Chapter Five

Katie's POV

" Wh- what ? " I asked to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Did Damian Ford just ask me to marry him?

" Get married to me " he replied cooly raising his left eyebrow at me as he rolled a golf ball in his hand . He looked at me expectantly waiting for me to say something but I was too surprised to utter anything , my mouth hung open and I quickly shut it .

Getting married now wasn't exactly how I planned my life and even if I wanted to get married at this point it had to be someone I was willing to spend forever with and Damian definitely didn't fit into what I thought of as an ideal husband , he seemed like an opportunist and a very proud young bachelor . It could be because of the money and fame or just his nature but all I knew was that he wasn't exactly my dream husband. I really didn't have much of a choice since I was left with no options.

" I . . . I . . I don't understand what you mean " I whispered under my breath though I knew he could hear me.

" Not to worry. You could pay up in two months or accept my proposal of a year and six months contract wedding where your mom's health bills would be payed and you could still work here as the web developer. Once the contract expires I'll pay you three hundred thousand dollars as. . . let's call it a compensation. It's a win win" he said dryly.

How did he know my mom was ill? Was he spying on me or something? I wondered. His offer wasn't bad at all and I would have loved to tell Kelly first at least but I couldn't risk that , there was no telling if he was going to change his mind.

I nodded my head slowly and he handed the contract document to me.

"Read it this time" he said letting out a rueful chuckle , exposing a beautiful set of well shaped white teeth .

I read through it carefully, making sure I didn't miss a single word , after everything I picked up a pen and wrote down my signature.

" We're going to the city clerks office tomorrow to get married. Is there anyone you want present?" he asked giving me a piercing gaze which I turned my head away from.

" I'll like Katie as a witness" I said softly still trying to process what I had just done , mom was going to love this news but Katie was so going to freak out , but then I didn't have a choice . This decision was a big one and also a dramatic one . I wasn't going to be staying with Katie in the apartment anymore , how was I going to even fit in ? I barely knew how to differentiate a soup spoon from a caviar spoon and I'd never travelled out of the country or had the opportunity to fire a maid or attend a party on a yatch .

He mumbled a " hmm" and waved his hands dismissively at me , that was all and I was glad it was over . All I had to do was to break the news to mom who was going ask alot of questions about Damian and then I also had to face Kelly

boy was Kelly going to be mad!

* * * * * *

Damian's POV

I got home to meet my mom and Ashley at home , I groaned silently . Mom was dressed in a cream kaftan , with a long dangling diamond earring hanging from her ear . Her blonde hair was combed away from her face emphasising her high forehead and almond eyes . She looked pretty as usual .Ashley was dressed in a red short dress revealing her cleavages and curves , her jet black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail

This duo were the last set of people I wanted to see at the moment, not because I didn't like them, they were family to me but seeing mum with Ashley and knowing how much mom kept on nagging about marriage and how Ashley's feelings towards me were coupled with the clause in the will , I put two and two and knew they could only be here for one thing .

" How are you mother ? " I walked to mum to hug her and kissed her cheek , turning to Ashley I gave her a cold hug without a kiss. I wasn't going to encourage whatever silly obsession she had with me.

When I tried to come out of the hug she clung tighter making me cringe inside , I slowly unwrapped her hands from my neck and patted her head in a brotherly fashion . She seemed to get the hint that I wasn't in the mood for her lovey dovey act and stepped back.

After exchanging pleasantries and avoiding my mom's match maker questions , mom and Ashley exchanged a conspiratory nod making Ashley's face turn into a deep shade of pink .

" Ashley's just relocated to New York following her career and she'll be staying with me for the mean time and I hope you'll at least visit more often since I hardly ever see you " Mom said giving me a sly smile .

This was one of the reasons I hardly ever visited her , since I clocked thirty which was last year she was constantly trying to get Ashley and I together which was never going to happen . And now she was trying to emotionally blackmail me into visiting her , I couldn't help but admire her craftiness.

" I'm really busy mom-" I began but she cut me mid sentence .

" That won't be a problem then , Ashley here won't mind staying with you , would you dear ?" she asked Ashley.

" No." Ashley responded shyly but I could tell this was all a setup conceived and master minded by mom , Ashley was merely playing along since they both had the same interest . If Ashley moved in how on earth was McAvoy going to move in? This was proving harder than I thought .

" That'll be left to my wife to decide" I said watching their countenances change swiftly. Silence .We could both play this game after all.