The loud buzz of her phone startled Rosalie into waking up. The room around her was unfamiliar. Soft rays of the sun were beginning to peep through the white curtains. She picked up her phone to see the time. The brightness of the screen almost blinded her as she stared at the bold numbers.

05:32 AM

Quickly turning down the brightness, she tried to make out the notification that woke her up.

Reminder: It's the fucking day.

She groaned, a little louder than intended, and felt someone shift behind her on the bed. Slowly turning her head around, she came face to face with a handsome stranger. She remembered meeting him at the bar last night and then returning back to his place. The sex was just adequate, which was a shame, since it was probably going to be a while before she got any again.

She could easily recall the events of the previous night because she was careful not to get too hammered. However, the name of the handsome stranger seemed to have escaped her mind. It didn't really matter and was probably for the best. It wasn't like she was planning on ever seeing him again.

Quietly, she sneaked out of the bed, careful not to wake him. Collecting her clothes discarded on the floor, she quickly dressed and escaped, making as little noise as possible.

For the past couple of weeks, Rosalie had gotten used to the walk of shame. She always liked to have fun, but it was the recent events that had her behaving so carelessly.

Walking out of the building, she hailed a cab. Once she was in, she narrated her address to the driver and he set off. She stared out the window at all the different types of people running around the city of Seattle at this time of day.

The day she had been dreading had finally approached and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but feel sorry for herself. When her father broke the news of her forced marriage to her, she spent an entire night sobbing in bed. But the next morning, she promised herself she wouldn't spend another minute crying over her pathetic fate. She had kept that promise up until now. She wiped off a stray tear that dared to fall down her cheek and thought back to the good times in her life to distract herself.

Growing up rich, Rosalie never had any worries in the world. Her father was the CEO of Stevens Electric, the company her grandfather founded. It was one of the biggest energy corporations in USA. She was good at school and worked really hard to one day be eligible to take over her father's company. After graduating business school with honours, her father had given her a job at SE so she could learn as much from him before taking over. What he had forgotten to mention was that she would have to marry the heir of Pacific Oil, resulting in a merger between the two companies, in order for her to be named CEO.

Rosalie tried fighting her dad on it, but he refused to budge. According to him, the board wouldn't allow her to take over, and bringing a huge merger like this on the table was the perfect plan to get them to change their minds. This had happened two weeks ago, when she had turned twenty-five and finally asked her father for the company.

She tried to come up with different ways to get out of the situation. She could fight the board for her right as the heir of the company. During the time she had worked there, she had acquired numerous contracts that benefitted them and made them a ton of money. But, the board was full of old snobs and convincing them wasn't as easy as it sounded.

She was educated and had money; she could run away and start her own business. But she had had her eyes set on taking over Stevens Electric since she was eleven. She didn't work so hard only to give up at the very end. No one was going to take her company away from her. She would get what was hers, even if she had to fake a marriage to do it.

The morning after she had gotten the terrible news, she had made up her mind and came up with a plan. She would agree to the marriage but only on one condition. Dylan Pierce, the man she was supposed to marry, would sign a contract, agreeing to all her conditions, the most important one being: the marriage would only last one year. Both her and Dylan's father had reluctantly agreed. Pacific Oil was probably bigger than Stevens Electric. Why Dylan had agreed to this marriage was still beyond Rosalie, but she intended to find out sooner or later.

The cab finally arrived at her house. She paid the fair and rushed inside the mansion. Even though she mostly stayed at her family estate, Rosalie had bought this house as a gift to herself on her graduation. It wasn't as big as her family home but still large enough to hold seven bedrooms with attached baths, an entire home theatre in the basement, and a swimming pool in the backyard. She walked up the stairs and threw herself on the bed in her room.

She couldn't believe the day had actually arrived. She was set to meet Dylan Pierce today. They were going to have a date in public and then announce their engagement. Oh, how much she hated that man.

Running in similar circles, she had had the displeasure of meeting him on several occasions. Dylan Pierce was famous for his playboy ways. Always showing up with a new bimbo on his arm wherever he went, the entire world knew of his debauchery. Getting married to him was probably her biggest nightmare but it was a nightmare she had accepted.

After lying down, thinking of her miserable life, Rosalie finally mustered the strength to carry herself into the shower. Wiping off all the traces of last night, she changed into black pants and a white top that she tucked in. She dried off her chocolate brown hair and set it loose around her shoulders. It reached her chest and the caramel highlights she had gotten six months ago had almost completely faded. Her hazel eyes popped against her olive skin and she applied minimal makeup. She stepped into black heels before she left for work. At 5'6, she was already pretty tall but she liked to tower over everyone at work.

Her mousy assistant greeted her as soon as she exited the elevator on her office floor. Alex was a petite girl with large, round glasses that covered half her face. Her tight, dark curls bounced as she began following Rosalie to her office, informing her of her meetings for the day. Before Rosalie could open the glass door leading to her peaceful office, Alex said something that made her stop in her tracks.

"Oh, and Ma'am, Mr. Pierce sent over the contract with a few changes for you to look over."

Rosalie groaned internally at the mention of the man who was soon supposed to be her husband.

"Thank you, Alex. That will be all," she announced before stepping into her office.