“You promised,” Anakin barked the second he walked through the door, hair swept back, eyes sharp as a sly fox. He was readjusting his tie again, his long fingers curling around the irritating piece.

Anakin paused when he saw her. A woman with eyes and hair the color of the night, peering out the window, with the pale moonlight shining upon her. She was beautiful. But if she was in Kaden’s office, she was off limits. ​​

“Don’t sound like such a scorned lover,” Kaden said, a warning to his voice when he noticed Anakin staring longer than he should’ve.

Anakin rolled his eyes, finally fixing his tie. He had rushed here when he was in the middle of dinner and this is what his Boss tells him?

“What is so important that you’ve rushed me all the way here?” Anakin demanded, crossing his arms and tearing his attention from the woman. Who was she?

“Fixing your contract,” Kaden snorted, gesturing to the item with his chin.

“My contracts are perfect, there’s nothing to fix about it,” Anakin muttered, but nonetheless, approached it.

“My wife,” Kaden emphasized. “Would like it adjusted.”

Ah, way, WAY off limits. Aritian should’ve known. It was why he didn’t bother striking up a conversation with her. Though, it was intriguing to see his Boss behave like this.

Anakin had worked with his Boss for years now, but had never seen the man so possessive over anything. Not even women.

“I’m not your wife yet,” Lina said, walking away from the window and the beautiful view outside. This house was truly like a castle. She could tell by the beautifully cut stone exterior that put even the fanciest of churches to shame.

“Yet,” Kaden repeated, his lips curling when she scowled.

“So this is the reason why you’ve violated the employment terms,” Anakin muttered, grabbing his computer out of his briefcase.

Lina peered at Anakin, intrigued that one of the youngest senior attorneys in Ritan was presented before her. His attitude and behavior were much more different than she expected. He gave off an aloof and unapproachable attitude, as if the entire world owed him a favor.

Suddenly, the temperature dipped. It was frighteningly cold. Lina shivered, feeling a chill crawl up her spine. She turned and noticed Kaden’s expression had grown dark. She could practically see dead spirits lingering around him, as darkness lurched from his presence.

What was the issue?

“Come here, dove,” Kaden said, beckoning her towards him with the flick of his hand.

Lina refused. She remained in her spot to show she didn’t like the way he treated her like some pet. She planned on training him to treat her well.

Kaden narrowed his eyes. He straightened to his full height. He saw her waver, but her shoulders remained squared.

“Lina,” Kaden warned.

Lina stared.

Kaden stretched out his hand. Finally, Lina approached him with a humored smile.

“Yes?” Lina mused, peering up at him with curiosity. That wasn’t so bad. He glared at her, like a pet aggravated by his own obedience. Sometimes, he did remind her of a grouchy dog.

“You’re staying the night,” Kaden stated.

“I can’t, my parents will worry—”

“It wasn’t a question,” Kaden said, like it was a matter of fact.

Lina blinked. This controlling, egotistical—

“Careful, I can already hear the insults in your head,” Kaden mused, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Kaden could see the gears turning in her head. By now, she was wondering if he could read minds. He wished he could. Just so he could understand what kind of thoughts went through this crazy woman’s head. Maybe he could even advise her to go to a mental hospital. It should be fine. He’d visit her as much as he could.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Lina stated in a robotic voice that gave away the lie.

Kaden smiled, tucking strands of hair behind her ears.

Lina’s heart skipped, wishing he’d smile more. This had to be the first time she saw such a genuine smile on his handsome face. She fell in love with him, right then and there. When he smiled like this, it made her forget all of her worries.

“I’m certain you wouldn’t,” Kaden said.

“Kill me,” Anakin muttered under his breath, furiously typing on his keyboard so that he could go back to his damn dinner. He had come here in a rush and didn’t even wrap the plates. Now, it was going to be cold.

“Gladly,” Kaden stated, reaching into his drawer.

“Kidding,” Anakin responded, his voice shaking towards the end.

Kaden didn’t respond. He continued reaching into his drawer, watching as his lawyer froze and lifted his head.

“Boss, you can’t be serious—”

Kaden pulled out a blank cheque.

“Oh, Boss, be as serious as you’d like!” Anakin chirped, straightening up and typing less angrily on his keyboard. With his momentum, he always had to get his keyboard replaced.

Kaden ignored his irritating lawyer. He turned to Lina and handed her the cheque, where his name was already signed onto it.

“Boss, you can’t be serious,” Anakin groaned, realizing the cheque wasn’t for a bonus.

Anakin grumbled complaints under his breath, how the DeHaven employees should unionize and demand better working times, or how his Boss was the cruelest employer he had ever met.

“What’s this?” Lina asked, staring at the white piece of paper.

“A cheque.”

Lina gave him a pointed look. “I’m not stupid. I know it’s a cheque.”

“You asked what it was,” Kaden stated. What is wrong with this woman?

“I meant what is it for?” Lina readjusted.

“You couldn’t have just asked what it was for instead of asking what it is?” Kaden responded.

Lina wanted to strangle this man. With her bare hands, too. She shoved his hand away and decided she had overstayed her welcome.

“I’m going home,” Lina bit out.

Kaden rolled his eyes. Dramatic. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to him. But not enough for his arms to go around her. Not until he made it known to the entire world who Lina Yang belonged to.

“This is for your Uncle,” Kaden patiently explained, resting an arm on the edge of his desk, directly behind her tiny back. He was caging her in, so she wouldn’t escape, but made it seem like he was simply tired.

“I’m not poor,” Lina stated.

“I know that.”

“Then why—”

“I know the Leclares offered your Uncle something in exchange for your hand in marriage. When he asks for what I offer him, give him this check,” Kaden stated.

Lina was disturbed. He treated her like livestock to be purchased. This man was as dense as a tree! She might as well have been talking to a wall and it’d have a better understanding of humans than he did.

“Oh Boss, now I know why you wanted a contract,” Anakin muttered under his breath. “Look at that pitiful EQ.”

“What are you talking about?” Kaden seethed, shooting Anakin a warning glare.

Anakin simply shrugged in defeat, returning to the contract. He suddenly sympathized with the woman. Imagine dating such a stupid man. Then, he saw the Boss’s woman take the cheque.

He realized she might be just as stupid.

Without warning, Lina wrote as many zeros as she possibly could fit onto the piece of paper.

Kaden peered over her shoulders, impressed by the value she measured herself with. Did she not realize she was priceless?

“Add another zero in there, I can afford it,” Kaden muttered, nodding his head in agreement with how expensive she was.

Suddenly, she picked up the cheque and smacked him with it.

PAK!

The sound ringed in the air. Kaden’s face had turne to the side out of shock. He rubbed his jaw in disbelief.

“A wife is not a livestock you buy for at the highest price,” Lina growled, storming out of his office.

Anakin applauded inside of his head. So she was quite intelligent. That was good. He hoped she was emotionally intelligent too, so that she could help their stupid Boss.

The said stupid Boss stood behind his desk, dumbfounded at what she had done. On top of that, he was confused. It was just a wedding present. What was the problem?