Surprise Marriage to a Billionaire-Chapter 343: The Contract

As they walked out of sight, William let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking his head. "Poor Carla. Wrong day, wrong timing, wrong everything."

Carla shot him a glare, but William only grinned wider. "Lunch is on the staff. You’re a hero today," he added with a wink, before gesturing for the assistants to follow him.

The hallway finally cleared, leaving Carla standing there, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

"We should leave now," Renzo whispered to Carla, aware of the curious eyes around them.

"Go ahead and wait in the car. I need to use the restroom with Maria," Carla replied, her tone calm but firm.

Carla gestured for Maria to follow her as they made their way into the restroom. Once inside, Maria quickly checked the cubicles to make sure they were all occupied, ensuring their conversation would be heard.

"Miss Carla, you should not stay idle and speak up! Tell Mr. Alexander Lancaster about that contract marriage he had with his wife! This can’t continue just because he forgot his recent memories from that incident!" Maria urged, her voice low but firm. "His wife will take this as an opportunity and even seduce him more to continue with this marriage."

Maria’s voice was confident, but Carla’s smile didn’t falter as she mentally processed their next steps. She had always planned for this moment, knowing the situation would become more complex with Rain around. After all, Rain had already started to manipulate the circumstances in her favor, something Carla wasn’t going to let go of easily.

"This is clearly an authentic document and contract you got from his lawyer Eric Crawford. I’m sure Sir Alexander has a copy of this in his office," Maria continued, pressing on. "You have to show him this. There’s only a four-month contract for their marriage. It’s now November, and that contract must happen. They should get a divorce, especially now that you’re back! You must claim back what that woman took from you!"

"I won’t interfere yet," Carla said quietly, her gaze steady. "It’s up to Xander to decide what happens next. I’ll give him the space to choose. But when the time comes, I will make sure he remembers everything and that he doesn’t forget what we had."

"What should we do about the contract?" Maria asked, glancing at the discarded document.

Carla’s expression remained serious, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Just get rid of it, Maria. It’s a copy. I’ll return the original to Eric." She spoke with a cold resolve, though her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Maria promptly tossed the paper into the trash bin, and the two women left the restroom.

Once they were gone, a few employees who had been waiting in the cubicles stepped out.

"Did you hear that?" one whispered, his eyes darting to the trash bin where the document had been discarded. Another employee moved quickly, picking up the paper.

"Oh my God! This is real! I can’t believe it!" she exclaimed, staring at the document in shock.

Meanwhile, Carla and Maria walked back to the car. Maria couldn’t help but ask, "Do you think word will spread quickly? What if someone inside the restroom reports this to the CEO?"

Carla scoffed, her tone dripping with disdain. "People are natural-born gossipers," she said, her voice filled with both confidence and bitterness. She wasn’t worried. The seed was planted, and soon everyone would know about the contract. Whether Alexander remembered or not, the truth about that contract would come out.

*****

Inside the car, Alexander opened the partition and turned to Tyron in the front seat, his tone serious. "How is it that no one seems to know who my wife is?"

Rain chuckled softly, her voice light and teasing. "That’s because our relationship has always been private. Besides, I haven’t visited your office before."

Alexander’s brows furrowed. "I didn’t bring you to the office? Not even once?"

Tyron interjected cautiously, "Boss... before the incident, you were planning a big reveal. You wanted to introduce Mrs. Lancaster at the company anniversary celebration. You’d also planned to announce a grand wedding ceremony to officially celebrate your marriage and invite everyone to witness it."

"Right, the company meeting is coming up," Alexander muttered, his thoughts momentarily shifting to the company anniversary, which was set for November 15. Then he turned to Rain, his curiosity piqued. "By the way, how come you came here?"

Rain tilted her head with a playful pout. "Hmm, William called me and said there was trouble, so I came straight here the moment he mentioned Carla’s name."

Alexander frowned. "What kind of trouble?"

Rain crossed her arms, her pout deepening. "He said you and Carla hugged."

Alexander immediately straightened, his tone defensive. "I didn’t hug her! She hugged me."

Rain arched a brow, her lips twitching with amusement. "I guess it’s only fair if a male friend hugged me too, then."

Alexander’s face darkened in an instant, his jaw tightening. "No! That’s not okay!" he snapped, his voice firm and possessive.

Rain couldn’t help but burst into laughter at his reaction. "Oh, Alexander," she said through her giggles, "you’re so easy to tease." She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers with his. "Relax. I trust you. But maybe next time, don’t let anyone hug you if you know it’ll cause a fuss."

Alexander exhaled sharply, his irritation easing slightly. "I’ll make sure of it," he muttered, his grip tightening protectively on her hand. "And for the record, no male friend of yours is allowed to hug you."

Tyron coughed awkwardly from the front seat. "I think it’s time to close the partition," he murmured.

Rain chuckled softly, amused, and pressed the button to raise the partition, giving them privacy. She couldn’t help but feel warm inside, knowing Alexander hadn’t entertained Carla further and had instead chosen to grab her hand and leave with her. That said everything she needed to know.

Alexander’s brows furrowed in thought, breaking the comfortable silence as he muttered, almost to himself, "I can’t believe it took me this long to introduce you formally... or to have you here, seeing me in the company like this."

Rain smiled and tilted her head, her voice light but sincere. "It’s fine. To be honest, we didn’t exactly start in the most... ideal way. Everything happened so quickly. Then we agreed on that contract to keep things private..." She paused, her gaze softening as she looked at him. "And by the time we finally acknowledged our feelings for each other, we both became so busy."

Rain had already shared everything with Alexander, leaving no detail behind, except for one thing. It was about Father Rock’s brain tumor. Both she and William had struggled with the idea of telling him, knowing how much it would weigh on him, but the timing had never felt right.