Imperfect Match (Elixir Bachelor Billionaires #1)

“I’m so happy you finally got what you deserved, Charles. Congratulations once again.”

Her words are like an olive branch, and I grab it with both hands.

“You are the one person who doesn’t need to congratulate me, Daisy. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

“So your plan worked. We both got what we wanted out of this arrangement.”

“We did.” I steel my spine, ignoring the voice in my head that is screaming at me to put an immediate stop to this conversation.

“In that case, how soon can we end this and go our separate ways?”

There’s a deafening silence in the room followed by her low but controlled words. There’s a pain in my chest, as if someone is crushing my heart into tiny, sharp pieces. It takes me several beats to find my voice.

“What’s the rush?”

When I proposed this crazy idea to her months back, I’d thought this would be just like any other business deal. Then why does it feel like I’ve lost everything when on paper, I have everything I’ve ever wanted.

“I can’t do this anymore, Charles.”

“Do what exactly?” This strange emotion in my chest finds escape in the most unsuitable form. She’s the last person I should snap at.

But this is Daisy Price-Hawthorne. A girl who has never taken shit from me.

“To name a few things—cheating everyone, lying to our families and friends. I’m slowly forgetting what’s real and what’s fake. I’m sorry, I thought I could, but I can’t do it anymore, Charles.” Her hands quiver as she grips the notepad tightly on her lap, but it’s her voice that scares me. There’s a finality in it.

“What if it’s not fake?”

Daisy’s brown eyes widen and lock with mine. I feel like I’m reaching her, reminding her of all the moments since the day I made the proposal, until she jerks herself back.

“Fooling ourselves will only lead to more pain, Charles. You and I can never be real together. We are too different, and so are our aspirations in life. But it’s my responsibility to make sure that my dreams have the space and chance they deserve.”

I hate that I understand her every word. I fucking married her for my dreams, so how can I ignore hers?

“I don’t know how this works with a contract marriage. Do we sign some papers, or do we officially apply for a divorce?” She glances up at me from the table. “In any case, let’s get it over with fast so we both can move forward with our lives.”

But she doesn’t know there is no forward for me without her. Unknowingly, she’s become my beacon of happiness, and once she’s gone, my life will once again become a circular monotonicity. I’ll be living the same loop again and again.

“I need this, Charles.” There’s a quiver in her voice when I don’t say anything for several minutes, but I find myself nodding in response.

For the first time since we got married, she’s asked for something for herself.

How can I say no to that?

I tap away all the emotions bursting inside me that want me to pull her closer and whisper in her ear that I’m never letting her go and I don’t care about any law.

“I’ll have the papers ready in the next couple of days. You’ll no longer be tied to me.” Those are the hardest words I’ve uttered in a long while. “But can I ask you not to make the news about our divorce public for now, and if possible, wait for a while before you go out…on any dates.” My fists clench as I imagine her with someone else. Someone who would make her happier. It’s as if all my nightmares have suddenly come alive right in front of my eyes.

Daisy looks up at me with a horrified expression.

“I’ll never do any such thing, Charles. Until you’re ready to make the announcement, I’ll be Daisy Price-Hawthorne.”

Her gaze drops from my face back to the table. We both remain seated in silence. I try to fill it with words, but suddenly I have nothing to say—no plans for a common future, no excitement for the present.

Finally, she rises, her heels clicking in my office. The sound used to be exciting, but now it tightens a noose of pain around me with every beat. But before she can leave, I call her name, and Daisy looks over her shoulder.

“What are you planning to do now?” She’s definitely no longer staying as my assistant. There’s no point in even asking that.

“I don’t know.” Daisy shrugs. “Do you remember when you first offered me the marriage contract, you suggested I could see the world? Maybe I’ll do that. I can leave Dad alone for a while, since Kai is taking such good care of him.”