Selena Fair woke up, only to find the man beside her still asleep. Enduring the discomfort between her legs, she got out of bed. Just as she was about to pick up the clothes scattered on the floor, a cold voice came from behind her.
"How much do you want?" he remarked in an indifferent tone, sounding nothing like the guy who cooed dirty talk in her ear last night.
Selena paused, feeling absurd.
After three years of marriage, her husband didn't even know who she was. Three years ago, she accidentally saved Cassius Montague, the patriarch of the Montague family, from death. At that time, her father's company encountered difficulties during its first round of financing. So Cassius offered her a deal: if Selena married his grandson Raymond Montague, he would invest three billion dollars into her dad's business.
Raymond never appeared during their marriage ceremony, and it wasn't until she received her marriage certificate that Selena found out he had gone abroad.
Since then, she'd been dubbed as "Mrs. Montague Who Never Was."
She never expected their first encounter to take place in a bed, of all places.
That was right, her "one-night stand" was her husband, who hadn't even met her before.
Selena struggled to put on her clothes, her head spinning from the hangover.
"I don't want money," she managed to say, her voice wavering.
"You don't want money? So you want me instead?" Raymond's piercing gaze examined every inch of her body, his sneer betraying his skepticism. She was undeniably beautiful and alluring but that was all.
"I'll give you enough money, but don't expect we'll become a thing just because of what happened last night."
He thought to himself, 'I would never have lost control over a woman, even in my drunken state. So, it must be the drink. There must've been something wrong with the drink she handed me.'
Selena quickly dressed herself up, her mind filled with what happened the previous night. The Montague family hosted a welcoming banquet for Raymond Montague, attracting all the celebrities and affluent individuals. Since he was about to take over the family business, every guest was dying to befriend him. Cassius had invited Selena. Initially, she planned to make a brief appearance and bail, but her father stopped her and offered her two glasses of wine, telling her to talk to Raymond. The evening then had taken an unexpected turn, leading to their intimate encounter.
She was acutely aware of Raymond's resistance to their arranged marriage. In this regard, she couldn't help but wonder, 'How am I gonna convince him that what happened last night was not part of my plan when he already hates our marriage so much?'
A tinge of self-deprecation flickered in her eyes, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Actually, I..."
Just then, the phone on the bedside table vibrated, interrupting Selena.
Raymond glanced at it; it was his personal lawyer calling. He put the caller on the speaker and a respectful male voice then came from the other side, "Mr. Montague, we've arrived at Miss Fair's apartment. She's not home. Should we send the divorce agreement to the Fair's place?"
Raymond walked over to the window. His brow furrowed as he gazed at the distant view of the river. He had no recollection at all of his wife whom he had been married to for three years.
'Grandpa says she's good-natured. According to him, she never engages in conflicts or covets others' possessions. And she's an exceptional Harvard graduate. But so what? The Fair family has already passed through its crisis long ago. It was enough to repay her kindness for saving Grandpa's life,' he complained to himself.
Then he responded with a ruthless and cold tone, "Keep contacting her and let her sign the divorce agreement. If she refuses, get the Fair family involved."
As Selena checked for any missed work messages on her phone, she overheard the mention of a "divorce agreement." She paused for a moment before reading James Fair's message on her phone screen.
James: [Selena, did you leave early last night? Beatrice asked me if Raymond drank that glass of wine.]
Selena: [Dad, wasn't it you who prepared it?]
James: [Nah, it was Beatrice. If you have time today, please come and visit Alice in the hospital. She said she missed you.]
Anger surged in Selena as she learned Beatrice was the one plotting against her.
Selena didn't reply for a long time, so James got worried. He thus called her and asked if she needed any hangover medicine, sounding full of concern.
Selena was hot-tempered, yet she didn't wanna upset James. He had been having a hard time raising her since her mother died when she was little. Besides, he only remarried when she had already been in college.
So she fought back the urge to tell him about Beatrice. Instead, she said, "You don't have to, Dad. I'll go see Alice later. Tell her that I miss her, too."
Raymond was still on the phone when Selena was done, yet the topic had shifted to business matters.
Selena looked over and saw the light outside fall on Raymond's shoulders as he stood there in a white robe with a casual posture. He had his back to the light and his handsome face showed no expression, but his profile seemed particularly cold and stern, making him even more aloof and unapproachable.
She decided to leave before he could notice. They were planning to divorce anyway. It would be awkward if he found out that he had slept with his so-called wife. She'd better just leave quietly.
When Raymond finally hung up the phone, it was already getting late. Turning around to look at the silent room in front of him, he couldn't help but frown. The messy sheets dragged to the floor while crumpled shirts lay at the foot of the bed. The smell of red wine mixed with that of sex filled the air.
Upon thinking about what happened last night again, he couldn't help but rub his forehead. If it weren't for the dark red stain on the sheet, he might have thought that waking up next to a woman earlier today was just a hallucination.
A knock sounded from outside followed by John Walker's voice, "Mr. Montague."
"Come on in," said Raymond.
John walked in holding a brand new suit set. Upon seeing what was inside Raymond's room, he felt puzzled yet didn't ask any questions about it. He respectfully placed down clothes before leaving for the living room immediately after.
Raymond took a shower and then got neatly dressed before heading out with John. Suddenly halting midway, Raymond asked, "Who's the woman leaving my room this morning?"