We step out of the car and enter the office. The person who greets us directs us to a reserved table. I had no idea you could reserve tables here. It's clear that Mason comes here often."What would you like to eat?" he asks, looking at the menu."Recommend something, since you know the place better than I do," I reply with a smile."Alright, bring me my usual," he tells the lady who is waiting for us.The lady leaves, and I realize that Mason's gaze is still on me. It's starting to make me feel uncomfortable."Stop staring at me," I say, blushing."I'm sorry, it's just that you truly amaze me. I mean, it's not that I didn't see that you were beautiful. I knew that when I saw you for the engagement dinner. But I don't think you had fully embraced your beauty. I'll have to watch out for men trying to steal my fiancée," he says, winking at me."Remember, we'll only be married for three years, and you won't go without sex for three years. Obviously, I won't either," I say, laughin

I bid Aaron a quick and formal farewell to leave the company. I notice that he remains tense about everything. I let him guide me by the waist and hope that we'll be alone in the car to have a proper and calm conversation.As soon as he closes his door and we're both seated in the car, I cross my arms, annoyed at not understanding anything, his attitude, his kisses, nothing."Explain to me right now what all that was about," I say, pointing towards the company."I'm sorry, but Aaron is an idiot who has always been interested in my conquests. For some strange reason, any girl I dated, he also did. You can understand that I don't like it, but my father does, so I have to put up with him once a year to renew the contract," he explains, frustrated."I understand that. What I'm asking is that you explain things to me before we enter any place so I can be prepared for the uncomfortable questions about us," I say, looking out the window."As for the kisses, I hope you understand that it's pa

I'm entering my first class, luckily, I'm not late. My phone rings with a message, so I grab it to put it on silent mode. That's when I realize I have unread messages from Mason, and I become curious to read them. I check the time and there are a few minutes left before the professor arrives. I open WhatsApp and see that I have many messages."Hey, let me explain who she is.""It's not what you think, please let me talk to you.""Can I come see you?""She's just a childhood friend who's always called me that. Don't think things that aren't true."Stickers, more messages where he asks me to listen to him, to accept his call, that I never knew what he was doing to me. The last message is from today."Good morning, I hope you have a fantastic first day of classes, at least this semester. Kisses."I shake my head and put the phone away just as I see the class instructor enter the room. I focus on my studies as I have always done and forget about everything else.After the fourth class, I

It's time for Mason to leave, and I'm anxiously waiting in the room. Riley insisted on helping me get ready. "It's time to let the beautiful and lively Paige out," she says, smiling. "Does that mean I wasn't beautiful and lively before?" I ask, trying to make her feel bad. "Oh, no, of course not. You've always been beautiful, but you didn't take advantage of that stunning figure you have. And as for being lively, no need to answer that," she replies, shrugging off the importance of her response. "True. Are you sure this outfit looks good on me? I've explained to you that my parents are very concerned about what others will say and about social status," I confess, feeling a bit embarrassed by my parents' way of thinking. "Stop asking that. I've told you more than ten times that you look beautiful and that it's not too much for someone your age. Now let me apply the lipstick because Mason must be on his way," she scolds me, taking hold of my face to apply the lipstick. As soon as

We explain to Riley how our parents want to make a spectacle out of our love, but all we want is to get married and be happy without having to share it with people we don't even know just to please society. That convinces her to help us and accompany us tomorrow when we go to get married. At that moment, Ethan and Sarah arrive, and we introduce Riley to them. Then Mason fills them in on our plans. Ethan is the first to express his support, but Sarah is not so sure. "I'm sure Emily won't be happy about this, Mason," she says, looking at my soon-to-be husband. "I know. We were with her and my in-laws earlier and believe me when I say they're planning a circus more than a wedding. You know how she gets about certain things," he says, trying to convince her. "For my mother, what others say is very important, and I'm sure she has convinced Emily to accept a circus for a wedding. They're inviting people like crazy, and they want the wedding to take place in less than a month. You unders

One month later...We've been married for a month now. Our parents found out, and obviously, my mother was quite upset. I can't say the same about my in-laws; they didn't take it as badly as my mother did. The lawyer is already aware of the wedding, so we have one less month to go of the three-year agreement. It's something, at least.I'm currently living with Mason in the hotel. We didn't want to buy a house just for three years; it doesn't make sense to make that expense. Tonight, we're invited to have dinner with my in-laws. I have to admit they adore me, and I adore them too. We hardly ever visit my parents; we're always at Mason's parents' house.As for the doubts and investigations by the lawyer, or rather, the investigator she hired, he gave me the information. It turns out that the person in question is a friend of Mason's. According to what she told me, he doesn't have any girlfriends, but this friend makes him feel something special. I know this only from a photograph I saw.

The next day, we get ready to go to the new house, and we're excited. Mason knocked on my door very early, just to take Simba outside for his needs. He told me he likes to go for a run in the early morning, and he took Simba with him. I took the opportunity to sleep a little longer. I've never been a fan of waking up too early, so when I saw it was 6 am, I turned around to go back to sleep. They returned when I was already dressed and ready. My baby came back tired and thirsty. I give him water and food while Mason gets ready for us to leave. Once he's ready, we go out for breakfast since Simba can't enter the hotel restaurant, and we didn't want to order in the room. He had been cooped up in a room for too long. We order takeout, and we hit the road to the new house to have our meal there. When we arrive at the house, I'm left speechless. It's beautiful, not too big, and it has a lovely garden. We enter, and I silently observe, falling more and more in love with what I see. I don't

The girls help me organize the party they came up with, and my husband approved it the moment Sarah informed him about it. He didn't even ask; she told me herself. I love the trust that friends like Sarah and Ethan have. I wish I could have a friend like that someday, someone I can trust blindly. Since I'm not a good hostess, they kidnap me from classes to take me shopping. Ever since we got married, Mason gave me a card with money to use for household expenses. It's not that I needed it; my parents have money. Although it was better because, since I got married, they haven't been talking to me. They didn't take it well when they heard the rumors about us getting married in secret. Especially my mother, who cares a lot about what people say. I guess you could say they've disowned me since I got married. Not my father, though. He told me that after the three years, I'll be able to take my place as the president of the company. Mason is aware of what happened with my parents, and sinc

The party is wonderful. Despite being small and with family, we have a very pleasant evening, laughing at Simba's mischief with the decorations. My in-laws are the only ones who leave the house. They have their plans, but what surprises me is when they say goodbye and my mother-in-law tells me, "Darling, would you mind if we take Simba for the rest of the weekend? We have planned a trip to the countryside, and I'm sure Simba would be happy to have all that space to run. However, if you're not okay with it, I understand. He's your baby, and I'll accept whatever you say," she says nervously, with a smile. "I have no problem with it. I'm not selfish enough to not let him be with you and just with me. Besides, it will be good for him to go out and have more space to run and explore," I reply. "If Mason agrees, I have no objections," I say, looking at my husband as he approaches me. When he reaches my side, he wraps his arm around my waist and smiles at his mother. I'm not foolish enoug

P.O.V. MASON It's been a long time since the last time. Things have changed too much. Peyton went abroad to study; thanks to some favors I pulled off. She doesn't know that I helped her arrange that trip, it's something she doesn't need to know. I only want what's best for her. I'm married now. Paige is an amazing woman. Every day I get to know her a little more, and I fear that I might start feeling something more than just sibling affection, as I promised her wouldn't happen. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable around me. We still have over two years of marriage ahead of us. I really like her friendship with Sarah, Riley, and Ethan. I've also become friends with Riley, and she's a great girl. A bit crazy, but who doesn't have a touch of madness inside them, right? Our parents gave us a house, as you may already know, with a baby and a dog. Paige named him Simba. It's not the best name, but seeing Paige fall in love with the puppy at first sight, I couldn't deny her anything r