that no one will know."

He had no shame.

Not even a regretful tone in his voice, nor a "I'm sorry" after canceling their marriage registration. He was being callous and demanding, giving her orders as though she had to follow them.

Clara gripped the steering wheel more tightly.

The puzzled woman said, "I don't want to."

She was shocked by him!

When she finished speaking, Jake froze.

Stella was putting her warm hands around his waist in bed when he abruptly shushed her. With a pout, she leaped from the bed and headed to the restroom.

He looked at Clara and signed when she was out of sight.

Was his hearing playing tricks on him? Was his proposal recently rejected by Clara?

"You what?" he asked, blinking in surprise.

"I don't want to," Clara answered with a little hesitation, "I already told you that the last time would be the last time I go out in public pretending to be Stella. I have my pride too, you know, Jake."

"This isn't about pride, Clara," she heard him say. "You're just being selfish. Stella needs this right now. She has been hospitalized and all you're thinking about is your stupid pride? I am so disappointed in you."

Normally, she would have been on the edge of tears to hear Jake say such terrible things. Perhaps she would have even lost it.

But now, all they did was make her bones ache.

"Jake..." she said gently, clinging to what little rationality she still had.

"Listen, Clara. You don't have a choice in this anymore. You're gonna go as Stella tonight and that's final. Make sure to put in highlights, Stella has a few blonde strands in."

Then Clara heard the line die in her ears.

Her ears rang with the terrible sound.

As a result, she had nearly missed the red-to-green change in light.

The drivers of the cars behind her swore at her while they honked loudly.

Clara drove passed the light but stopped at the curb, still essentially dazed. Before the girl threw open the car door and the contents of her meager breakfast appeared on the pavement, she remained there for a while, letting Jake's words drift through her head.

She spilled her guts on the street, while Nicholas, half sympathetic, watched intently from his car.

"Sir, don't you think we should go and help-" David said, his cheeks flushed with worry.

"Shhh."

Clara's swollen face was magnified by Nicholas's dark eyes.