Chapter 3

Xavier was used to driving in silence, but he needed to let her in on some secrets.

“As you heard before, my name is Xavier Delgado,” Xavier started.

His voice brought Jessica back to reality, breaking her chain of thought. She turned to face him, ready to listen to what he had to say. Since he needed a wife, there had to be a backstory.

“My grandfather is sick and in the hospital, and he has been bugging me to get married. I was going to marry a girl from a wedding agency, but she didn’t show up, so I married you.”

“I told my grandfather that we’ve been dating for a year now, and that’s why we got married.”

“Okay,” Jessica responded.

“What do you do?” Xavier asked when he saw her respond.

“I’m an assistant chef at L’Verine Restaurant,” Jessica answered.

Xavier knew the place. He had dined there several times. He wondered if she had seen him before. The thought of her approaching him on purpose because she knew he was rich crossed his mind, but he didn’t dwell on it.

He knew they would settle for an amicable divorce after a year. Even if his grandfather were still alive by then, it would be easier to convince him why they had decided to divorce.

“But you will tell my grandfather that you are currently studying for a Ph.D.,” he said.

“What do you do?” Jessica asked.

Xavier wondered whether she was being truthful or pretending not to know him.

“You don’t know me?” Xavier asked. Although he was a man of few words, he was naturally curious and always made sure to satisfy that curiosity, which made him a good listener. His curiosity pushed him to ask whether she knew who he was.

“Are you a celebrity?” she asked back. “Even if you were, I wouldn’t know you. I barely have time to make enough money for myself, so I hardly know anything about what’s going on around me,” Jessica confessed.

She was terrible at paying attention to her surroundings. She could barely tell celebrities apart, fell asleep while watching movies, and only listened to old music. Most of the time, she heard new songs on the bus or in a taxi.

“No, I’m not,” Xavier answered.

It was the first time he had met a girl who didn’t recognize him. He thought everyone knew him and drooled over his pictures in business and fashion magazines. After all, he was an icon in both worlds.

“I work at Braxton Industries,” he said.

“Which branch?” she asked curiously.

The only reason she knew about Braxton Industries was that she had applied for a position as an assistant chef at one of their hotels. She had never gotten the job, but she still applied every year while working at L’Verine.

“All of them,” Xavier said.

For some weird reason, Xavier’s answer made her laugh. Since morning, she had barely had a reason to laugh, so she had to give him credit for making her do so.

“What do you mean by all of them?” she asked while wiping away a tear from laughing.

“I’m the chairman’s grandson,” Xavier answered nonchalantly.

“What?” Jessica asked, her eyes widening.

“I’m the heir to Braxton Industries,” he repeated. He had to admit that he had shown a great deal of patience today. He had answered all her questions without getting angry.

“What?” Jessica asked again.

Had she just legally married a billionaire?

“Anything else I need to know before meeting your grandfather?” Jessica asked as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

“He’s always tired because of the liver cancer, so he can barely talk. Let’s just greet him today, and that will be all,” he replied.

He hoped that once they got to the hospital room, he could finally stop talking.

“Okay then,” Jessica said, pulling out a small mirror from her bag. She checked her reflection and practiced smiling. If they were supposed to be dating, she had to make it believable that she was happy to be married to a stranger.

Xavier stared at her as she did so. There was something very different about her. She had an aura around her that he couldn’t explain.

“Shall we?” Xavier asked, unclasping his seat belt and opening the door.

Jessica did the same, and they both stepped out of the car.

“Here are the rings. I hope they fit,” Xavier said, pulling two rings out of his pocket. One had a diamond crest set inside a gold band; the other had small diamonds embedded along a gold band as well.

Jessica took the ring and slipped it onto her finger. She couldn’t believe she was wearing a diamond ring. The best Burke could have given her was a stainless-steel band painted gold, yet her heart still yearned for him. The ring fit perfectly, as though her finger had been measured for it.

“Stay close,” Xavier said.

Xavier sounded cold to Jessica, but she could still hear the concern and warmth beneath his tone. She believed he put on a cold, uncaring front to keep people at a distance.

It was obvious that that was what he did. Even though she wasn’t invested in current news and events, there wasn’t a single person living in Chiachester City who didn’t know about the brutal death of his parents.

Some people even believed they had been intentionally killed, but the police investigation concluded it was an accident after the drunk truck driver responsible was caught.

The culprit was charged with hit-and-run, imprisoned for only a year, and later released.

Xavier must have built walls around himself to keep people out, only to lose them later.

And now he was about to lose his grandfather, the only person he had left in his life.

“I was wondering what took you so long,” Dawson said.

He had been expecting his grandson to arrive since Xavier had promised to bring his wife today.

“There was a little issue at the courthouse,” Xavier replied.

Dawson had expected Xavier to show up with another excuse about why he had no wife, but to his surprise, he had actually come up with one. He wondered where Xavier had suddenly found a wife. He knew for a fact that his grandson didn’t have a girlfriend, despite what he always claimed.

He had only pretended to believe him because he knew how much Xavier struggled to let people into his life. Yet here he was, accompanied by a girl. Dawson wondered where she had come from and whether she would turn out to be a good match for his grandson.

He planned to leave Xavier in the hands of a good person. Love could come later.