Chapter 73 The Romantic Getaway 1
Dandelion.
"Good afternoon Mrs Graham, Grandmother Winifred asked for you to come over to her sitting room." My favorite staff Cindy said.
And I immediately felt panic.
"Oh. do you know why she's calling me?" I asked trying to supress my panic.
She shook her head, "Uhm not really, but she seems cheerful."
I nodded with a thin smile. What could she want this time, I thought she would have forgotten about the vacation.
I sighed, and started heading for her wing.
As I walked through the estate my stomach twisted with anxiety.
Alex had arrived first, with his hands shoved in his pockets. We hadn't really spoken since he left me in the library yesterday. The hug replayed in my mind immediately, the warmth of his arms, the way he held me while I cried. But he walked away so quickly afterward, like my question set him off.
Now we stood on opposite sides of the room, carefully avoiding eye contact.
"Ah, perfect timing!" Grandma Wini beamed at us from her favorite armchair, "I have wonderful news."
"Noona," Alex started cautiously. "If this is about the company---"
"Hush. This has nothing to do with business." She waved him off. "I've been making enquiries for you two. you both never had a proper honeymoon."
My heart stopped.
"So I've taken the liberty of booking you a romantic weekend getaway!" She clapped her hands together. "At the Emerald Pearl Resort. It's absolutely stunning. A Private villa with ocean view, couples spa treatments. Infact it has everything you need for quality bonding time."
The silence that followed was deafening, Alex stated at her blankly.
"That's, errm very thoughtful," I managed to say, my voice coming out almost strangled. "But maybe we should plan something like that ourselves? When we have more time?"
She scoffed, " That's nonsense, infact You'll leave today."
"Today?" Alex's voice was sharp. "Noona, I have an important board meeting on Monday. I can't just---"
"The meeting can wait." Her eyes narrowed. "Or are you saying your marriage isn't important enough to prioritize?"
I watched Alex's jaw clench. He was trapped and he knew it.
"Of course the marriage is important," he said carefully. "But---"
"Then it's settled!" Winifred stood up, surprisingly too quickly for her age. "I've already had Walter pack your bags. The car will be ready in an hour."
"An hour?" I squeaked.
"Is there a problem, dear?" She turned those sharp eyes on me.
"No, no problem." I forced a smile. "I'm Just surprised, that's all."
"Good surprises keep a marriage exciting." She patted my cheek. "Trust me, you'll thank me later. Now go get ready. Both of you."
And just like that we were dismissed like children.
The moment we left the sitting room, Alex pulled out his phone and dialed. "Walter, tell me you didn't actually pack our bags."
I couldn't hear Walter's response, but Alex's expression darkened.
"Of course she did." He hung up. "She really did pack everything."
"Can't we just refuse?" I whispered, glancing back to make sure Grandma wini wasn't listening.
"And raise her suspicion even more?" He shook his head. "She's already watching us like a hawk. If we refuse a romantic getaway, she'll know something's wrong."
He was right. We were trapped.
"So we're really doing this," I said quietly.
"Apparently."
I sighed in defeat.
The next hour passed in a blur of activity. I quickly changed into travel clothes, checked my hand bag for my phone and tried not to think about what spending a whole weekend alone with Alex would mean.
We hadn't really been alone since that night. The night we broke Rule 14. The night everything changed.
Since then, we became masters of avoidance. He worked late while I spent time in different parts of the estate. We only saw each other at the dining and kept up our usual appearances, but the second we were in private, the tension became unbearable.
Well except for my outburst yesterday and his consoling.
Now we would be stuck together for an entire weekend.
In a romantic villa.
With rose petals and champagne and.....
Gosh I wanted to scream.
The car was waiting when I came downstairs. Alex was already there, leaning against the door, looking unfairly handsome in casual clothes. Dark jeans, a simple black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was slightly messy, like he'd been running his hands through it.
I hated that I noticed these things.
"Ready?" he asked calmly.
I nodded in response, "Yes."
Grandma Wini appeared on the front steps, practically glowing with satisfaction. "Have a wonderful time, you two! And remember, no work calls. This weekend is about reconnecting."
The way she said 'reconnecting' made my face burn.
Then she did a ' I'm Watching You ' hand gesture to Alex.
He rolled his eyes and opened the car door for me without a word. I slid in, hyper aware of how close his hand was to my back as I passed him.
The door shut. He walked around and got in the driver's side.
And then we moved.
The first ten minutes of the drive passed in complete silence. I stared out the window at the passing scenery. Alex kept his eyes on the road, his hands tight on the steering wheel.
"Shouldn't we talk about this," I finally said.
"Talk about what?"
"About the fact that your grandmother just sent us on a romantic getaway meanwhile we can barely stand to be in the same room."
His eyes narrowed, "We're handling it fine."
"No we're not handling it at all. We're avoiding it."
"What do you want me to say, Dandelion?"
His use of my full name always sent shivers down my spine. He's been calling me that more lately.
"I don't know," I admitted. "But this silence is killing me."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then finally said, "I'm not good at this."
"At what?"
"This. Talking about feelings. Dealing with complicated situations that don't have clear solutions."
"You think I'm good at it?" I let out a bitter laugh. "I'm terrible at this too."
"At least you're better than me."
"That's a low bar."
The corner of his mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Almost.
We fell back into silence, but it felt slightly less suffocating than before.
The drive to Emerald Pearl Resort took about two hours. With each passing mile, my anxiety grew. What were we supposed to do for an entire weekend? Pretend everything was normal? Pretend we hadn't crossed every line we had drawn?
Pretend I wasn't constantly thinking about that night?
When we finally pulled up to the resort, I had to admit it was really beautiful. It was filled with pristine white buildings with blue accents, palm trees swaying to the ocean breeze, the sound of waves in the distance.
A staff member greeted us immediately. "Mr. and Mrs. Graham! Welcome to Emerald Pearl. We have your villa ready."
Mrs. Graham. I still wasn't used to being called that.
We were led down a winding path lined with tropical flowers. The villa sat slightly apart from the main buildings, offering complete privacy. The staff member unlocked the door with a cheerful smile.
"Enjoy your stay!."
Then she was gone, leaving us alone.
I stepped inside first and immediately froze.
"Wow," I muttered lost in the beauty.
The room was gorgeous. Floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. A massive bed in the center of the room, covered in red rose petals arranged in the shape of a heart. Champagne chilling in a bucket. Soft music playing from a hidden speaker.
And on the bed, a small card, I went closer and took it up, it read: "For a romantic weekend. Love, Noona."
"Oh my God," I muttered in disbelief. "Your grandmother is really cunning."
Behind me, Alex made a sound. I turned to look at him, expecting to see frustration or annoyance.
But instead he was laughing.
Actually laughing. Not a small chuckle or a brief smirk. A real, genuine laugh that made his whole face change. The tension in his shoulders eased. His eyes crinkled at the corners. He looked younger, lighter, almost carefree.
I'd never seen him like this.
"What?" I asked, caught off guard by the sight of him laughing for the first time.
"She really went all out, didn't she?" He gestured at the rose petals, still grinning. "I mean, a heart? Really?"
The absurdity of it hit me then. Here we were, in a contract marriage that had become impossibly complicated, sent by his matchmaking grandmother to a villa that looked like it was designed for newlyweds.
I started laughing too. "She probably gave them specific instructions about the rose petals."
He scoffed, "More like she called ahead and demanded the most romantic setup possible, typical Noona."
"Do you think she knows?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.
His smile faded slightly. "Knows what?"
"That we're not actually in love. That this whole thing started as a contract."
He paused for a while.
"She suspects something," he said carefully. "But she doesn't know the truth. If she did, we'd be hearing about it nonstop."
"True."I muttered.
We stood there awkwardly, the laughter dying away, leaving us with the reality of our situation. One bed. Rose petals. An entire weekend together.
"I can sleep on the couch," Alex offered, gesturing to a small love sofa near the window.
"Alex, that couch is tiny. You're way too tall for that."
"Then I'll sleep on the floor."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Then what do you suggest?"
I looked at the massive bed, it's big enough for two people to sleep without touching. "We're adults. We can share a bed without making it weird."
His expression was unreadable, he raised a brow. "Are you sure?"
No. I wasn't sure at all. But what choice did we have?
"We've shared a bed before," I pointed out, trying to sound casual. "Back at the estate. When your grandmother forced us to."
"That was different."
"How?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed his bag and headed toward what I assumed was the bathroom. "I'm going to shower and change. We should probably get dinner after. There's supposed to be a restaurant on the property."
Then he disappeared, leaving me alone with my racing thoughts and a bed covered in rose petals.
I walked over to the window, looking out at the ocean. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. It was beautiful even Romantic.
Which made everything worse.
Because standing here in this gorgeous villa, I couldn't stop thinking about what Lilian had said weeks ago. About how Alex might actually fall for me. About how fake marriages in stories always became real.
I laughed it off then and Insisted it would never happen.
But now, listening to the sound of the shower running, remembering the feeling of his arms around me in the library, the way he orchestrated Chase's downfall without me even asking, something in my chest tightened painfully.
This was supposed to be simple. A transaction. He helps me get revenge, I help him fool his grandmother.
When did it become so complicated?
The bathroom door opened and Alex emerged in fresh clothes, hair damp from the shower. He paused when he saw me still standing by the window.
"You should get ready too," he said. "Dinner reservations are in thirty minutes."
I nodded, grabbing my bag and heading past him.
As I closed the bathroom door behind me, I caught his reflection in the mirror. He was staring at the rose petal covered bed with an expression I couldn't quite read.
And for the first time since signing that contract, I wondered if maybe I wasn't the only one finding this situation impossibly complicated.