Chapter 1
“I will marry you, Mr. Huntington.”
Eloise Sullivan had downed half a bottle of white wine before making the call.
There was silence on the other line, followed by a low, gravelly male voice filled with ire. The owner was likely annoyed that he had been rudely awakened. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
Eloise realized she hadn’t checked the time. A glance at her phone screen told her it was 2:00 am. “Sorry. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
“Deal,” the man said.
“Huh?”
“But I’ll be away on business for about a month starting tomorrow. We’ll get our marriage license after I return.”
“Okay,” Eloise replied before hanging up dumbfoundedly.
Half a month ago, her aunt, Felicia Crawford, had called from her place in the countryside to announce her plans to set Eloise up with her neighbor’s grandson.
According to Felicia, Martha Reeves’ grandson had been an honor student since grade school. He also attended university in Norwald. After graduating, he landed a cushy job with plenty of benefits, including insurance, a retirement savings plan, and holiday bonuses.
Eloise had humored Felicia by agreeing to go on a date with the young man, but she reckoned she could make up an excuse to get out of the arrangement.
However, the young man called her that same night and told her he didn’t have time for dates. He proposed that they skip the dating part and get married right away.
“Dude’s out of his mind,” Eloise had thought when she heard his suggestion. But before she could turn down his mad proposition, he told her to sleep on it and hung up.
In the last two weeks, Eloise hadn’t once considered or agreed to his proposition. That was until tonight.
She tapped on the latest entertainment news and saw that the internet was abuzz with a new scandal. Sophia Whitmore, a well-known starlet, was reportedly pregnant with the child of a famous actor who was married.
It wasn’t long after Sophia’s newfound homewrecker status trended across the internet that Jacob Kilbourne, the second scion of the Kilbourne family, released a statement. He announced himself as her boyfriend and that she was pregnant with his child, followed by news of their apparent engagement.
As the netizens grew skeptical over his suspiciously well-timed announcement, Jacob released a video recording of him getting down on one knee to propose to Sophia during her recent birthday party.
And so, the narrative changed in Sophia’s favor as netizens and fans congratulated her. No longer was she trending for the wrong reasons, and the latest headline read, “Sophia Whitmore Engaged to Jacob Kilbourne!”
Eloise sneered at the headline. If Sophia was Jacob’s girlfriend, then what was she, chopped liver? Had the last eight years she spent with Jacob been an illusion?
She chided herself for being naive and proceeded with damage control.
As for why she decided to marry William Huntington, it boiled down to the moment he said, “I want my wife and I to have an ordinary married life—one where we support and respect each other and grow old together.
William hadn’t offered her sweet nonsense or fancy promises when he said that. He offered her exactly what she wanted—a simple, married life that Jacob could not and refused to provide her.
Having straightened out her thoughts and emotions, Eloise began packing. She was living in Jacob’s villa, and the sooner she moved out, the better.
She had an early shift and slept only two hours or so before getting up.
Upon coming downstairs, she saw Jacob sprawled on the couch with his hair mussed. His brows were knitted together. By the looks of it, he’d had too much to drink the night before and was likely hungover.
Eloise ignored him and made herself breakfast in the kitchen.
While she was making oatmeal, Jacob walked up to her, reeking of alcohol, and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He rested his chin atop her shoulder as he muttered, “My head hurts. Can you make me hangover tonic?”
Eloise frowned. “Wait by the side.”
Jacob’s eyes remained shut as he mumbled, “I want to hug you a little longer.”
“You stink,” she pointed out coolly.
“Do I?’ He sniffed himself and admitted, “Fine. I’ll take a shower.”
Eloise returned to the kitchen and grabbed the box of hangover tonic ingredients from the cabinet overhead.
Jacob had frequent business gatherings that ended with him downing copious amounts of alcohol. It was a wonder his liver hadn’t given out over the years. Eloise had sought out an old apothecary to curate a hangover tonic tailored to Jacob’s physical needs.
The hangover tonic was no easy recipe. The long cooking time aside, it required constant supervision.
Eloise chuffed in self-deprecation. She had lost count of the times she made Jacob the hangover tonic in the last eight years. Yet, for all the work she did, she could not win his heart.
Forget it, she told herself. This was the last time she would make him the hangover tonic, and she liked to think of it as an epilogue to their eight-year-long story.
When Jacob returned downstairs after his shower, Eloise set the bowl of hangover tonic before him. He rubbed his aching temple with one hand and stirred the tonic with the other, not at all planning to explain last night’s incident.
Eloise broke the silence first. “Congratulations.”
Jacob glanced up from his tonic, a baffled look coloring his handsome face. “For what?”
“For finally getting Sophia to say yes after the many years you spent proposing to her on her birthday,” Eloise drawled.
She knew he had been in love with Sophia since junior high. For the last 15 years, he would propose to Sophia on her birthday. Not even the eight years he and Eloise were dating could stop him from keeping up that tradition.
Eloise would be lying if she said she wasn’t the slightest bit affected by his dedication to Sophia. Yet, she loved him so much that she was willing to sacrifice her dignity.
Jacob’s brows furrowed as he asked, “You saw the news, huh?” When Eloise stared at him wordlessly, he nodded and said casually, “It will be a fake marriage, if you must know. Sophia and I will divorce once the scandal blows over.”
“A fake marriage?” A humorless laugh escaped Eloise. “Will there be a wedding? Will both your names be on an official marriage license?”
“Of course,” Jacob replied as if it were obvious. “Our families wouldn’t agree to this arrangement otherwise.”
“So, what part of this marriage is fake, exactly?” Eloise questioned.
“The part where I say it is. You don’t need to know the details,” Jacob retorted as he took a few sips of the hangover tonic. He then rose to go upstairs.
Eloise delivered her ultimatum. “I don’t want to stick my nose in your business with Sophia, but I think some things remain to be said, Jacob.”
Jacob turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”
She took a deep breath and said, “Let’s break up.”
Jacob snapped, “Damn it, Eloise, haven’t I made myself clear? Sophia and I will be in a fake marriage. It’s all an act! We’ll divorce after some time. Why are you kicking up a fuss over this now?
“It’s not like any of this concerns you, to begin with. Can’t you just pretend it never happened instead of making this all about you?”
So, was that what he thought of Eloise? Did he think she could make this about her even if she tried? She lowered her gaze and bit out, “I don’t care if you’re only marrying Sophia for show. I want to break up with you all the same.”
“Eloise!” he growled in warning.
“I’m tired.” Eloise closed her eyes. “I’ve given all I had in the last eight years for you, and I’m done.”
“Fine. If it’s a break-up you want, so be it! I hope you won’t regret this!” Jacob didn’t go upstairs. Instead, he grabbed his coat and stormed out of the house.
Eloise felt lighter, somehow. Her eight-year-long relationship with Jacob ended on a much swifter note than she expected.
She was a specialist in the obstetrics and gynecology department at Kingsbury Hospital. When she arrived at work for her morning shift, she was roped into a discussion about Sophia’s scandal.
Celia Jones, a nurse at the hospital, was invested in the gossip while tending to a waiting patient. “I wonder who knocked up Sophia Whitmore. One minute, the kid is Shawn Lawson’s; the next, Jacob Kilbourne claims he’s the father.
“Tsk, tsk. If you ask me, I’d choose Jacob over Shawn any day. He’s loaded, not to mention a total hottie.
“Word has it that he’s a romantic, too. He’s been openly crushing on Sophia for 15 years. Can you imagine that? 15 years! His dedication must have earned him a favor from the universe.”
Eloise had no intention of hearing more about Jacob and Sophia, so she told Celia to bring one of the pregnant ladies to the upper levels to run some tests. Just as she thought she could finally have some peace, Jacob called.
“Just a heads-up, Sophia will be dropping by Kingsbury Hospital for a prenatal check tomorrow,” was all he said on the other line.
