Gay

“Being my wife would make them accept you. No questions asked. I am sure your stepmother would do everything to become your new best friend. Don’t you think so?”

These were the words that made her angry at his proposition. Thinking about it now, she knew she had been really… impulsive. Considering that she already signed the marriage certificate, she knew that regretting her decision now was completely useless.

She reluctantly met Candy’s eyes.

“You’re crazy.” Candy shook her head.

“Please tell me something I don’t already know.”

“Do you even know him? I mean… like his family? You just signed a marriage certificate like that without knowing if he is a serial killer who wanted to cook you and serve you for dinner?”

“Good thinking.” Fiona nodded. “A cannibal…” Her thoughts took her to that one-night stand. “Is definitely something you could use to describe him.”

“Fiona—” Candy gave one of her signature serious voice. Her furrowed brows were enough to tell Fiona she wasn’t kidding at all. “This man is rich… rich—rich. He is on the top. He could kill you and make you disappear without any signs.” Fiona could hear the concern in her friend’s voice.

“Look, Catherine…”

“Please don’t call me that,” Candy said. She always hated her name. Fiona smiled in response. “Did you think someone could easily kill me? Evil people don’t die easily, you know.”

“I know you’re evil, but you are my friend.”

“Hey! That was rhetorical!”

The deep lines in between Candy’s brows loosened as she smiled. “You are evil. Period. And yes, I’m sure you aren’t easy to kill. But this man’s family is dangerous. Let me just… you know what? Here…” Candy gave her a file. “I was supposed to email the info to you, but I just can’t take it. You have to know this before leaving this building!”

Fiona eyed the pink folder. “Was this necessary?”

“It’s supposed to make it, you know… subtle. The information is extreme. It needed something to balance all the negative stuff.”

So she thought of the pink folders. Impressive.

Fiona rolled her eyes and opened the folder.

“First is the grandfather. He is currently dying, but before that, he is the Chief Executive’s best friend. Yep, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. They grew up together. And guess what? The executive wanted her own daughter to marry this Luca Han,” Candy started. “What do you think will happen if they know about this marriage? Jesus… they will freak out!”

“Next?” Fiona said.

“You didn’t think it was that scary?”

“Nope.” This didn’t surprise her anymore. Operating on a mafia leader with a gun pointed at her head was definitely more intimidating than this.

“Then… Luca’s father died when he was six. Rumor has it that his own brother killed him. And that would be the eldest son of that old man, Luca’s uncle, Mr. Samuel Han. Luca was an only child, and he grew up in London. This was an attempt to keep him safe from his uncle.” Candy made a deliberate pause. Was she expecting her to show some sort of horror on her face? Fiona arched an eyebrow. She had seen worse.

“Alright… it looks like nothing scares you anymore.” Candy sighed. “Well… let me tell you about his two cousins. Jacob Han and Arya Han. He is twenty-seven, and she is twenty-five. Basically, even if Luca’s father was younger, he gave birth to the first grandson in the family. Luca is the oldest and the smartest. That’s the reason why he became the CEO of HICI.”

“That’s expected.”

“Well… the two of them grew up spoiled by their mother. Amy Sy. She is the daughter of a tycoon in Beijing. She is currently fifty-six, just like her husband, Samuel Han. And she… well, she is the leader of the richest housewives of Hong Kong. She is like the queen of all socialites in Hong Kong. Everybody worshipped her like she was some goddess or something.”

Candy added, “She is currently trying to introduce a lot of women to her nephew. Most of these women were from other influential families in Hong Kong. Actresses and businesswomen—all beautiful, all excellent. What do you think would happen if—Wait a goddamn minute!” Candy’s eyes widened. “Is he… gay?”

Fiona displayed a wide grin. “You finally get it?”

“That is the reason why he wanted to use you… right? He wanted everyone to be disappointed in his choices and just leave him alone! Meaning… fewer media! And more time for him to be with his lover.”

“Smart!” Fiona smiled. Fiona never told Candy about the real reason why she agreed to marry him. All she said was the fact that Luca wanted to use her as a shield. The compensation was very generous, and he even told her that he would pay a vast sum of money to WILD and WICKED. This was the reason why her friend actually thought she was crazy.

Candy bit her lower lip. “And you are a lesbian. So… it’s just perfect.”

Fiona’s jaw dropped. “Where the hell did you get that idea from?”

“That you’re gay? I mean… come on, man. No pressure. I was gay once, yeah? So yeah… I can totally relate.”

“…” Speechless. Where the hell did she get this crazy assumption? Could she just walk away from this human? Just because she was single, and she hasn’t been in a relationship after her fiancé cheated on her, didn’t mean she’s gay! What the hell was wrong with these people?

Couldn’t she just stay single without being labeled as gay?

“Since both of you are gay, then this isn’t prostitution.”

“You thought I was prostituting myself?” she asked, flabbergasted. What the hell?

“You said you are marrying him for the money!”

Fiona’s smile cracked. Yes. She actually said something along those lines. The money that he promised to give the company was very tempting. So she started her story by telling her friend the amount.

“Alright... enough talking about this. I know you can protect yourself well. There is no need to emphasize safety anymore. Since I already introduced all the members of their family then… do you have any other questions?”

“I do.” Fiona nodded. “When’s my flight to Hong Kong?”