THE VALENTINE PROPOSAL

LIORA Later that day, I shared my location with Everett because his publicist texted me via Instagram, and that meant I couldn't talk to Everett directly but through his publicist. He sent a car by seven in the night and by that time I'd packed my favourite clothes into two suitcases. The driver came out to meet me and he helped me offload the suitcases in the trunk of the car. He didn't speak to me as he opened the door for me. The drive to our destination took twenty minutes, and I knew because I was checking the watch every time, anxiety eating up at my insides about the fact that I was going to share the same living quarters with a man I barely knew. We pulled up to a building in the financial district, the skyscraper so tall I couldn't see the end of it. The doorman opened my door before I could reach for the handle. "Miss Jovan,"he said. "Mr. Montague is expecting you." Everything inside gleamed of wealth, and I swallowed. I've never been around so many expensive things before. The elevator required a key card to reach the penthouse. The doorman swiped it for me and the doors closed. I stared at my reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator. I looked exhausted from all the back and forth I had with Flynn on my Instagram. I had set out to block him from all social media platforms, but I couldn't text him again,and that's how we ended up tearing at each other. It hurt so bad, I loved him unequivocally for three years. My makeup was smudged from crying. My hair was a mess. I was about to move in with a billionaire looking like I'd been hit by a truck. The elevator opened directly into the penthouse. I stepped out and my mouth fell open. The space was massive. Floor to ceiling windows showed the entire city lit up like stars. It looked like a magazine spread, not a place where people actually lived. "Miss Jovan." I jumped. A woman in a gray suit stood at my back, her face stern it scared me. "I'm Margaret, Mr. Montague's assistant. He's in a meeting but asked me to get you settled."She handed me a leather folder. "This is your contract. Please review and sign." I opened the folder. The contract was five pages of legal language. I skimmed through it, my heart pounding. Fifteen thousand dollars deposited monthly into an account in my name. All expenses covered including wardrobe, transportation, and personal needs. There was a whole section about confidentiality. Another about what happened if either of us wanted to end it early. A clause about social media. Rules about public behavior. "Do you have a pen?"I asked. Margaret handed me one. I signed on the last page without reading the rest. What did it matter anyway? I'd already agreed to this insanity. "Excellent."Margaret took the folder back. "Let me show you to your room." She led me down a hallway. We passed a huge kitchen, a living room bigger than my entire apartment, a home office, and a gym. Finally she stopped at a door at the end of the hall. "This is the master guest suite."She opened the door. "You'll have complete privacy. Mr. Montague's room is on the opposite side of the penthouse." The bedroom was bigger than my old apartment. There was a king sized bed and a walk-in closet. I stared at everything in awe. "The closet has been stocked with basics in your size,"Margaret said. How did he know my size?. "Mr. Montague will take you shopping tomorrow for anything else you need. Dinner is at seven. Breakfast is at eight. The kitchen is fully stocked, help yourself to anything. Do you have questions?" There was about a million.I paused for a while before saying... "No." "Then I'll leave you to settle in."She walked out, closing the door behind her. I sat on the bed and looked around. I couldn't believe this was my life now. Few hours ago, I nearly proposed to my cheating boyfriend. Now I'm living in a penthouse that belonged to the richest bachelor in the city. I unpacked my suitcases, which took all of ten minutes since I didn't own much. Then I showered in the giant bathroom and put on pajamas. It was only nine but I was exhausted. Sleep didn't come. I lay in the massive bed staring at the ceiling, my mind racing. What would happen at dinner tomorrow? What would Everett's parents think of me? Who was this Diella woman? At midnight I gave up. I left the bedroom and wandered through the penthouse. Everything was dark and quiet. I found the kitchen and opened the fridge looking for water. "Can't sleep?" I spun around, startled. Everett stood in the doorway wearing pajama pants and nothing else. My eyes strayed from his face, down to his 6 packs that gleamed with sweat --- it seemed like he was doing a night workout --- and to the v curve of his torso that tucked into the pajama pants. If I could squint a bit more, I could see the highlights of his muscular cock. I stared before I could stop myself, my tongue salivating. He coughed and my eyes snapped back to him. The stare on his face told me that he knew I was undressing him with my eyes. "Sorry,"I said, my face heating up. "I was just getting water." When I looked at the glass fridge, I could see that my face had turned tomato red. He chuckled lightly. "It's okay. I have that effect on women." He stepped further into the room, and nodded to the cabinet above the sink. He walked past me and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a glass and leaned against the counter. I got my water and stood there awkwardly. Should I go back to my room? Stay and make conversation? This was weird. "You signed the contract,"Everett said. "Yes." "It was so soon, I didn't expect it. It should take you five days to read and understand all the classes in it. Well...except you didn't read it." "Why does a fake engagement have to sound so complicated?."I took a sip of water. He drank his whiskey. "My mother called. She wants to meet you." My heart rate picked up. "When?" "Tomorrow night. The driver would take you to their house." He looked at me. "She's excited and would ask a lot of questions. You have to be prepared. You have to sound like you are madly in love with me." "That, I can do. As long as she's not a scary woman." He sighed. "Also, Diella Ashford will be there." That name, it sounded familiar. "The woman they want you to marry?" His jaw tightened. "They invited her before I could stop them." My stomach dropped. "So I'm meeting your parents and your supposed to be fiancée on the same night?" "Welcome to my world."He drained his glass. "Diella knows about our engagement. My mother told her. She's not happy." "Great." I set my water down. "This is going to be a disaster." "Probably."Everett refilled his glass. "Why did you stay with Flynn for three years?" The question caught me off guard. "What?" "You're smart. You had to know he was using you."His gray eyes met mine. "So why stay?" I looked down at my hands. "I thought if I supported him enough, put him first, eventually he'd do the same for me. That's how relationships work, right? You give and eventually you get back." "That's not how it works."Everett's voice was quiet. "You give and they take. Then they take more, until there's nothing left of you." I looked up at him, the pain in his voice made me a bit surprised. "My parents."He swirled the whiskey in his glass. "My father gave everything to my mother. His time, his attention, his entire life. She took it all and still left him, destroying him in the divorce. He's never recovered." He looked at me. "You deserved someone who put you first from the beginning, not someone who made you earn basic respect." The words hit me deep. "Yeah. I guess I did." Everett stepped closer. We were only a few feet apart now. "We should establish boundaries,"he said. His hand came up, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His thumb brushed my cheek. "This is fake. We need to remember that." My breath caught. "Right. Fake." But neither of us moved away. His thumb was still on my cheek. My heart was hammering. His phone buzzed on the counter. The moment shattered. Everett stepped back and grabbed his phone. His expression changed as he read the screen. "What is it?"I asked. "Diella."His jaw clenched. "She wants to have coffee tomorrow morning. Before the dinner." My stomach dropped. "Why?" "She wants to meet her competition." "I'm not going,"I said immediately. "She's been trying to marry me since we were teenagers. She's not going to let you go without a fight."He set his phone down. "Meet her. Let her say whatever she needs to say. Then come to dinner tomorrow and show her it doesn't matter." "This is insane." I scoffed, shaking my head. "You keep saying that."Everett's lips twitched. "But you're still here. If you go, I wouldn't stop you." I thought about my tiny apartment, my minimum wage job, waking up everyday knowing that Flynn and Sage were still together. "I'm staying,"I said finally, slamming the glass on the table.