Chapter 2

• Gavin’s POV
• Another quick glance at my watch indicated that it was past time for my wedding and my bride was nowhere to be found.
• I stepped away from my sleek Maserati car which Eric, my chauffeur drove here with me. I walked towards him.
• He has a phone glued to his ear and the moment he noticed I was coming, he turned around to face me squarely.
• “Young master, the Reed family is doing everything they can to find Miss Reed. There may have been some complications and I am afraid we'll have to wait a little longer.”
• I almost snorted.
• It was already half minutes past 11 and he was expecting me to still be hopeful about my bride showing up?
• I was done.
• “We've waited for 30 minutes already,” I said, with a chilly tone. “My time is precious and you know that too. Just inform the Reed family that there is no need to search for her any longer. Tell them the marriage is off.”
• Eric hesitated, unsure of how to react. “But the old chairman–”
• I cut him off abruptly. “The former chairman favors this marriage. I, however will not coerce an unwilling participate into a union like this. Miss Reed is obviously uninterested and I respect that so call it off now!”
• I ordered, leaving no room for any debate as I turned to leave when I bump into a woman.
• The irritation on my face disappeared quickly when she flashed me a beautiful smile. She was wearing a modest canvas purse thrown over one shoulder, her long legs highlighted by the big sweater she was swearing. Her hair was loosely knotted, and her pale skin sparkled in the sun. Her delicate features were remarkable but it was the malicious sparkle in her eyes that drew me in.
• “Did your bride run off?” She inquired, her tone cheerful and I raise a brow. Without waiting for my reply, she continued. “It appears we’re in the same boat. My fiance didn't run off actually, he abandoned me so what do you say about a deal between us?”
• I kept my gaze fixed on her even when she stretched her hand forward for a handshake. As a business man, I'm sure taking her hand meant sealing the deal when I didn't even know her from Adam.
• Am I about to be married to a total stranger?
• She squinted her brows when I didn't take her hand. Then she rephrased. “Why don't we get married instead?”
• Finally, I found my voice. “And why exactly should I marry you, a stranger?”
• She shrugged indifferently, like any of this didn't mean a thing to her. “For starters, if you marry me, you will receive half of the 65% of Sinclair Corporation’s Shares. Isn't that a good enough reason?”
• I am piqued with curiosity now, my brows etched up.
• The shares of Sinclair Corporation don’t mean much to me. What I own is far more than the entire Sinclair Corporation combined.
• However, the mischievous, determined, and confident sparkle in her eyes made me interested in hearing her out.
• After all, as long as I remain unmarried, I will continue to face countless troubles.
• She pointed to my chauffeur who was within earshot with his eyes slightly widened at the offer before me.
• “I overheard your chat with him. Your family is obviously pressuring you to marry and your bride has ran off. If you marry me, you will not only satisfy their demands, but you will also get an interest in Sinclair Corporation and that can only happen if you marry me. For ordinary people, this is a huge profit. So you see, it's a win-win situation.”
• That carefree grin was back on her face, making the whole situation absurd.
• Why would she give me half of the 65% of Sinclair Corporations in the first place?
• Before I could ask her that, she fished out a paper from her canvas purse and stretched it to me.
• I took it and scanned through it. When I saw her name and her signature at the end of the paper, I stilled.
• She was Liza. Liza Sinclair.
• The moment I saw her name, I smiled because I knew her. I've heard stories that the Sinclair family's eldest daughter has been brought back from the slum. Supposedly sick, reliant on medication, arrogant, and nasty. The stories formed an ugly portrait of her.
• But today, I saw her in person, and she was very different from the rumors. There was a cunning sparkle in her eyes—beautiful, even a little adorable. More importantly, she clearly saw me as just an ordinary stranger on the street. I'm curious to see how she will react once she realizes who I am.
• “Well?” Liza inquired, her tone firm and confident. “Do we have a deal?”
• "Why did you choose me?" I raised an eyebrow, curious about her explanation.
• "Because you're the most handsome one on this street, and I like good-looking men," she said without a hint of guilt.
• Her answer amused me greatly.
• My eyes met her brown almond eyes. So brown that I couldn't help but notice I hadn’t seen a color like that my entire life.
• When I didn't reply for some moment, she took a step back and turned to go when I grabbed her roughly, pulling her to me. Her body slammed into mine and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
• “Why the hurry?” I found myself asking, staring at her plump lips.
• She gulped down nervously and wiped a tongue over her lower lip. “I have to be married today. I figured you were not interested. Or are you in?”
• I found myself chuckling with amusement as I freed her from my grasp. There was no point wasting time. She was obviously not a fake. “I'm in.”
• She nodded with satisfaction.
• “Can we go to register now?”
• “I came prepared,” she flashed me another smile that made me enthralled for a second. “Don't worry, once we have the marriage registered, I will transfer the shares to you as promised, ok?”
• I nodded with a genuine smile. “Ok.”
• Liza opened her arms with an excited grin on her face. “Shall we go get married now, stranger?”
• I stared at her for a moment and was about to answer when my Eric stepped in front of me with a worried expression.
• He looked like he was on the edge of collapse at the fact that I am about to marry a total stranger.
• Does it matter?
• It doesn't. Anyway, if I don’t get married today, I’ll have countless blind dates arranged for me tomorrow. I might as well marry a girl who seems interesting.
• With determination, I entwined my arm with Liza Sinclair’s as I muttered. “Let's get married, stranger.”
• She hesitated, the usual glint of mischief back in her eyes. “There’s one more thing, though. I think you need to know before we tie the knot.”
• Eric gave me the I-told-you-so-look and I shifted my attention back to the woman whose arm were still entwined with mine.
• “Let's hear it.”
• She heaved a deep sigh of relief. “Actually I intended to move out of the Sinclair villa. I was supposed to be married to my fiance and move to his place like I said earlier, but he abandoned me for my sister so here I am.”
• “Cut to the chase,” I told her impatiently.
• She smiled warmly and announced. “After the marriage, I'm going to be moving to your house.”
• I stepped backward and blinked. “What?!”
• Is she really that eager for my body?