Karen's POV
I arrived in Los Angeles safely, I had certainly missed home. I took a taxi to my former street where Mom lived before I left them to stay in Texas. They didn't want me sharing a house with Emily but I had to. It was really surprising but I didn't know she'd be around.
She beamed with joy when she saw me. I came down from the taxi and quickly paid the taxi driver. "Mom, I've missed you." I said, carrying my luggage into the house.
She hugged me as soon as I dropped the luggage on the floor. "I've certainly missed you more."
I wondered what happened, she was supposed to be in the reality show. "Mom, what about your reality show?" I asked.
She looked at me, tears in her eyes. I suddenly wished I didn't ask her, I didn't want to see her hurt for any reason. "I lost to Jeanne, her cooking skills was excellent and the judges didn't like my food. "I'm so sorry." I apologized immediately for asking that question, I didn't know it would hurt her.
She chuckled and cleaned her tears with her hands. Looking at the parlor, everything had changed. It was looking like a restaurant. "Mom, what did you do here?" I asked, confused.
She smiled and arranged one of the chairs. "I've turned the parlor into a restaurant, I can't afford staying at home jobless. It will definitely affect me."
I nodded. It did seem like a very good plan to make more money. "I'll help you mom."
"But why are you here? I heard that you got married to a billionaire. Why have you come back here?" She asked.
How was I supposed to explain to her? "Mom, we were not supposed to get married, it was a contract." I explained gently.
"A contract? I don't understand. What's that?"
"A contract is a legally binding document between at least two parties that defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties to an agreement. A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law."
She chuckled softly and cleaned the table. "You've just made it more complicated."
"Alright, I agreed to pretend as the girlfriend of the billionaire for one million dollars and I ended up being his wife."
She laughed and nudged me with an elbow. "You haven't stopped lying, who will offer one million dollars to you?"
"It's really the truth."
"Alright, where's the money?"
My mouth went silent immediately, she would never believe me. "About the money, it….."
She interrupted. "Your childhood friend is around, he just returned from Germany, you should probably go and see him. I'm preparing food for some guests."
"Childhood friend?" I asked, confused. I didn't have a childhood friend, I wondered who was looking for me.
"Yeah, a man came here this morning, he was looking for you. He mentioned your name and told me that you are his childhood friend."
I blinked. Who was playing pranks with me? "Where's he now?" I asked her.
"He's in the next flat, the neighbors agreed to let him stay there for a day."
"What's his name?"
"I didn't ask for his name."
"Mom, you should not allow strangers in our house and you know that." I told her.
"I'm sorry."
"It's still early, mom. I could still see him tomorrow." I murmured
She frowned and someone walked into the house. It was Bill, I almost fainted at that spot. What was he doing here? How did he know here? My heart skipped a beat. I was scared. "Bill.... Bill," I stammered.
"Surprised to see me, huh?"
I scoffed. "You're not important to me, you should leave and next time, don't lie to my childhood to my mom that you're my childhood friend." I warned him.
He chuckled softly and licked his lips. Mom went into the kitchen and I stared at him, annoyed. "You should leave."
"Well, I wouldn't. You came here because of me and you came here because you're no longer in love with Brody."
What was he saying? Did Sarah plan all these with him? "I'm still in love with Brody and I left him to stay with my mom."
He smiled, he didn't look surprised by my statement. It was like he didn't believe me. I suddenly felt like a fool for listening to Sarah and coming back to Los Angeles. "Brody doesn't love you and he's not going to look for you. I'm sure you're aware of that."
"Bill," I groaned. "I'm not in love with you."
Tears welled up in his eyes. "You're a liar!" He screamed at me.
I shook my head with a heavy sigh hoping he would understand. "Well, I thought I was in love with you until I met Brody. Things change and I'm Brody's wife now, you should leave me alone."
He looked annoyed as he stood in front of the window and looked at the weather. "I'm all alone in this world. Tricia and Alvin decided to follow their mother after they promised me that they would never leave me. You've also decided to leave me too."
A whimper escaped my throat. "I'm married." I reminded him, wondering why he was behaving like a psycho.
"The contract rules were easy, you should have never fallen in love with him." He replied.
Silence hung in the air. He was right, I should have not fallen in love with Brody but I couldn't stop myself. How could I not fall in love with Brody?
"Karen," he called, it was barely more than a whisper and I fixed my gaze at him. "I love you."
I didn't feel the same way, I was not in love with him. "I don't feel the same way."
"What are you saying?" He asked, angrily. "You told me about your wish."
"What wish?" I asked under my breath.
He looked at me with wide eyes and I took a deep breath, pushed my hair out of my face. "You wished that you were the one who married me. You told me that when you came to my office for the first time."
I shrugged. "Feelings change." I explained, a little breathlessly.
"Have fun with Brody." He replied and walked out of the house in anger.