Kenneth's POV
The silence after the café clung around me longer than I expected.
I sat in my office, the coffee before me, untouched , growing cold on the desk, my eyes fixed on nothing in particular, my mind wasn't there.
It was still on her.
Bianca.
I couldn't understand it. One second she was trembling under my arm, holding on to me like I was her only savior. And the next? She was storming out of the café like I had just insulted her very being.
And maybe I had.
I mean, twenty million dollars? A fake engagement? To most ladies out there, it probably sounded like a business proposal. I couldn't blame her for walking out.
If someone had offered me the same thing, I might have told them to get lost too.
Still...her leaving left a strange emptiness in my heart.
A large feeling of disappointment I wasn't used to having.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I let it vibrate violently on the desk for a while, debating whether to completely ignore it. But something inside me told me to pick up.
So I did.
"Hello?"
"Is that Kenneth?"
The voice was soft and sounded familiar.
I froze for a second and then my eyes widened.
"Bianca?"
And just like that, everything in me lit up.
It was her.
I could hear the hesitation in her tone, but under it...something calm and steady. Something different from the girl who left me back at the coffee shop. The one who stormed out angry.
"Yes, it's me," she said.
I didn't even get the chance to ask her how she got my number.
"Never mind about that," she cut in. "I called about your offer."
I sat up straighter on my chair.
"Yeah?"
"I accept it."
Those words. The words I had wished I heard sooner. They had left me flying. I could stop smiling. The words came with something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Hope.
I don't even remember what I said after that. Just that I did everything quickly. I told her to send her account details. She agreed. We ended the call.
And when the confirmation message came up on my phone moments later,
I knew things had officially begun.
And yet, I couldn't explain how I was feeling.
Excited? Maybe.
Nervous? Probably.
I didn't care about the different feelings of emotions going on in my chest. The confusion, curiosity, whatever the hell that little feeling was in my mind. It didn't matter.
What mattered to me was this:
My grandfather would finally see it.
That I was capable, capable of handling the legacy.
That I was worthy of the Marcon name and everything that came with it.
Bianca saying yes was just the tip of the iceberg. Her answer had secured my future.
I stood up from my chair, grabbed my blazer and didn't bother to look back at the office. The office suddenly felt too small to hold the excitement growing inside me.
I needed to move, to take in that fresh victory air, I needed to celebrate.
But not alone.
"I'm leaving early," I said, already walking halfway past my secretary's desk.
She practically jumped after me. "But sir, you have a few meetings scheduled in less than thirty minutes…."
"Cancel them," I cut in firm, my voice calm but clear. "Another day."
That was the last thing I said before I pushed through the lobby door and stepped outside the building, the bright afternoon sun bouncing off the windows of my waiting car.
Isaac stood by the door, composed as always. He opened the door without a word, and I slid in.
"Home," I said.
He nodded once, got behind the wheel, and we pulled away from the parking lot.
My smile didn't fade.
Not when we pulled into the driveway.
Not even when I stepped out of the car.
Not even when I walked through the mansion's front door.
It was as if the entire day had been made just for me, like the universe had finally, after a long time, given me the upperhand.
Inside, the mansion was quiet, but it was not empty.
Seated in the main lounge, exactly where they always hung around, were my brothers.
Kieran, the eldest, his sharp jaw, always dressed like he was about to walk into a press conference. He glanced up from his phone with a cocked brow, as if my smile was offensive to him.
Next to him was Kelvin, younger than Kieran. His black hair, his grin was his permanent look. He wore a casual shirt that rolled up to his elbows. His good looks were only rivaled by his ego.
I shut the door, softly, behind me, and of course, Kelvin was the first to speak.
"What's with the smiles, huh? Caught yourself a good one?" he teased, his grin practically wide across his face as he leaned back against the chair, eyes bright and questioning, with a little punch of that usual brotherly arrogance.
He was talking about the women I sometimes took out. Just casual stuff only on the surface level. The ones who never meant anything to me and never stayed long enough to matter.
But this, Bianca, wasn't something I needed them knowing about.
Not yet.
I kept my expression calm. "Closed another deal today. I felt like leaving early."
A simple, controlled and believable lie.
Kelvin scoffed lightly but didn't press any further.
Kieran didn't even look up from his phone, but I could feel he had his ear out to listen.
I gave them both a nod and walked past.
As I walked upstairs, the thoughts became louder.
I had the deal.
I had Bianca's yes.
I had the money transferred and the lie ready to be told to my family.
But now the hard part that was attached to it…..trying to make it real.
I began pacing around my room, my mind already going through different scenarios. How would I introduce her to the family? What would I say to make it sound natural?
"We've been together for a while."
"We kept it quiet, personal."
"She's the one."
It had to be a smooth, believable story.
We need to have a backstory, maybe photos, memories that didn't exist but were there as proof.
I knew how to convince people. I had done it in boardrooms a hundred times. But this? This wasn't about selling the numbers. It was about family.
And that's when the feeling started.
That quiet voice in the back of my mind.
What if they don't believe it?
What if they see through her? Through me?
What happens if this all goes wrong?
What then?