Her Return, His Regret

Adan had been called for an earlier meeting in the morning by the board.

In the conference room, one of the shareholders glanced at him and remarked, "The news of your marriage alliance with the Jones Group has been announced. Well done, Mr Nicholson. This is a great opportunity for our company to thrive." Adan shook his head. He scoffed and replied, "So, you want to make money off my marriage?"

The shareholders cleared their throats, looking uncomfortable.

"No, that's not the case. We just feel like this collaboration will bring our company to greater heights. Perhaps we can be at par with the Kingsley Group soon," another shareholder responded.

"That's right. Congratulations on your marriage, Mr Nicholson. I'll surely gift you a house on your wedding day," the first shareholder stated.

Adan sighed internally. No one was really happy for him. They just cared about the profits that the partnership would make them. He didn't have time for their fake wishes and quickly changed the subject.

A few minutes later, the meeting ended.

Cheryl James, Adan's assistant, glanced at Adan when all the shareholders left. She bit her lower lip before asking, "Are you really getting married, Sir?"

"Me? Getting married? Never," Adan declared and got up to leave.

Cheryl wore a smile on her face as she watched him leave the conference room, her heart calming down.

At least she was sure Adan would never want to get married. No one would steal him from her.

Meanwhile, Adan was feeling frustrated when he entered his office, only to find a gorgeous blonde woman waiting in his office.

"Bee....ianca?"

He wasn't expecting to see her in his office.

Bianca turned to look at him and said, "It wasn't hard to get into your office. Our faces are all over social media. They all know me as your future wife." Adan's jaw tightened. He walked around the table and sat on his swivel chair. Looking at Bianca, he replied, "What do you want?"

"We once hated each other but we agreed to be friends, right?" Bianca asked.

Adan furrowed his eyebrows, answering, "Yeah, we did."

"Let's get married," Bianca proposed. "As friends. No strings attached."

Adan's eyes widened slightly.

"What are you talking about? Every marriage has strings attached... those vows that people exchange? Those are the strings that are attached..." He replied.

"Would you rather you're forced to marry someone you don't know? If not me, your parents will find another match for you," Bianca remarked. "The same goes for me... I would rather marry the devil I know than the angel I don't know." Adan arched an eyebrow. "So, you're ok with being in a loveless marriage?"

Bianca crossed her legs and replied, "We can have a contract. With some rules of course. After one year, we can tell our parents it didn't work out and get a divorce. By then, they won't force us to get married again."

Silence fell over them. Adan stroked his chin for a few seconds before asking, "What are your conditions?"

Bianca smiled and took out a document. She replied, "I've already drafted something. You can add a few conditions of your own. But you can't remove anything."

Adan took the document and read through it. He arched an eyebrow and asked, "Party A is not allowed to indulge in adultery?"

Bianca blushed and cleared her throat. She remarked, "Even if it's a contract marriage, I wouldn't want to be known as the woman who was cheated on. I would like to divorce because of other issues, not infidelity. So, I expect you to put your playboy ways aside throughout our marriage."

Adan let out a low chuckle. He continued to read the terms in the contract.

[Party A and Party B will not engage in any intimate relations throughout their marriage.]

[There shall be no alimony paid at the end of the contract.]

[The two parties shall not, in any circumstances fall in love with each other.]

[The party who breaches this contract first will pay the other party an amount of one million dollars.]

Adan chuckled again. He glanced at Bianca and said, "If you put it this way, there's no way I can refuse. I'm a big fan of a good deal."

"But... I need to add a clause of my own," he added.

"And that is?" Bianca asked.

"Is sex not allowed?" Adan replied, making Bianca round her eyes at him. He cleared his throat and said, "I mean... since I'm not allowed to do it outside, I might as well get it from my wife."

Bianca blushed. She replied, "Well, we can have sex if we mutually agree to have sex with no strings attached."

Adan grinned, picking up the pen. He stated, "I love how open-minded you are, future Mrs Nicholson. I'm sure we will have a great partnership."

Bianca watched as Adan added the other clause and signed the document. He then passed the document to her and when she read what he had added, heat crept up her face.

[Party A and Party B will have sex if they both want it.]

"You-"

"What?" Adan arched an eyebrow. "You told me to add something and I did. So, is it a deal? Are we getting married or not?"

Bianca bit her lower lip, thinking, 'He said I'm not his type so he must just be trying to scare me.'

After she signed her part of the document, she looked at Adan and said, "It's a deal."

A smirk played on Adan's lips. He uttered, "Great. Time to inform our families."

"Is that even necessary? They've already forced the marriage on us and wouldn't take no for an answer. How about going for a drink? I need to drink my worries away," Bianca suggested. Adan gulped, thinking, 'Is marrying me such a pain for her to want to drown herself in alcohol?'

He clenched his hands into fists and remarked, "No thanks. I have a lot of work to do."

Bianca shrugged and replied, "Suit yourself. Since Lora is unavailable, I'll call a few of my other friends."

...

Bianca left and called her other friends, Atlas Young and Caleb Walton. They met at the most famous club where they ordered some drinks.

"Congratulations on your marriage,

Bee," Caleb remarked. He was Bianca's family friend and they had been close from childhood. He was blonde with hazel-green eyes. He was handsome and tall with tooks of an idol.

Bianca rolled her eyes. She replied, "Stop pretending. I know you're secretly laughing at me for being forced to get married."

Caleb laughed out loud. He exclaimed, "You're right! Who gets into an arranged marriage in this day and age?"

"Do you have to get married?" Atlas Young, a handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes, asked, his eyes boring into Bianca.

He knew Bianca through Caleb andnovelbin

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had a crush on her. However, he never got to express his feelings, worried that he might ruin their. friendship. But now that she was getting married, Atlas was full of regrets.

cont

Bianca shrugged. She replied, "Adan is not really bad. Well, apart from his reputation, he's pretty fun to be around. I won't have a horrible marriage."

Atlas clenched his hands into fists, his jaw tightened from anger as jealousy flared through him.

After a few drinks, Bianca went to the restroom. On her way back, she found Atlas in the hallway.

"Atlas? Did you follow me here?" Bianca asked, a look of confusion on her face.

Atlas grabbed Bianca's hand. He looked into her eyes and said, "Your parents just want you to marry

someone, right? Marry me, Bee, I've always loved you. Isn't it better to

marry a man who loves you?

promise I'll treat you well."

Bianca gasped, her eyes widening. Before she could respond, a cold voice suddenly echoed around them.

"Get your hands off my woman."