"SO can you now tell me why you went home without us?" Mariel asked me the moment she arrived at her unit. She slipped on the empty space next to me. I didn't know how long I was here on the couch when she arrived.
She glanced at the TV screen before her eyes went back to mine. "Wait, since when did you become a fan of action movies?"
I ignored her comment. "I saw Xander in the bar earlier. In fact, he's the one who brought me home."
"What?" I watched how her lips parted. Then she scoffed. "So that's why you ditched us? Wait, why were you with him?"
I bit my lower lip as explained to him the incident earlier.
"Well, kudos to him for defending you," Mariel said. "Wait, are you okay?" She studied my face.
I shook my head. "Xander… he asked me to marry him?"
"Wait, what?!" Mariel shouted at me, her brows deeply frowned. "Is this one of your jokes, Charity?"
"No," I said with a small voice. Then I sighed as I told her everything Xander and I talked about earlier.
"I need to get married, Charity," Xander explained with a serious face. He sighed. "Well, as you all know my grandfather already stepped down in the company. He endorsed me as the next president of VGC. But the board of directors are against me."
I only nodded at him, urging him to continue. Shit. My mind was still blown with his sudden proposal of marriage.
"They didn't want me to assume the position because they think I'm not responsible enough to handle the company."
I shook my head. "That's unfair," I gasped. I already heard it with Pamela but it was different hearing this from Xander.
He smiled bitterly. "I know. They wanted a family man. Someone like Franco." Franco Madrigal was the VP for Marketing of the VGC. I only saw him during board meetings.
"But he's not a Villarama," I said with a frown.
"Yeah. But he already owned the twenty five percent shares of the company," he answered, his jaw clenching as he sighed. "I can't let him take away the position from me, Charity. He's not even a Villarama for fuck's sake." He looked at me. "And I wanted this position so bad, Charity. I worked hard for it. Ever since I entered the company, our grandfather has been training me to be his successor."
"But what does this have something to do with you asking me to marry you?"
"Well… Austin suggested that I should get married. I mean, by getting married and showing them I was already into a serious and committed relationship, my playboy reputation would finally get erased. By being a family man, they would also see me responsible enough to lead the whole organization."
"But why me, Sir?" I asked, still confused as hell. "You should be asking someone else. I'm your secretary, Sir."
He sighed. "Because I only wanted a temporary wife. You see, I don't believe in marriage. And I've never been in a serious relationship all my life. So Austin suggested that I should just hire a temporary wife." He looked at me, his eyes staring right into my soul. "And I think you're the perfect person for the job."
My lips parted in disbelief. Me? Perfect to become his temporary wife? "Why me?"
"Because you're my secretary. More importantly, it's because you're the only woman I trust, Charity."
My mouth was still opened but I couldn't find the right words to say.
"Just think of this as another job preposition, Charity," Xander explained. "You will get married to me but only on paper. And it will only last for a few months, until I get the presidency position. We will announce our marriage to the public and no one will know that you're just a temporary wife, except of course for my lawyer and the people we trust."
"I'd ask my lawyer to draft a contract. I'd pay you fifty million for this, Charity. You'd get the half after our marriage and then the remaining half after our divorce. I'd assure you, the marriage would only last for six months. I'm confident I've already gotten the presidency by then."
My eyes widened in disbelief. Fifty million for a contract marriage? "You're willing to pay me that huge amount of money?"
"I know you came from a rich family… but then you said that your father sent you here to the Philippines to fend for yourself, right?" He smiled at me. "You can use that money to live comfortably here, Charity."
"I… I don't know what to say, Sir."
"I understand. I know that is shocking and a lot for you. I'll give you time to think." He held my hand and pressed it. "But I hope you'd say yes. I really need your help."
"What the fuck, Charity!" Mariel muttered.
"I know." I sighed. I felt that everything he said to me earlier was just a joke or something. I couldn't grasp it.
Mariel slanted her eyes at me. "Don't tell me you're even considering accepting his crazy proposal?"
"Of course not, Mar," I said in a small voice. "I can't marry him." I was in love with Xander, but I was not fool enough to agree to be his temporary wife.
"You can't let him use you, Charity."
I was only supposed to be here for three months. My life was in Greece. And besides, I didn't even need the money Xander was offering to me.
"He's really desperate for that position, huh," Mariel commented, shaking her head. "Imagine? He's willing to pay fifty million? Why doesn't he just marry for real instead of paying a huge amount of money?"
"He said he doesn't believe in marriage." I said. "And he didn't have a girlfriend right now."
Mariel snorted. "He's really a disgusting playboy."
"Maybe there's a reason he's not into marriage, Mariel."
She rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, stop defending him, Charity."
As I laid on my bed, I remembered Xander's face. I'm sorry, Xander.