Refusing To Be His Perfect Replica I Choose The Arranged Marriage

Chapter

6

The hotel's grand ballroom buzzed with my father's business associates, all gathered for my birthday. celebration.

After countless toasts and social niceties, my feet aching in their Louboutins, I snuck away to the quiet sanctuary of my suite.

I'd barely sunk into the plush bed when I heard movement in the ensuite bathroom. My heart jumped. "Hello?"

Silence. Curiosity overcame caution as I approached the door.

Suddenly, I was pulled inside, a startled gasp dying on my lips as I found myself pressed against marble by a very wet, very masculine form.

cool

His eyes, fighting to focus, studied my face intently before he breathed out my name. "Aveline

Blackwood?"

I managed a small nod, hypnotized by the droplets trailing down his sharp jawline.

He released his grip only to sway against me, his expensive suit soaked through.

"What a coincidence," he murmured, his accent a cultured blend of British and something else. "I'm your arranged fiancé, Mind doing me a favor?"

"L... what?" I caught myself. "How do I know you're really...?".

A low chuckle warmed my neck. "Cautious. Good. Check my wallet, phone - verify with anyone you like."

I steadied him enough to retrieve his wallet. The ID confirmed it - Alexander Sterling, my mysterious husband-to-be.

"Are "Are you ill?" I studied him properly now - tall, elegant features, pale skin that spoke of good breeding. If he wasn't nearly passing out, I'd barely reach his chin.

"Drugged," he managed. "Business... rivals."

"What?"

Chapter

My step toward the door halted as his long fingers circled my wrist. In one fluid motion, he pulled me toward the bed.

"Too late to run," he murmured, tumbling us both onto bed.

"If you're

not planning to break our arrangement," his voice was silk over steel, "perhaps you could help me through this?"

I froze. Yes, I'd accepted this marriage, but to be so intimate with a stranger, even my fiancé....

"Good girl," he breathed, mistaking my silence for consent. Before I could process another thought, his lips found mine.

Two hours later, I sat on the edge of the bed, my wrists tender, face flushed. The perpetrator of my current state was already sound asleep, looking far too innocent for what he'd just put me through. Asshole!

I grabbed a pillow, contemplating revenge, when a knock interrupted my murderous thoughts. "Alex?" William's voice carried through the door.

Before I could panic, Alexander's long arm reached past me, opening the door just enough to drag my brother inside.

William's eyes darted between us, growing comically wide as realization dawned.

"Christ, I wanted you two to get acquainted, not..." he gestured vaguely, face flushing. "You can't just..."

"Oh, shut it," Alexander groaned, collapsing back onto the bed with weakness.

shit!" William's protective instincts flared. "Fucking you! What the hell did you do to my sister?"

His ears were turning red. "Engaged or not, you absolute asshole, this is not how a gentleman behaves!"

I jumped between them before William could commit murder. "Will, it's not what you

think!"

"Then what exactly is it?" His face was almost as red as mine.

I shifted uncomfortably. True, we hadn't gone "that' far, but what we had done wasn't exactly proper first- meeting behavior either.

How could I explain this to my overprotective brother?

Chapter 6

Alexander saved me from answering. "You know about my family's situation," he said, his aristocratic

voice strained. "Someone drugged my drink. I didn't have many options."

William's scowl softened slightly, though his jaw remained tight.

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Chapter 7