My name is Paige Harper, and I'm 21 years old. My parents own one of the bigger construction companies in London. I'm an only child, much to my father's dismay, who always wanted a son. According to him, "women are meant to stay at home." I've been trying for years to make him understand that times have changed and that I am capable of looking after the company and making it grow much more than he has. However, he doesn't believe me and is determined to marry me off to secure the future of the company. Needless to say, I don't agree with getting married, especially not to someone I don't know. The worst part is that if I refuse, I won't be able to continue studying the remaining year and a half of business administration since my father will kick me out if I don't marry the man, he found for me. What kind of man agrees to marry for money? Surely none who is a good and honest person. Tonight, I have an important dinner, which my father, as always, organized without informing me. He

It's not fair that he's doing this to me. I thought he believed I was capable of taking over the company. Why the hell does he have to ask someone to marry me? I don't understand any of this. "Why do we have to get married? We can sign a contract, but we don't necessarily have to get married," I say, searching for an answer to this madness. "If you refuse to marry him, he will still take over the company, but you won't have any rights to it," he says to me seriously. "What? Are you fucking me?" I exclaim, annoyed. "It was an agreement we made many years ago. I never imagined it would come true, daughter. It's something beyond my control. If you don't get married, we will lose our company and everything," I look at him, searching for sanity in his expression. "You can't just tell me something like this so calmly. I insist that this is a joke in very bad taste," I say, very upset. I'm pacing back and forth without stopping when someone knocks on the door of my room. My father tens

As we step out of the elevator, we enter a huge suite with two bedrooms, a living room, and a sitting area where Mason is seated, inviting me to sit beside him. I do so, feeling nervous, anxious, and exhausted all at once. "I have a copy of the contract signed by our parents. They don't know I have it. If you want, you can read it, but I've done it more times than you'd like to know, and there's no way to annul it," he says, taking a folder from his right side. The truth is, I don't have the mental capacity to read it right now. I trust Mason's word when he says there's no way to annul the contract. He's just as unhappy with the idea of getting married as I am. "I can't focus on reading it now. I'd prefer we clarify our agreement. Tomorrow, if my headache subsides a bit, I can read the document in detail," I say, handing the folder back to him. "I understand. Well, I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of knowing about this before you, but I took the liberty of drafting a

We arrive at home, and I feel a knot in my stomach, partly from nerves. It's ridiculous because they should be the ones feeling nervous about my presence. They are the ones who forced me to marry someone I don't know, all for their damn company. If I were a bad daughter, I would forget everything and refuse the agreement, but it wouldn't be fair for me to give up my studies for this. Besides, I have Mason's support.The door is opened by the housekeeper, as my mother is incapable of doing anything in the household.She greets me with a smile on her face, and upon seeing Mason, she blushes. Well, anyone would upon seeing such a handsome man."Good afternoon. The adults are in the dining room," she informs us.We both enter the house, Mason still holding my hand, and honestly, I don't mind at all. As I see my parents calmly eating, I become even more annoyed than I already was. How is it possible that they aren't even a little concerned about me? They only care about money. I think I wa

I continue my conversation with Sarah; she's a very pleasant girl. She forbade me from calling her "Mrs." as she says her mental age is equal to or younger than mine. That made me laugh."Mason is a good guy, although if you tell him I said this, I will deny it for the rest of my life. I've known him for too many years, which leads me to tell you that you won't have any problems with him whatsoever. But if you lie to him and betray his trust, you'll lose all the love he feels for you," she says, stopping her smile.There's something in the way she tells me this that makes me question what she's not telling me. I don't ask anything. We're supposed to be in a real relationship with Mason, and no one should know about the contract that brought us together. It's better to leave the details as they are."I have no intentions of hurting Mason, and if there's one thing that characterizes me, it's my honesty. I believe it's one of the things that made him notice me," I nervously comment.

P.O.V Mason I'm a man who didn't want serious relationships; on the contrary, I loved my solitude until she came along. It only took one look for me to realize she would be my downfall. Red-haired, slender, with hypnotizing green eyes. I saw her only once and was captivated. I didn't rest until I found out who she was, and all for nothing. Yes, for nothing. Just when I was finally ready to have something serious with someone, my father comes and tells me I have to get married for three years or we'll lose the entire company. My first reaction was to laugh; I didn't find his joke funny. But after laughing, I realized it wasn't a joke. He was dead serious. He explains about the agreement he signed when I was a child. I get angry, furious. That very morning, I had invited Peyton to breakfast; I was happy after seeing her. She had given me the opportunity to get to know her, and now it turns out I have to get married. It's predictable that she won't want anything to do with me again.

P.O.V Paige I can say that today was a good day despite the unpleasant moment I had when I went to my parents' house to get some clothes. I also admit that I feel a bit envious of Mason. His parents are what I always wanted for myself. Just by seeing the way they look at each other, you can understand the love they share. I never thought that kind of love existed until today. I'm in the room, thinking about everything that happened during the day. There's a lot of information that I need to process. On one hand, there's Sarah and Ethan, whom I really liked, as well as Mason's parents. I'm not naive, and I can tell that his relationship with his father isn't very close. However, I didn't want to ask Mason about it. It wouldn't have felt comfortable after everything that happened earlier. I remember how much I laughed while looking at the childhood photos of my fiancé. I never imagined that his mother would show me everything, knowing that our marriage is based on a stupid contract

"Well, I think I understand the whole situation with your fiancé and future husband. What I find hard to comprehend is why Mason had you sign an agreement stating that you would be honest with each other to have a good relationship, yet you tell me he was speaking strangely on the phone, and you saw him with another girl. If you'd like, I can help you in that aspect. You'll understand that as a lawyer, when it comes to divorce cases involving infidelity, I look for evidence. I have a team behind me that can tell you within hours who the woman is and what relationship she has with your future husband. That would help you be prepared for any strange moves he might make. And as personal advice, don't sign anything until I've read it. Don't be so trusting of someone you've just met," she advises, and she's absolutely right. I was a fool."I will. For now, I'll leave the documents with you. You have my number, so call me if anything comes up, no matter how insignificant," I say seriously.

The next day, I wake up early. I have to go to my parents' house to get my notebooks. I don't like the idea, but it's just and necessary. My friend Riley says she has things to do, like buying her supplies for classes. The good thing is that she's studying the same thing as me, so even though we won't see each other in class due to different schedules, the nice thing is that we can study together for the exams. I take a taxi from the university and head to the house where I lived throughout my childhood. As I enter, I realize my parents aren't home. My father must be working, and my mother is probably out shopping or something. I take advantage of the empty house and organize some more clothes, my notes from previous years, and the notebooks I had bought earlier for classes. Yes, I've always been very organized with my things. I grab the keys to my car. I know, having a car and taking a taxi, it's strange. The reason is that I stayed in this house when I left with Mason, and my fath

After I don't know how long, she finally let’s go. I must add that the lady next to me hasn't let me see myself in a mirror, so I don't know what she did. "Are you ready?" she says excitedly, clapping her hands. I stand up silently and look for the full-length mirror on Riley's side of the room. When I see my reflection, I'm amazed. I didn't expect such a drastic change. I mean, my mother has always done my makeup, well, not directly, but I've never seen myself looking so beautiful before. I'm speechless as I gaze at my reflection. I never imagined I could look so different. The clothes I'm wearing are not what I usually wear. I've always been a jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie kind of girl, although I do wear dresses and skirts, they've never been like this. To help you understand, let me describe my outfit. I'm wearing a tight black dress that hugs my body, accentuating my figure in every way. I also have black knee-high boots, and the dress has thin straps on the shoulders. Over that,