Chapter Five

Jane's usual air of superiority since Ryder had met her some minutes ago shifted to vulnerability when he locked eyes with her. It made him curious about why they were there in the middle of the night, especially considering how serious she sounded.

"What is it?" He asked her, her expression unreadable.

Slowly, she walked closer to him, closing the gap between them.

But with every step closer, his curiosity grew.

When they were just a few steps apart, she finally spoke. “I don’t even know where to start. I had it all planned out in my head, but honestly, I’ve forgotten it.”

She closed her eyes momentarily, holding her breath, and opened them, a faint smile plastered on her face.

"This might sound weird..."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "Oh God! I had this all planned out."

She apologised to him for her lack of composure while he stared at her, his mind consumed with curiousity.

He could see the hesitation in her eyes from the way she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

He kept his gaze steady, trying to coax the words out of her. “You know you would have to tell me eventually, right? Just say it however it comes to you.”

He was trying to help—to push her over the edge. He couldn’t wait any longer to hear why she had gone through so much trouble for him. He knew if he didn’t, they might spend the entire night standing there in silence.

She took a deep breath, then let out a shaky exhale, her fingers brushing through her hair in frustration.

"Okay..." She closed her eyes as if to summon the courage she needed, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Then, almost as if the words had been burning inside her, she blurted them out. “Can you marry me? No…”

She quickly shook her head, keeping her eyes shut tight. "I will appreciate it if you marry me. I need you to."

He blinked, unable to believe what he had just heard. His mind tried to process her words, but they didn’t fit anywhere. It was the strangest thing anyone had ever said to him. A proposal? Here? Now? From her?

Her heart raced as she waited for his reaction, terrified of what his response might be. Slowly, she opened her eyes, bracing herself for whatever was to come.

But what happened next made her heart nearly stop. He suddenly burst into a hysterical laugh, so intense that he doubled over, his sides aching, and a few drops of saliva splashed onto her face.

“I’m sorry,” he managed to say between fits of laughter.

"You are joking, right?”

But when he looked up, his laughter died in his throat. She was not joking. Her face was twisted in an expression of hurt, embarrassment, and something else—something that made his stomach twist. She looked like she was about to cry, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and the sight of it hit him harder than he expected.

“Wait,” he said, stepping closer to her.

"Were you serious about what you said?” His eyes widened in shock, disbelief etched into his face.

She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she nodded slowly, her gaze dropping to the ground in embarrassment.

He scoffed in disbelief. "Do you realise how absurd this sounds? We haven't even met before until now, and you expect me to accept your proposal? You expect me to take it seriously?"

He sucked his teeth.

"We have, actually," she muttered.

Her claim made him ask when and where they had met.

“I bought from you at the market a few weeks ago,” she said.

"And to be honest, it was love at first sight, even though I never believed in that sort of thing.”

She slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze. “I just didn’t have the courage to tell you until tonight. But when I heard about your wrongful arrest, I decided to take action to get you released.”

He smirked, amused by her words, because he knew she was lying. He had a knack for recognising everyone who had ever bought skewers from him, even if it was just once.

When he told her this, he watched her squirm awkwardly under his gaze, confirming his suspicion.

This made him certain that there was more to her proposal than she was letting on, and he was determined to find out the truth.

Sensing his doubt, she quickly spun another lie.

“I wasn’t the one who made the purchase directly. It was my driver. I just admired you from a distance when I saw you.”

Even though he knew that she was lying, he decided to pretend as if he believed her.

"Okay, fine." He sighed.

"But I'm sorry if this will hurt your feelings but I don't feel the same way. I really appreciate you getting me out of there, but I can’t repay your kindness by agreeing to this proposal. If I ever do owe you anything, it won’t be this."

Then, to his shock, she did something he never saw coming. She dropped to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Please, all I need is for you to say yes. Everything I’ve worked for—my entire life—is at risk if you don’t accept it. This proposal is the only way to solve my problems.”

He watched in disbelief as she crawled towards him on her knees, completely unfazed by the rough granite under her, until she reached his legs and clung to them desperately.

“Just tell me what you want,” she begged.

“Money? Fame? Connections? I’ll give you anything—anything you ask for. Just please, don’t just say no. Please.” Her voice broke as her tears fell harder, echoing through the still night.

"Ma'am, is everything okay?" The driver, who had disobeyed her orders by stepping out of the car out of curiosity, called out cautiously.

"Get back in the car and follow my damn orders!” she screamed, her voice cracking with emotion.

But despite her tears, her desperation, and the life-changing offer she dangled in front of him—something most people would jump at without a second thought—he remained unmoved. None of it reached him.

Yet, beneath his calm exterior, he was determined to figure out why his answer mattered so much to her and why it held the power to change the course of her life.

“I’m sorry, Jane, but I can’t. There are plenty of men who would jump at your offer, but I’m not interested. No matter how hard you try, you won’t change my mind with your offer or pressure,” he said firmly.

“Don’t you get it?!” She erupted, standing up and glaring at him with an intensity he could not quite place.

"You are the only one who fits what I need. Besides my feelings for you, you have all the qualities I’m looking for in a man—your humility, your strength, and your reliability. I need you to be there for me when things go wrong, to help me get what is rightfully mine.”

She took a deep breath, her frustration evident. “I know I might sound selfish, and I don’t care if you think that. Just agree to be my partner in the public eye. You can cheat or do whatever you want in the marriage—I won’t make a fuss about it. Think of it as a facade. If you’re not willing to give my feelings for you a chance, we can stay apart and live separate lives, even as we share the same roof.”

Her confession made it clear she had no real feelings for him, and this was their first meeting. He was certain that her plan was to use him as a pawn for her own purposes.

Despite his curiosity about her motives, he could not tolerate her manipulative behaviour any longer.

He scoffed. "You can shove your offer in your ass."

With that, he turned to leave.

As he walked away, he heard her footsteps fading, sounding farther away than closer. He tried to ignore it until her voice pierced through the distance.

“Fine! If you won’t accept my offer, maybe you will be okay knowing you are the reason for my suicide!”

The dangerous edge in her voice made him stop and turn around.

What he saw next shocked him to his core.

His eyes widened in horror as he saw her standing on the wrong side of the railing, arms outstretched as if ready to leap into the sea.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your mind?!” he shouted, panic rising in his voice.

The driver, who had also stepped out of the car, tried to reason with her, but she shouted for him to stay back, threatening to jump if he didn’t.

Ryder hesitated, reconsidering his decision as he realised the gravity of the situation, seeing how far she was willing to convinced him that her claim about needing him was serious.

He could not afford to be the cause of another person's death, which had led him to the life he was living. Not again!

"Okay...okay..." He began walking slowly and cautiously towards her.

"I accept. Just get off the ledge, okay?”

She smiled, her back still turned against him. "I will, only if you do one last thing for me."

She then ordered her driver to give Ryder an envelope from the car for him to read through and sign when he had asked her what she needed him to do.

Afterwards, she ordered the driver to return to the car.

When he opened the envelope, he was surprised to find a marriage contract between them.

He quickly skimmed the terms, found them acceptable, and signed the contract as she had instructed.

She had already signed her part, ready for this moment.

Even if he was not completely happy with the terms, he would have signed it anyway. He could not risk letting her die on him.

After showing and telling her that he had signed it, she slowly got off from there, which made him relieved.

"Thank you so much," she smiled as she approached him.

He had expected her to request a hug to make the driver believe they were in a relationship, since that was one of the things she requested—to make the public believe they were in a relationship—but she didn't. Instead, she told him they should head to the car, in order to head to their respective homes.

While he was determined to help her achieve whatever her aim was in all this drama, one thing was certain: he wouldn't fall in love with her.