Sarah's POV.
Fairytales are always deceiving. I remember my mother telling me stories in which the prince solves every problem. He can just make everything fine by the snap of his fingers. It always annoyed me but maybe I always beleived it. And I was waiting for him. The long wait made me hate fairytales. I felt betrayed. Like it was a false hope.
The moment I saw the amount I was going to receive after this contract, it felt unreal. The problem in my life was money. And it was written on the paper, ten million. Like it was simple. It was not just ten million. It was an end to starving days, to the constant anxiety of paying loan, doing odd jobs. The amount was enough for me to enjoy life. Until I complete my studies, and find a job. Lifting my head I saw the man sitting in front of me. Brown pair of eyes peeking into me. Technically, he was my prince. That felt funny. Prince? He? Not that he wasn't charming. He was-hot, but no prince could be this rude. Turning to Clarke. I expressed my curiosity. That made him smirk. I looked at his direction, wiggling my eyebrows, questioning his attitude. Which he avoided answering, "Nothing,". Weirdo, I thought. It was already embarrassing that my outfit matched to his. I hoped he didn't notice.
Clarke explained about the expenses this contract was going to cover. All my bills, loans, groceries plus allowance. What I thought was too much, When everything was being paid by them, what was I going to do with the allowance?
What am I going to do for them? Question popped into my mind. Why are they paying me this much? Which I asked Clarke. He explained to me the whole play that we were going to perform in front of the media. Give them clues, reveal it, make it public and then divorce. Okay, I was getting it. Brown eyes were burning my skin. He was silent. Besides those casual and deep eye contacts and that smirk of him, we didn't communicate. For what I was very thankful. Revelation about living with him in one house sent shivers to my body. We both almost jumped out of our spot. He started arguing about it. It felt weird for several reasons. But it was stupid of me not to expect it. Of course we were going to live together. But I was thinking about each and every consequence of living together. And that one thing struck my mind. Throwing questions on their faces, I felt very nervous. No question was even close to the actual curiosity of mine. I was fighting with myself finding a way to ask it modestly. The disappointed look I got from Clarke when I announced leaving without signing it was something I was ashamed of. The man seated in front of me, groaned. It was stupid of me to waste their time. But I had full right to take time, right? Walking towards the door, after bidding goodbyes. I stopped for a moment. The amount was good. It was just pretending to be his wife. Even my schedule was not going to be disturbed. I need to ask this, or who knows they will find someone better.
I turned back swiftly. His hand was hanging in the air, what was he doing? Hitting the table?
"Actually," my voice came out. And again, my lips sealed.
"Yes?" Clarke looked at me with curious eyes.
"I wanted to confirm that-" my eyes found him again, his hand was down now. I closed my eyes, trying to process the words. My hands were wringing together.
"Like we will pretend only and-" I paused again.
"Nothing will happen? I mean nothing more is required? I am not that kind-of -girl. I can't- sleep with you" shouting the last three words, I froze at the spot. Mirroring my expression Clarke's ears were perked up. He kind of looked like a racoon.
"Don't flatter yourself, I have got a type." It was so deep, his voice. He was answering me, but the choice of words was not very nice. His expressions were shameless as his words were. The disgusted look on my face didn't go unnoticed. He scoffed, "What? I don't jusr f*ck … anyone." This man was a pr*ck, for sure.
"No, Miss Spencer. There are no such things." were the words that eased my mind. And I decided not to respond to his remarks.
"Also, you cannot date anyone. This is confidential. So it should be kept secret."
"That's not a problem,"of course, how could that be a problem? Love, relationships were just something not in my plan. More like, they couldn't be. I had barely any friends. Having a boyfriend meant someone so close to see my vulnerability.
It was clear now. And there is nothing I could disagree with, right? I decided to give a chance to my impulsive thoughts,
"Can you give me a pen?" I said, showing the palm of my hand.
"Uhh- yeah" he panicked. Rotating his head around the whole room. He stopped looking at him. He was twirling a pan, this whole time. His eyes followed his own hand. Offering me the pen, his head was tilted to the left. I took the pen from his hand ignoring the burning sensation I felt as our hand brushed against each other.
Sitting down at the leather chair, I straightened the papers in front of me. Clarke sat on the chair beside me. Putting his finger on the space left for me to sign he guided me. I pressed the pen in between my fingers, before I finally signed it. This was the signature I had practised imagining how I would sign on my patient's prescription. Here I was signing a fake marriage. Life .
One after another, in total I signed ten pages. Harry Watson name was everywhere on the contract. On the top of a page, Harry Watson and Sarah Spencer were written, explaining the signatory and contractor. It felt strange, our names together. Completing the signing process. Clarke stood up with a not very professional grin on his face.
"Congratulations, Miss spencer. I hope working with you would be great" he said as he offered his hand for me to shake.
"Sarah, please call me Sarah. And I hope that too" I joined his hands as a cheeky grin appeared on my face. Turning my posture to him, I looked at him. Waiting for anything he could say. We were going to work together.
"Never forget breaking confidentiality is unforgivable. You will be dead at the moment I'll feel you unreliable.'' He was joking, right?
"He means- you have to be a bit careful," Clarke chuckled nervously. He was advising me? Threatening me? At the moment I just signed the contract. Thank you, Your Highness.
"I'll text you the details, we are doing a photoshoot tomorrow at the same time like today," here it goes.
"Is that okay?" I nodded attentively, even though I was not feeling sane.
Saying goodbye for the last time, I finally came out of that room. It was vast but my chest was feeling tight. His eyes burning on my skin, his tongue babbling sh*t and a constant urge to smash his perfect face, was frustrating. I was out finally. Thank God.
It was very nice of Clarke to give me a ride. On the way there Clarke told me that I needed to get ready as my pictures will be in front of magazines. He was very sure of that. He gave me a ride himself, because he still didn't know who could be trusted in a matter like this. We were heading to his friend's house, who happened to be a very famous singer. His name was not familiar to me. Or I was always too busy. I did tell him about my schedule. Monday and Thursday were the busiest days. As these were ward days. Except those days I was free by the lunch time. Clarke was very easy going. Very sensible. Always understanding the situation. Contrary to Mr. 'I'll kill you'. I rolled my eyes at the thought.
The car stopped at the doorstep of a house. The society was unfamiliar to me. But all the houses were screaming rich vibes. We stepped out of the car. It was beautiful. The doorstep was decorated with ornamental plants. Wooden door was decorated with the name of the owner carved on it saying 'Billy's here'. It made me laugh. I didn't know celebrities do these things too.
At the knock on the door by Clarke, it opened. A bunny smile appeared in front of me. He was tall, his hair was short. It suited him so well. He was dressed casually in sweatshirt and pyjamas.
"Heyyy!!!" He greeted Clarke. Exchanging bro fists. He looked at me, tilting his head to the side,
"You must be,..."
"Sarah," I spoke politely. I liked his vibe. It was light and joyful. Offering me his hand which I took he dragged me inside, to which I giggled. A large piano,guitar and violin standing aesthetically at the corner of the large living room, didn't go unnoticed. On the left wall there was a large mirror. Round shaped white couches were in the middle of the hallway. This is where I saw broad shoulders turned back on us sitting on the couch. To our giggles, he turned. And my smile started to leave. Also his eyes were annoyed at the sight of me. Rolling his eyes, he stood up.
"Make it quick," he turned to talk to Clarke. Walking towards the door from where we just came in, he announced "I have to make a call." He was out. Not in my sight. Good.
Billy directed me towards the couch. I sat there. Dressed in a blue T shirt with blue jeans, I was looking awful. The colour of the shirt was faded. Two men sitting with me were gorgeous and were dressed gorgeously. Billy was looking like a superstar even in his casual look. Well, technically he was a superstar.
"So, coffee? Juice? Or…wine? I have red wine," my stomach was bad. Coffee was definitely not an option. And wine, my tendency for wine was zero. So I chose what was left,
"Juice is okay."
"Wine for me," Clarke said as he made himself comfortable on the couch. Stretching his legs.
"Of course," Billy responded before going to another corner of the room. Opening the glass door of his large refrigerator. My eyes were busy admiring the aesthetics of the room. When the bell rang , Clarke stood up, saying, "I'll take it."
After a moment, I heard a female voice. The footsteps were becoming louder, when I turned to find a tall girl, chewing something, maybe a chewing gum. Her hair was pink at the edges, short , styled in beacy waves. She was dressed in a beachy linen shirt. The pattern on the shirt was multicoloured. Paired with the maroon linen trouser. I stood up and I heard my voice very nervous when I said, "Hi." The embarrassment I felt at the moment she eyed me from top to bottom instead of saying 'hi' in return, was unexplainable. Clarke came back with two suitcases. He gasped as he put them down.
"What is in there?" he questioned their heaviness.
"Makeup, clothes and shoes. You didn't tell me the size." she answered casually.
"I told you that she is lean," Clarke said as he sat back on his previous spot.
"That's not a size," she rolled her eyes.
"Isn't she beautiful,"I turned as I heard Billy's voice. Placing my juice at the table, he winked at me. Shyness got all over me and I smiled.
"She is Bella, we call her bell." Billy introduced her to me, as he offered her wine. Which she took.
"This is Sarah," he said to her.
"Yeah, I know." she voiced out.
I sat back on the couch. It was pineapple juice. It felt so refreshing. I was enjoying it, when I heard her voice,
"Be quick, there is so much work to do ON you." On me? Seriously? Putting my glass at the table, it was almost finished, I said, "I am ready," it meant so much.
Yes, I was ready to do this, finally.