02 | Moving In (Kaden)

// Kaden's POV //

Today marks the day that I'll no longer be able to walk around my house naked.

Evangeline Knight and Amabella, her daughter, move in with me today. I'll have to be on my best behavior with them around, at least for a year, and then my fake marriage with Evangeline will come to a quiet end.

It won't be easy saying goodbye to the wild house parties and late-night trysts with women whose names I could never remember by morning, but I'm a married man now. It's time I act like it.

With any luck, this year will fly by and I'll soon be able to forget about the ridiculous mess that I put myself in with Evangeline. It helps that she doesn't ask too many questions. She does whatever I tell her so that we can successfully sell the lie of being a happily married couple. After our year is up, she'll be getting the other half of the six million dollars I promised her, so I suppose it isn't all that shocking to have her playing nice.

"Damn." I sigh before taking a sip of my coffee, reflecting on everything that has been set into motion. "What have I gotten myself into this time?"

Getting married, and to a stranger no less, has never been on my bucket list. It only turned into a priority after my mother started dropping not-so-subtle hints about how she wished I'd settle down and start a family. This all began a few months back, right around the time when my father had gotten diagnosed with Parkinson's. He's currently in stage one, the mildest form, so his symptoms haven't been severe enough to affect his daily life.

Even though my mother hasn't said it outright, I know she wants me to become the man that my father is. Someone savvy and disciplined regarding business, but soft around loved ones. Not a day goes by when I don't hear some type of comment from her about how I'm too rough around the edges, still too reckless and impulsive, as if I haven't aged past thirteen.

I've been working to improve my image and reputation for years now, but apparently, I'm not working hard enough. My mother still deems me unfit to take over the family business when my father retires. I'd say it's my fucking birthright to be passed the title. My thirtieth birthday is right around the corner and, if anything, I deserve this.

My marriage to Evangeline will help prove it.

"Kaden! Why the hell are you sitting in here naked?" Evangeline storms into my kitchen, yelling. "My daughter will be here any minute and I'd prefer she not meet you like this."

"Sweetheart, I know this is the first time you've seen me in my birthday suit because we never consummated our marriage, but try to give me a break, will you? It's my last day of living here alone and this is how I want to enjoy it. Naked."

"I don't care what you want, *sweetheart*. Try to enjoy it with clothes on," Evangeline mutters through clenched teeth. "Shall I go upstairs and fetch some for you?"

"That won't be necessary." I laugh, dropping the act. "And by the way, just because you now have a key to the house, it doesn't mean you can barge in here unannounced."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you have preferred I gave you a warning that I was coming over?" Evangeline scoffs before turning to stomp away. "A warning? Tsk. Stupid man."

Yeah. This is going to be the longest year of my fucking life.

I finish my coffee before making my way upstairs, wondering what type of person Amabella might be. I pray she's nothing like her uptight mother.

For weeks, I scouted Evangeline Knight before offering her the deal of a lifetime. At first, she didn't like to reveal much about her personal life. Like me, she prefers keeping to herself while trying to keep everyone else out of her business. I respected that. But with the type of situation that we were getting into, I had no choice but to dig into her background to see who she was behind closed doors. Evangeline doesn't know this, but thanks to my connections, I know damn near everything about her and her gorgeous daughter, Amabella.

When I first saw a picture of the college dropout, I'm ashamed to admit she had me completely bewitched. From her long brown hair, soft blue eyes, and smoking hot body... the pretty young thing screamed trouble. Trouble for me. Trouble for my cock. Trouble for this chancy deal that I made with her insufferable mother, Evangeline.

It'll be nothing short of a nightmare as I work overtime to keep my thoughts pure while Amabella is living under my roof. May God help me.

"Kaden! Bella and the U-Haul trucks are here." Evangeline beats on my bedroom door fifteen minutes later. "Come help us with the boxes, will you?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute!" I finish putting on my shoes before leaving my bedroom. I don't make it far. Evangeline stands at the top of the staircase, her arms crossed and expression fierce. "What's the problem now? Hate my outfit?"

"Don't start with me again." Evangeline rolls her eyes. "I need you to know that Amabella isn't a dumb girl, so you have to play your role extremely well. I hate lying to her, but I absolutely *cannot* have her uncovering the truth about our marriage. I'm terrified she'll look at me in a different light if she knew what you and I are up to."

"Evangeline, you have nothing to worry about. I can be a damn good actor when I want to be. Trust me, your daughter will never find out our secret."

The secret being that I'm paying Evangeline millions to be my pretend wife so that I can woo my parents by parading the 'responsible family man' facade to gain their trust and take control of the family business. I have faith that once my mother sees how much I've matured, she'll speak to my father and they'll make me Fortran's successor. If only Evangeline and I don't fuck things up before then.

"If I had to guess, I say it'll be you who cracks under the pressure before I do." I smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Care to bet on it?"

Evangeline laughs and shakes her head. "You're already paying me millions, Kaden. Taking more of your money by making childish bets with you will be downright greedy of me."

We head downstairs and I ask her, "Why did Amabella ride with the U-Haul workers instead of coming over here with you?"

"She hit it off with one of the drivers back at the house as they were loading up the rest of our stuff. My daughter, like me, isn't afraid to go after what she wants."

I make a mental note of that before ending the conversation there.

Once downstairs, I see the front door is wide open and U-Haul workers are moving boxes into the house. I try to hide my annoyance as I follow Evangeline towards the door, but I stop after hearing another woman's voice light up the room.

"You're hilarious, David!"

Evangeline's dazzling spawn playfully shoves the tall blonde walking next to her. David, she called him, struggles to carry the large box in his hands. I contemplate helping the kid out versus watching him make a fool of himself in front of the girl that is way out of his league.

"Less playing around and more moving in boxes!" Evangeline shouts while passing them. "And Bella, don't forget to say hello to your stepfather. He's right behind me."

At the sound of my name, Amabella turns her pretty little head and locks eyes with me for the first time.

The weakling beside her continues walking, leaving the two of us alone for a moment in the foyer. I smile while Amabella stands frozen in place, staring at me hard. I'm sure she's already done research on her mother's new husband, and I'm willing to bet she thinks I look better in person than what I do in the photos of me online.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Amabella." I close the space between us and extend my hand for her to shake, finding myself getting a bit too eager to touch her. "And I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to your apartment. You can stay here for as long as you need."

"Thanks," she softly replies, her big blue eyes piercing right through me. "And please, just call me Bella."

"Bella it is," I repeat, still holding her hand. "Let's start unloading these boxes, shall we?"