C A S S I E
Present
Tears fill my eyes as those scenes in the past flash back in my mind. I can't believe that I've let Morgan control my life.
Yes, I love singing, making music and sharing it to the world, but all this time, she's been treating me like I'm not a human.
I don't think that I'll survive a month with what she's planning to do to me now. Perhaps, I'll collapse before I can perform at AMA, or even if I survive AMA, I'll probably die during my next tour.
Clenching my jaw, I get up from the floor, take off my robe and change into my clothes. I storm out of my spa and call Peter, heading toward my room to grab my bag.
When he picks up, I hiss, "Tell Lucas Klein that I'm coming to his office right now. And get my chopper ready."
I can only hear Peter blurt out, "Right away," because I immediately hang up on him to call Mike.
Yes, I'm going to meet that arrogant billionaire again, and even though I know that this is going to feed his ego, I'd rather be in a fake marriage for one year than let Morgan be my manager any longer.
When I arrive at the helipad at the back of my house, Mike is already there, waiting for me.
He follows me as I walk closer to my chopper. "Cassie, you can't possibly change your mind."
My lips form a thin line. "Unfortunately, I did," I say curtly, admitting that I'm mad at myself because even though I may escape this current hell, I'll be in another one soon.
I just hope that Luke's idea of this marriage is only to piss off his parents and ruin the other arranged marriage, one that's between two powerful families.
So technically, our marriage will be just a piece of paper. Hopefully, one year will pass quickly.
At least, he's not some kind of an old perverted grandpa.
I'll have to negotiate with him to keep Mike as my bodyguard at all costs. I can't let Luke arrange my security. I don't trust him.
Once Mike and I settle inside the chopper, he's about to open his mouth to ask me questions, but looking at my irritated expression, he knows to zip his mouth.
I am nowhere near a good mood.
All I want is just to make Luke fire Morgan as soon as possible. He must be able to change the director's decision.
The saddest thing about this is that deep down in my heart, I know that the main reason why I'm doing this is to make Morgan return to her old self, the person who loved me before all those ambitions consumed her.
I hope that realizing that I'm no longer her bank account will make her stop treating me like one. She should have known that she didn't have to control me to be rich because I wouldn't think twice about giving my money to her.
She's the one who's too proud to lose her job, and too ashamed to live in my house that she opted to live in a separate house in Beverly Hills instead.
We land on top of Luke's building and get down to his office like before, led by Ashton, his secretary. Once I walk into his office, Mike follows suit, but again, two men guarding the door suddenly grab both of his arms before he can even step inside.
"Shit," Mike curses loudly, but I'm too angry to stop my feet from getting closer to Luke.
And there he is, already leaning against his desk, facing me, waiting for my arrival. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips, an amused look crossing his expression, as if he already knew that I would come back to him no matter what.
He doesn't even need to ask me because he knows what's on my mind.
"One year," I state, panting as I halt in front of him. "I will marry you for one year. On one condition."
He's still scrutinizing me, watching me with interest.
"I want my manager, Morgan, fired," I say firmly, feeling my blood boil.
Luke stays silent for a while before he takes out his phone.
In less than five seconds, the person from the other line picks the call up, and Luke commands, "Get Morgan Castillo fired." His voice is cold, emotionless. Then he hangs up.
I'm petrified. Did he just—
"Done. Anything else?" He shifts his attention back to me, and that annoying smile curves back on his lips.
I swallow. Hard. Is this real? Am I not dreaming? Does that mean that Morgan is no longer working for Astalis Records? Is she no longer controlling my every move?
When I finally find my voice again, I decide to remind him about the deal.
"Well, you also said that you would clear my name." I hate that my voice sounds a bit stuttering, but I'm just too overwhelmed with what's happening now.
"Right. Four guys, one year," Luke says. "A superstar. A married actor. A K-pop idol. And a football player." He locks his eyes with mine. "Care to explain what happened?"
His smile is now gone.
I gulp. He has a good memory, doesn't he? Typical businessman. He even decides to go straight down to business now.
"The information you give me will be crucial for the press. I'm not planning to disappoint my future wife," he says. "Well?"
"I'm sure that my team has already told your employees about that—"
"Cassie." His voice softens but is deadly—it sounds like a warning.
I let out a shaky breath. "The first one is a cheater. The second one assaulted me. The third one is another misunderstanding because we're just friends who were making music together."
Squeezing my eyes shut, I curse silently at myself, because I just purposely left the fourth one out.
God, talking with Lucas Klein drains my energy. Why does he have to be so intimidating? Now that I realize how much he can change my life, I'm nervous.
His eyes pierce me. "So, what happened to the fourth one?"
This is crazy. I already feel like I'm admitting my sin to my husband even though I wasn't married to him when I did the deed. Now, I understand how his business opponents must feel when they cross him. Poor them.
I look back up at him. "I did sleep with him."
For a split second, I think that I see anger in his eyes, but then he looks away from me.
"Is it that bad?" I ask. "Is it too late to fix the damage?"
He shifts his attention back at me. "You're lucky that I control the sports channel airing most of Alejandro's games."
So, basically, Luke can really turn the tables around. If we announce to the world that nothing is going on with me and Alejandro, the said football player won't be able to brag that he has indeed fucked me.
Luke's power makes me shudder, and without much thinking, I blurt out, "About Jude, can't you just tell the world that we went separate ways because of our differences?"
I know that it's a diplomatic answer any record label would say regarding their artist's breakup with another artist, but being a superstar myself, I know how horrible it is to receive hate from millions of people all over the world, and I don't want Jude to experience the same thing even though he did cheat on me.
I know better than anyone how emotionally destroyed he is.
"For me, it's enough as long as the world knows that I didn't cheat on him," I say. "Once the news that Brian assaulted me is out, people won't think that I'm a cheater anymore."
Luke's eyes darken, and the anger I saw for a split second back then now skates all over his face.
He strides toward me until we're standing face to face.
His jaw tightens. "First of all, I decide how I'm going to retract the news. We only had a deal to clear your name. Second, that's a stupid argument you had just now."
I swallow again. I can't say that he's wrong. Maybe I did sound too naive. And the words I said make me admit that I still have feelings for Jude, that I still care about him.
Luke's eyes are still not leaving mine. I push him away to distance myself from him, only to have him catch my hand. I freeze, but before I can protest, he already frees it. That's when I notice the difference.
There's a diamond ring on my finger.
"Like I said, I will help you, and you will marry me," he states. "It's about time that the world sees that ring on your finger."
I'm still struck by his words, but I don't fail to notice that there's also a ring on Luke's finger—I didn't notice it the first time I saw him.
However, his ring seems to be made of cheap metal and even looks childish. A set of mini skyscrapers form the band, and there's a small blue stone in the middle.
How strange. The ring doesn't match his personality at all, and doesn't go with the rest of the things he wears, which speak billionaire.
Perhaps, it's a couple ring that he shares with his previous fiancée. I just hope that he won't be wearing that ring on our wedding day, because anybody will find it awkward.
I tear my gaze away from it and stare at my new diamond ring instead. Oh God, am I really marrying him?
"Do you believe that us getting married will clean my reputation?" I ask. "What if the world thinks that I'm just another gold digger?" My voice is small when I blurt out the second question. It's been bothering my mind too.
Surprisingly, Luke chuckles, his face drawing closer to mine.
"Don't worry about that, Cassie," he says, looking into my eyes. "The world will only think that I'm crazy about you."