The Contract With Her Father's Billionaire Rival-Chapter 54. Pity? Sympathy? Or Common Sense?

"A bad contract? What are you talking about?" Suzie said on the phone, her voice laced with confusion.

Nicolette rubbed her temple, her heart pounding fast.

How was she supposed to say this?

How was she supposed to admit that because of her own decisions—her rushed decision—she had signed a contract with Alaric without knowing anything about him?

Oh God.

"I don’t know how to say it," she finally said, squeezing the words out.

"Okay, take a deep breath," Suzie said softly. "Count to ten and let your heart steady."

Nicolette closed her eyes as she followed Suzie’s instruction. Slowly, her heart returned to its normal pace. She sighed and opened her eyes.

"Feel better?" Suzie asked.

"Yes," she replied softly.

"Okay, now go on. What happened? Why is your voice so full of regret, Mrs. Allens?"

Nicolette bit her lip. "So I just found out that the reason Alaric wanted a wife is because of his reputation."

"Okay? I’m not following," Suzie said, her voice high with confusion.

Nicolette swallowed and stood up. She walked to one of the windows and ran a hand through her hair. "I read an article about him. It said six years ago he tried to force himself on a woman and..." she trailed off, regret chiming inside her.

There was no way on earth she had left cheating, gambling Robert to marry Alaric the...

She couldn’t even finish the word.

"That’s impossible," Suzie said, and Nicolette could bet she was shaking her head.

"It is true, I read it," Nicolette insisted.

"No, I mean the forcing part. There’s no way Mr. Allens would do that. He might be secretive, but he’s definitely not that kind of man."

Nicolette bit her lip, trying to make sense of Suzie’s statement.

Her mind trailed off to the lovemaking, and she shuddered.

Alaric had been gentle with her. He had respected her body.

Could that be his normal behavior, or something he learned after the incident?

Still, it didn’t solve anything. The whole world was calling him a name. Her stomach churned just thinking about it.

Was that why her father was mad? Was that why Ronald didn’t want her to marry him?

"You’re not saying anything, which means you’re buying into the media nonsense," Suzie said, snapping her out of thought.

"I don’t know, Suzie," she admitted, wrapping a hand around herself. "Some things don’t add up. He did admit to coming back recently."

"But you know him—at least a little bit," Suzie said, and Nicolette knew what she was insinuating. "Does he give off that vibe?"

"No, but—"

"No buts," Suzie interrupted. "You have your answer."

Nicolette didn’t say anything. She just looked out the window. Her heart softened at the beautiful scenery ahead.

She wanted to believe Suzie. She wanted to trust her gut. But the news was out there, and facts don’t lie. And Alaric himself was concerned about his reputation. If he was so innocent, why did he need a wife?

She sighed and went back to the bed. "I don’t know."

"I understand your fears, and I might be wrong too," Suzie said. "But that man helped me and Walter just because you said so. If he were going to do something as evil as that, wouldn’t it reflect in his behavior?"

"What if he’s better at hiding it?" Nicolette countered. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Was he rough in bed? Did he do anything upsetting?"

Suzie’s questions made her go back in time, and the more she thought about him, his gentleness, the lovemaking, the more her body reacted.

"No," she exhaled, though she was far from being convinced.

Suzie seemed to catch the tone. "Maybe you should ask him if you’re still in doubt."

Her eyes lit up even though Suzie couldn’t see her. "I should."

"Well then, give the man the benefit of the doubt before you conclude," Suzie joked.

"What if he’s lying?" Nicolette said.

She knew it was stupid of her to ask that, but she couldn’t shake off the article in her head.

"He’s lying but the media aren’t? Was there any evidence of the event happening? Recording?" Suzie asked, her tone laced with annoyance.

"No," Nicolette’s voice dropped. "Just—"

"Then hear him out," Suzie said firmly. "No argument, just listen."

When Suzie got like this, nothing else mattered until her point was understood.

"Yes ma’am," Nicolette replied.

"Good," Suzie laughed. "Are you still coming to see us tomorrow?"

Nicolette’s thoughts drifted to the statement about the honeymoon, and anger brewed within her. "I don’t know. Alaric wants us to travel somewhere for the honeymoon."

"Oh, romantic."

"Get off," Nicolette hissed.

"Where’s the destination?" Suzie asked.

"I don’t know," Nicolette replied. "Honestly, I wish I could start work on the gallery already."

"You can do all that when you get back. Come on, go relax yourself. Get some dick and sunshine," Suzie said, her tone filled with amusement.

Nicolette laughed. "Suzie!"

"You know I’m right. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just make sure you call me."

"I will."

"Love you, Lettie. Let me know how it goes," Suzie said softly.

Nicolette chuckled. "I will. Bye, love."

"Bye-bye."

Nicolette ended the call and sighed. Maybe Suzie was right. She should ask Alaric about it.

She stood up, adjusted her gown, and opened the door. To her surprise, Alaric was standing there, his eyes gleaming with pain.

She gasped, taking a step back.

How much of the conversation had he heard?

As if he read her thoughts, he stepped closer. "A lot."

She blinked as her cheeks heated up.

"Fine, shoot away," Alaric said, folding his arms as he entered the room. "Did I do it? Would you believe me if I said I didn’t?"

Her heart sank at the pain in his tone. The pain in his eyes. It was the first time she was seeing him like this.

"Come on. Ask," he said, leaning against the wall close to the door.

She pursed her lips as she looked at him.

He was serious. He wanted her to ask.

She swallowed, giving herself time to mentally select her words. "What happened?"

He cleared his throat and straightened up. "It was a party. We were all having fun. Then I just woke up to a stranger in my bed. And that was it—my life changed."

He was so vague, missing out on important details. Details she was craving to know, yet conscious of not pushing too hard for.

"Nobody believed me," he continued, pain thick in his voice, his eyes blurring like he had gone back to the past. "Not my parents. Not the whole world. So I left. And I’m back—and somehow, even the fact that I’m the richest man in Australia doesn’t help. They remembered, even after I tried to pay off everyone. It’s like a bigger force is fighting me—like it wants everyone to remember nothing else but that.

"The more I cleared the news, the more new publications were talking about it. We were losing clients, so I figured... marrying you would fix it."

Her stomach dropped at his sad tone. She just wanted to reach out and hug him.

But she stopped herself. Not because he didn’t deserve the hug, but because she couldn’t trust herself not to take it further from there.

Just thinking about it now, desire sprang inside her.

She cleared her throat and stepped back. "Sorry you went through that."

"Yes," he said, sadness evident in his voice. "We don’t have to go for the honeymoon. I can always find another way to debunk the news."

"Let’s do it," she blurted out, surprising herself.

Alaric lifted his brow. "I heard you talking about wanting to restart the gallery. We can—"

"That can wait," she cut him off again. "We’ll do all that when we get back."

Gratitude twinkled in his eyes, but he only nodded. "I’ll make the preparations, then."

"Alright," she breathed.

As soon as Alaric left the room, she laughed. Not because she found it funny.

What had compelled her to give in? Pity? Sympathy? Or just common sense?

She moved over to the bed and sank into it.

Intimate moments often occur during a honeymoon.

Was she ready for that?

Or maybe Suzie was right?

Maybe she did need sunshine and dick.

She laughed again, her heart hammering with anticipation.