Chapter 5 5

Mia's POV

"Why? I thought I was only a substitute bride for today. What do you mean we have to stay together?" I asked him, my voice getting louder with each word.

"Let's talk in my car, people are watching." He said as he made me enter the car before he got in and closed the door.

"Should I take you to your house, sir?" The driver asked Allen.

"No, you're taking me to my house." I blurted out before Allen had the chance to answer.

"Just keep driving." Allen told the driver before he raised the privacy barrier.

"I'm not gonna stay together with you," I said before I removed the expensive ring in my face and threw it in his lap.

Then it hit me. Shit, I shouldn't have returned that ring, I should have sold it and used the money to pay for my rent. He would probably not ask about it anyway.

"I'll pay all your debts. I'll even pay you five million dollars if you come and live with me." Allen said as he stared at me, hoping I would agree.

The money was really catchy but I wasn't ready for marriage, let alone get married to a stranger and live with him for the rest of my life.

"You don't have to stay with me for a long period of time. I only need you for a year. We both saw how my parents were happy that I got married to you, they would be so disappointed if they found out I didn't tell them the whole truth."

"Well, you should have thought about that before. I can't believe you're only worried about yourself. What about me? What about my life? You think I don't have a life until I bumped into you yesterday? How could you be so selfish?" I asked him, my voice laced with anger and my cheeks became warm. It took everything in me to not punch him in the face.

"I'll give you enough time to think about it." He said calmly before telling the driver to take us to his penthouse so I could take my things.

When we arrived at his place, I didn't think twice about dashing to the room I had slept in yesterday. I stripped the wedding dress off my body and wore my clothes, I tied my hair in a ponytail, grabbed my phone and bag from the table and walked out of the room. I came here with nothing and I was leaving with nothing.

Allen was waiting for me in the living room, with his hands in the pocket of his pants. He held my arm and dropped his business card in my palm.

"Call me when you change your mind."

"That won't be necessary because I won't change my mind. My decision is final." I told him, maintaining a straight face so he would know I wasn't joking.

"I asked the driver to take you home. Thanks for today, by the way." He said before walking up the stairs.

I proceeded out of the building and truly, the driver was waiting for me. He opened the door as soon as he saw me, and I got in without wasting time.

I checked my phone and saw twenty messages and twelve missed calls from Kara, five missed calls from Aunt Vera, my mum's sister. I haven't heard from her in two years. I was so sure she called me because she saw me on the news.

When the driver dropped me off in front of my apartment, I quickly took out my keys so I could unlock the door and enter before Joey, my landlord noticed me. But my plan didn't go so well, it was like the landlord had been waiting for me. His head popped out of nowhere and he looked at the limo parked in front of my apartment and then at me. His face was covered with shock.

"When I saw the news about Allen Walker's marriage, I told my wife several times that you weren't the bride. But I've just been proven wrong. What exactly are you up to, young lady? You want to get married to a billionaire and then run away with my money?" He asked as he stepped closer to me, his eyes traveled down to my fingers and when he didn't see a ring, his face scrunched up in confusion.

This was exactly what I was afraid of. People would think because I married a billionaire and appeared on TV, then I was suddenly a billionaire too.

"That's not true. I plan on giving you part of the payment tonight and then I'll try and pay the rest by next week." I said in a pleading tone.

"Why don't you ask your billionaire husband for help? I'm sure he wouldn't want his wife to be thrown out on the streets." He said with a cunning smile.

"I can't- do that." I shuttered, not knowing how to explain to him that I wasn't Allen's real bride, I was just a substitute.

"If you don't pay up by today, I'll have no choice but to throw you out on the streets. Have a good day, Mrs Walker." He said as he walked back into his house that was right beside mine.

I didn't fail to take notice of how he called me a Walker. That's the name people would call me now. Even though it was a name of powerful and rich people in our country, it felt inappropriate for me to be a Walker.

The driver finally drove off and it made me wonder if Allen had asked him to stay and see if I would change my mind.

I sighed as I opened the door and walked into my quiet apartment. I fell on the couch and stayed there for almost thirty minutes, wondering what was going on with my life.

My phone vibrated in my bag, jolting me from my thoughts. I brought it out and saw that it was Kara. I picked the call and put the phone on speaker.

"Mia!! What the hell is going on? You are all over the news!!" She yelled into the phone. This was exactly why I put the phone on speaker, I knew how she would react.

" It's a long story." I said tiredly.

"Are you home?"

"Yeah."

"I'm coming over."

"Bring some food, please. I haven't eaten anything since morning." With that she hung up and I knew it wouldn't take long for her to reach here. Her place was just five minutes walk from mine.

Kara arrived in no time. She brought a box of pizza with her and I ate it like I hadn't eaten for days.

"I can't believe you didn't eat at your own wedding." Kara said as she stared at me while I ate, she waited until I was done eating before asking me for details.

"Like I said, it's a long story." I told her as I gulped down a whole bottle of water.

"You better start talking then."

I told her everything that happened, right from when I ended the call with her yesterday evening, to when Allen asked me to live with him.

"Wow! I can't believe all that happened to you in just one day." Kara said as she changed to a more comfortable position on my worn-out couch.

"Me neither. Everything just went from a trickle to a roar."

"And Sophie, I've always loved her, I didn't know she could do something like that to Allen. Poor Allen, he must have felt so heart broken." Kara said with a little pout playing on her lips.

"It doesn't matter. I need to ask you for a favor. Now that everything is over I need to sort some things out." I turned in my seat to face Kara directly, hoping she would be able to help me.

"What do you need?" She asked me, her expression getting serious.

"Can I stay in your apartment for a few days until I get a job again? Joey is about to kick me out."

Kara was still in college, we used to go to school together before I dropped out. She was the only friend I had and the only person who had been there for me since my parents passed on.

"Mia, I really want to help but Andrew is staying over for a couple of days. You know how he likes the two of us being alone." She replied as she slowly rubbed my knee to show she was really sorry.

It was true Andrew liked being alone with Kara when he's at her apartment. Probably because he never kept his hands to himself and was always doing things to her, anyone would go blind and deaf if they stayed around them.

"I understand. I guess I have to look for somewhere else to stay." I told her.

"I can lend you some money to pay for your rent if you want." She suggested.

"No, no. You don't need to. I'm gonna figure this out." She had lent me a lot of money in the past, and when I wanted to return it she always refused. I feel bad sometimes but she didn't seem bothered by it.

She nodded her head but her eyes suddenly lit up and she said, "what about Allen?"

"What about him?" I hope she won't ask me to go and live with him.

"He said you are welcome to stay with him and he's even willing to pay you for it. That's an opportunity you shouldn't let go."

I stared at her like she was crazy.

"You are asking me to go and live with a stranger." I pointed out.

"He is your husband, duh!"

"It's not even real."

"But you two had a real wedding."

"I can't live with him." I almost yelled as I stood up.

"I don't see why you can't. He is not going to kill you, he just wants you to stay with him and pretend to be his wife for a year. What are you so afraid of?"

What was I afraid of? I really didn't know. That people would eventually find out I was just a substitute for Sophie? Or that everything could get out of hand?

"If I were you, I wouldn't let go of this opportunity." Kara said as she patted my shoulder before giving it a squeeze. She wanted to say something else but her phone rang, stopping her from talking. Her face lit up when she grabbed her phone and looked at the caller, I guessed it was Andrew.

I gave her some privacy as I went to my bedroom, my clothes had always been packed in a big bag. Mainly because I never had the time to arrange them in the wardrobe and because Joey might send me packing anytime since he had been giving me a warning for a month now.

"Mia, I have to go now." Kara said as she walked into my room, her cheeks were flushed and she had a faint smile on her face. "Andrew needs me to do something for him."

"Okay, see you later." I told her as I threw my arms around her and hugged her.

"Whatever you do, make sure to let me know, okay?"

"I will."

I followed her outside and watched her leave, just as I was about to go back inside, I spotted Joey watching me from the porch of his house. What the hell was wrong with this man and spying on me? I wasn't going to run away.

"Mrs Walker, someone has paid for your rent but unfortunately, I have someone else who wants to rent the house. I expect you to pack out in two hours." He said before going back into his house.

In two hours? How the hell was I supposed to find a place to stay in two hours? Who even paid my rent? Kara or Allen?