Estrella disguised the surprise in her eyes and met his gaze head-on.
"What are you so proud of? Being mannerless and breaking into someone's home?"
Luciano's lips twitched at her reaction.
Fearless? Great, he thought.
He let go of her hand and said,
"You have two minutes to come out."
He didn't wait for her to argue before walking out.
Seeing him leave, Estrella felt he was crazy.
Why was her life such a mess recently?
Hours ago, she was dealing with sadness. Now she had to deal with a crazy man.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
She knew chasing him out was useless. He wouldn't leave until he achieved his goal.
His name rang in her head.
Luciano Banks.
The name sounded familiar.
Banks—the richest and most powerful family in Milan. The major controllers of commercial activities in the city.
And Luciano… wasn't he the ruthless heir of Banks Coop?
She scratched her head.
So what?
No matter who he was…
To her, he was just a broker.
With that, she walked out.
And immediately, she saw him elegantly seated on her couch, his legs crossed over each other, calmly tapping on the armrest.
Beside him stood another man—probably his assistant, she thought.
He looked up as she walked toward him.
"You're twenty-eight seconds late."
Estrella seemed not to have heard his words. She sat confidently before him.
"It is amusing for someone who broke into my house to tell me I am late."
Berry looked at Estrella, surprise evident on his face. Who had ever spoken to his master like this?
Luciano looked her in the eyes, and she met his gaze head-on.
He said nothing. Instead, he turned to Berry.
Berry placed a file on the table and pushed it toward Estrella.
Estrella looked down at the file. On it was written:
CONTRACT MARRIAGE
In bold capital letters.
"What?" Estrella thought.
Because of her beauty, several people had used different methods to pursue her.
But none had ever done this.
This man never ceased to surprise her.
She chuckled.
"Is this some sort of joke?" she said, pushing the file back to him.
"You might want to go through it before taking it as a joke," Luciano stated, pushing the file back to her.
Estrella's eyes narrowed, and she picked up the contract, wanting to see what he was up to.
She opened it.
PARTY A: LUCIANO BANKS
PARTY B: ESTRELLA VALE
THE TWO PARTIES SHALL GET MARRIED FOR PUBLIC APPEARANCE ONLY.
DURING THE PERIOD OF THIS CONTRACT:
BOTH PARTIES WILL WEAR THEIR RINGS
BOTH PARTIES WILL APPEAR AS A LOVING COUPLE IN PUBLIC
BOTH PARTIES WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHER'S PRIVATE MATTERS
BOTH PARTIES WILL KEEP THEIR DISTANCE IN PRIVATE
PARTY B WILL LIVE WITH PARTY A
THE MARRIAGE ENDS IN 12 MONTHS
Estrella read the contract with a sarcastic expression.
She was about to tell him to go to hell with his contract when—
PARTY B'S BENEFITS
SIGNING FEE: ********
MONTHLY ALLOWANCE: ********
SEVERANCE FEE: ********
Estrella's eyes widened. Was she mistaken about the digits?
But how could he make such a mistake?
The signing fee alone could cover her medication for the entire three months.
There was no way she could afford the drugs for next week, not to talk of three months.
She looked up at him.
"What are you benefiting?"
Luciano had been observing her all along—how her expression changed from sarcasm to thoughtfulness when she saw the benefits.
He knew she was being smart by asking about his gain.
"My grandfather insists I marry you," Luciano said.
Seeing her unconvinced expression, he added,
"Or I lose my inheritance."
Estrella nodded, deep in thought. That made sense.
"But… why me?" she asked.
"You saved him a week ago," Luciano replied.
So the man she had saved was the chairman of Banks Coop.
And he was repaying the favor by making his grandson marry her.
Good thing she had left work late that night.
She glanced back at the file.
This seemed like a good deal.
She had nothing to lose—just pretend to be his wife for twelve months.
And she would be able to afford her treatment.
Good.
She picked up the pen and was about to sign when Luciano stopped her.
"You might want to check the other page."
"Oh," Estrella muttered.
She flipped the page.
WARNING:
PARTY B MUST KEEP THE CONTRACT A SECRET.
PARTY B CANNOT REFUSE TO DIVORCE.
OR ELSE PARTY B WILL FACE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES, TO BE DECIDED BY PARTY A.
Why would she refuse a divorce? Estrella thought.
"I have no problem with it," she said.
"Good," Luciano muttered.
Just as she was about to sign, she paused again.
"Can you add another clause? Party A must also not refuse divorce after twelve months," Estrella said.
Luciano was amused by her words, but he replied confidently,
"I won't."
"Okay."
Estrella picked up the pen and signed.
Luciano showed no expression as she signed. That was what he expected.
He picked up the contract and handed it to Berry.
"Get ready. I'll be back to pick you up in two hours," Luciano said as he stood.
"To go where?" Estrella asked.
"To get our marriage certificate," Luciano replied, walking out of the room.
Berry followed.
Estrella watched them leave.
She wanted to lock the door—but it was already broken.
She didn't need to be told it was Luciano's doing.
"Crazy man," she muttered.