Cedric was giving me a probing stare.

My head was still sluggish, but I was slowly adjusting to the situation at hand. My eyes were glued to the black liquid in my cup. I sat on the sofa, unmoving.

The smell of rich coffee that lingered inside the room wasn’t enough to decrease the unsettling curl of strange sensations down from the bottom of my spine. Despite the grandeur of the marble coffee table in front of me, his room made me feel oddly unsettled.

I used both of my hands to hold on to the small white cup, hoping the heat would lessen the coldness in my fingers. Then I glanced at him.

“I wasn’t joking last night.”

“About marriage?”

“Yes! I really do want you to marry me!” I declared boldly before my resolve vanished.

There were two reasons I wanted to marry him. First, because by doing so, the things in the previous timeline would never happen. Not again. I couldn’t marry Evan if I was married to his brother!

“Why?” he asked, confused. “I mean last night was great but… you and Evan….”

I had expected this reaction. If I were still the same Isabella, I would have blamed him for our tryst last night and run right back to his brother. I know because, in the last timeline, I did.

He must be wondering if something hit my head.

I lowered my eyes, letting the brown locks cascade across part of my face. This proposition sounded like it was out of impulse, but it was deeper than just a way to alter the future; this was the only thing that I could think of to save this man from his own brother.

I faked a smile. “Evan has been cheating on me.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “Are you—”

“So, marrying will benefit both of us.” I interrupted him. I didn’t want him to ask me If I was all right. I didn’t want to lie. I was far from all right. I was confused and angry and I didn’t want to show any of these in front of him. “I am talking about a contract marriage.”

“You want to use me against my brother?” It wasn’t really a question.

Cedric was always sharp, and this was my second reason for wanting to marry him. I would need an intelligent partner if I was going to take on Evan in this timeline. “Yes.” I nodded. “In return, I will help make you the CEO of Lin Group. I get revenge on your cheating brother when we go public with our marriage, and you get to take over your family’s company.”

Evan was the heir apparent of the Lin Group. However, he only got there because of my help. Without my schemes, Evan wouldn’t survive in the company.

Cedric smiled, revealing a dimple on his left cheek. “I don’t need the Lin Group.”

“Oh?” How interesting. I took another sip of coffee, trying to calm myself down.

“I just want to get Silk and Laces… out of the Lin Group.”

Silk and Laces was one of Lin Group’s subsidiaries and Cedric had become its CEO a few months ago. “Is that all?” I asked. As Evan’s confidant in the past timeline, I knew everything about Silk and Laces. I knew very well how the company was struggling thanks to Evan’s schemes.

Why would Cedric want to stay in this company when I could give him Lin Group itself? Did I misjudge Cedric’s character?

As the person who helped Evan plan all the schemes to ruin Silk and Laces, I knew the ins and outs of this company. I could do something about the upcoming schemes and perhaps make the company recover, but… why settle for a small company like this? I couldn’t understand Cedric’s logic at all.

“Yes, that’s all.” Cedric nodded, his eyes full of confidence, as always. “You said you wanted a contract marriage? A way to get back at my brother. Nothing…real like last night.”

Again, I nodded. I knew perhaps it was wrong of me to ask for a contract marriage when I knew from my past timeline that he had real feelings for me, but it was the only way to protect him. If I married him, not only would I get revenge on his brother, but I could keep an eye on him, and I would always be close enough to know what was going on his both his world and Evan’s.

“You know me better than most people. You know how I hate divorce,” he said.

I blinked at him. That’s right. As Evan’s half-brother, someone who was condemned by society for being the son of the mistress, Cedric never liked divorce. “To be clear, if you marry me, I will never agree to a divorce,” he added.

My lips thinned. “I am not a big fan of divorce either.” I was telling the truth. My naïve self grew up in a healthy and loving family and never considered divorce in my plans. I tried to read his reaction, but I got none.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

I sighed. This was feeling more serious than I originally thought it would be. By now, I had regained my composure, so I decided to lighten the mood by pointing out the mess on the sheets.

I pointed at the red spot on the bed and groaned. “Sorry about that.” Despite being with Evan for years, he never actually consummated the relationship, as he was waiting for our marriage.

Cedric opened his mouth. Maybe he didn’t expect me to point out so blatantly that this was my, well, first time.

For a few seconds, he said nothing, before the crease in between his brows vanished. Then he nodded. “All right.”

All right? Really? That’s it?

“No more questions?”

He shook his head. “No more questions.” He got a sudden twinkle in his eyes, “Well, maybe one question. Who is going to clean up the...“

My eyes widened. What the hell? I just said it to break the ice! I felt embarrassment wash over me as he gestured toward the bloody sheets. Almost immediately, my legs sprang forward. I jumped out of my seat and covered his mouth. “Don’t say it!”

The moment his eyebrow lifted, I realized that our current position was a bit compromising. I was sitting on his lap, using my hands to cover his mouth. He was close—too close. I could see the intricate lacework of his eyelashes. It was as if a bolt of lightning hit me. I jumped out of his arms and stood there like a statue.

Wow, this was awkward.

I was trying to act cool in front of him but ended up embarrassing myself. How naïve.

A smug smile appeared on his handsome face.

How unfair it was that he looked so handsome.

“Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Where else? To register our marriage.”

I consider him carefully, then nod.

“Ok, but first I need to make one stop. Let’s go to my apartment.”