Chapter 2 - The Contract and the Ring
The law office of Bellini & Partners sat on the forty-fourth floor of a steel skyscraper overlooking Lake Michigan. It smelled of expensive polish, old leather, and absolute authority.
Sophie sat in a plush armchair, still wearing her worn denim jacket over her sweater, while Luca’s lead counsel—a sharp-faced attorney named Harrison Vance—slid a fifty-page document across the glass conference table.
"Section Four, Paragraph B," Vance said, tapping his gold pen against the paper. "Miss Bennett agrees to attend all family functions involving Nonna Rosa Bellini. She will reside at Mr. Bellini’s River North residence three nights a week to maintain public plausibility. She will refrain from speaking to media outlets, and under no circumstances will she discuss the internal operations of the Bellini Enterprise."
Sophie flipped through the pages. "And Section Nine? The part about my bakery?"
"A non-disclosure agreement combined with a financial disbursement," Luca answered smoothly from the leather sofa across the room. He was holding an espresso cup, looking impeccably cool. "Upon signing, fifty thousand dollars is wired directly to the commercial landlord for your West Oak Street lease. The remaining fifty thousand will be transferred to your account at the conclusion of ninety days."
Sophie’s heart did a strange double-thud. It was happening. Her dream was secured with a stroke of a pen. But as she picked up the heavy Montblanc pen Vance provided, she hesitated.
"Why me, Luca?" she asked, looking across the glass table. "You could have hired an actress. Someone who knows how to wear diamonds and glide through a ballroom without tripping."
Luca set his espresso cup down with a soft click. "Actresses lie for a living. I can spot a liar from across a room. You, Miss Bennett, couldn't tell a fake compliment if your life depended on it. When my grandmother looks into your eyes, she won't see a performer looking for a payout. She'll see someone genuine."
"Or someone terrified," Sophie muttered.
"Are you terrified?"
"Of you? No. Of your lawyer’s vocabulary? A little bit."
A faint smile touched Luca’s lips. "Sign the paper, Sophie."
She signed.
The moment the ink dried, Vance leaned down, picked up a sleek black velvet box from his leather briefcase, and pushed it across the table toward her.
"The engagement ring," Vance stated neutrally.
Sophie opened the box. She gasped.
Sitting inside was an oval-cut diamond the size of a pigeon’s egg, set in platinum and flanked by two vivid pink sapphires. It caught the afternoon sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, refracting blinding shafts of light across the room.
"It’s ridiculous," Sophie blurted out. "It looks like a doorstop."
"It belonged to my great-aunt," Luca said, stepping around the table. He took the box from her hand, lifted the heavy ring, and took her left hand in his. His fingers were warm, broad, and calloused despite his wealth.
As he slid the ring onto her finger, a sudden, electric shiver shot straight up her arm.
"It fits," he murmured, his thumb brushing against her knuckle.
"It’s too bright," she whispered, staring up into his dark brown eyes. "People will notice it."
"That is precisely the point," Luca replied, holding her gaze. "In my world, a man does not claim a woman quietly. He leaves no doubt in anyone's mind who she belongs to."
"I don't belong to you, Bellini," she reminded him sharply, pulling her hand back. "This is a lease agreement for my time."
"Of course," he said smoothly, though his eyes darkened slightly. "Our first official appearance is tomorrow evening. My family’s estate in Lake Forest. Dress code is formal. Marco will pick you up at six."
"I have a hundred sourdough loaves to pre-ferment tomorrow afternoon."
"Then you had better start mixing early, my fake wife."
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Sophie looked down at the glittering fortune on her finger. The weight of it felt less like jewelry and more like a golden handcuff. She had sold three months of her life to a man who commanded empires with a nod. And as she looked into Luca's dangerous, magnetic face, she realized the hardest part of this contract wouldn't be fooling his grandmother.
It would be remembering that none of it was real.
