𝐒𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 - ★彡[ᴀʟʜᴀɪᴛʜᴀᴍ]彡★

𝟐 - 𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓

It felt like this was honestly the best and worst thing that had happened to me. I'd get to be the fake-wife-whatever of a smoking hot, wealthy guy and get paid to do it! On top of that, the pay was immensely better than what I was running with now, so I honestly had no complaints. I went through a list of people in my life. There wasn't anyone I was romantically interested in, so that furthered my analysis that there was no reason to refuse this offer.

"Sure, I'll do it," I replied after a few moments' worth of thinking.

 
"Alright, I understand, if you ever change your mind and want to do it, then– wait, what?"

Alhaitham's eyes widened. "You'll do it?"

"Sure, it's not like I have anything to lose." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Thank you," he coughed roughly and resumed his composure. "Well then, let's meet after work hours to discuss the further details."

"Sure, but what if someone overhears?" I couldn't help but ask. "Maybe we should meet at one of our places of residence."

"Hm, that's not a bad idea," he nodded, "I was actually planning to bring this up among the many other parts of our deal. Would you be opposed to the idea of moving into my home?"

"M-Moving in?" my voice came out a bit louder than intended due to shock. I mean it's not like the apartment I'm living in right now is particularly comfortable, but... I wasn't completely fond of the idea of living alone with a guy I don't know, let alone having to sleep in the same vicinity as him.

"Don't worry, my house has multiple bedrooms. We don't have to stay in the same one if that's what you're worried about. I have security cameras set up in case anything happens as well."

Ah, that's good. "Mr. Alhaitham, may I ask how long you've been preparing for this?" I laughed nervously. It seemed that he had completely prepared for this situation, down to every last detail.

At those words, he cast his gaze down, seeming somewhat reluctant to answer me. "Well, the truth is that I've been trying to find a suitable partner for marriage over the past few years, but nothing has worked out. Forgive me if I am rambling, but they always say I'm far too absorbed in my work to take care of them let alone marry them. In fact, I always had to pay them a large sum of money to compensate and make sure that they don't go around telling people that I don't have a wife... In the end, I probably met with at least a hundred women, in which none of them were satisfied with me. Around two months ago I came to the conclusion that I should just get a stand-in wife, as people have begun to see the holes in my claims about 'her.' I considered telling the media that it was a lie, but looking at the company on a wide scale, a lot of the success is purely because the head of the company is the supposed 'ideal husband.' Recently, there's been someone st– actually, I'll bring it up later."

"I see," I bit my lip, "I've never particularly wanted to find a partner, so I don't mind holding the scheme up for as long as it takes, so long as the complications aren't particularly life-changing."

"Thank you," he bowed his head, "I truly cannot express the amount of gratitude I feel for your compliance."

I felt my face heat up with embarrassment at his sudden show of courtesy. "No need to bow! I should be thanking you for presenting me with this opportunity, honestly."

"Well then," he let out a small breath, "you should probably be going back to work. Wait at your desk after your shift ends and I'll pick you up to take you back to my place."

I wonder what his place is like...

I gave him a final nod and left his office, making sure to close the door gently. After it was completely shut I leaned against the back, letting out a breath I hadn't realized that I was holding in.

What did I just agree to? Alhaitham, the ideal husband, had just asked me to become his wife–well, fake wife. What did it even mean to be someone's fake wife? Would I have to do marital activities? I guess he's going to specify that later.

As well as that, he hadn't been anywhere close to as scary as I imagined, perhaps it was because of the situation, but he didn't talk down on me or demean me as my other bosses did.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and got on the elevator, preparing to head back to work.

They'll be clarified soon enough, right?

Hi guys! I'm probably going to stick with this chapter length or close to it for this book, I think that the format will make more sense that way :) I hope you're having a good day/night and taking care. I, for one, am swamped with summer work... I gotta finish this course to take an honors-level class so I have no choice. Is it sad I'm more excited for Alhaitham's reveal than Sumeru itself... haha... I'm starting to save for him already, you can never be too safe with this kind of thing. <3, Wasabi

EDITED (✓)