Chapter 13

"Change this part to 'both parties shall not engage in any intimate relations without mutual consent.' The agreement should protect both sides." Matthew looked dead serious, that handsome but emotionless face of his was honestly unbearable. Serena sneered, muttering, "You really think highly of yourself, don't you? Mr. Arrogant." But her hand obediently made the edit. "Second point—hmm... even after we register, I still need to stay on campus for school. So we can’t go public," she said, chewing on her pen cap, looking very serious. "I'm fine with keeping it private, but we have to live together." Matthew got up and walked over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out into the dark night. He looked calm, but something about him seemed a bit off. "Live together? And why, exactly?" Serena shot back, clearly annoyed. "No reason." "You... well, in that case, I’ll need to think it over a bit more." Serena turned her face away, frustrated. "Forget it. You seem to have a problem with all my suggestions. You come up with the clauses—I'll add on if needed." "The agreement lasts for two years. That’s all I’ve got." Matthew’s tone was flat, like he was talking about someone else’s life. "Wait a sec... what about your, uh, massive wealth? Aren’t you gonna make a note of that in the contract?" Serena asked cautiously—that was a ridiculous amount of money. Surely he cared, right? "If you decide to leave after two years, I’ll give you a blank check. Write whatever amount you want. Now get some rest." He didn’t wait for her reply. Grabbing a blanket from the wardrobe, he lay down on the couch with his back to her. After ironing out the terms, Serena couldn’t fall asleep at all. They both lay there, silent, eyes wide open, lost in their own thoughts. Serena started to piece things together: Matthew, CEO of the Quinn Corporation, needed a marriage certificate to get his hands on 42% of the group’s shares so he could sign a major contract. And her? Her dad’s gambling debts were a nightmare. She bailed on her own wedding today, and who knew what chaos was going down at home now. She stared at her phone’s black screen, too scared to switch it on. Why live together for the two years? Was he afraid Vivian would find out? But once he got the shares, would that even matter? Or was there something else he wasn’t saying? Ugh—just thinking about it gave her a headache, and before she knew it, she fell asleep. Matthew, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about how Serena looked stepping out of the bathroom after her shower. He didn’t sleep a wink. Morning sunlight seeped through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Serena rubbed her sleepy eyes and saw Matthew already dressed, quietly flipping through a magazine on the couch. "I had someone bring some clothes for you. They’re in the dressing room. Finish getting ready and come down. I’ll be waiting in the car. We’ll have breakfast on the way." He didn’t so much as glance at her while speaking, then headed downstairs. The car was already running outside, with a security guard holding the door open. "Bye, ma’am." Serena rushed downstairs after getting dressed, cheerfully saying goodbye. Left behind, Vivian's voice echoed faintly, "You’re leaving just like that?" This creepy mansion, that fake mother and son vibe, a sham marriage—yeah, the sooner she left, the better. From when she got in the car to the last bite of breakfast, Matthew didn’t say a word. Serena was trying to figure out how to bring up the contract again. There was no way she could just blindly marry a stranger like this, right? "Um... so, Mr. Quinn, about what we discussed yesterday..."