I climb out of my car, not bothering to shut its door as one employee hurries toward me. I throw the keys to him and ascend the steps leading to the main building of Judy Corporations.

For four days, I've been busy pondering over how to present this complication to William.

Gracie must not marry Kristian under any circumstances. I'm sure I can persuade William to step back from this madness.

I shake my head as I enter the building. White blazing lights keep the entire area illuminated, sharply reflecting from the white marble tiles, causing my eyes to ache for a beat from the intensity.

As I make my way to the elevator, a number of William's employees greet me, and even though I reply to all of them, I notice none of them, my mind is fixated on this problem.

The bastard only told me the past weekend was just a family gathering. I didn't want to attend, but Julia wasn't buying it and so we went to his house.

When all of us, including Savannah, who never manages to be on time for some unexplainable reason, were sitting in the living room, William deemed it to be the perfect time to break it to us, 'We're going to sign a contract, but for this particular partnership, the entire family would be bound to it'. No shit, the bastard couldn't have put it lighter than that.

All sank in when Kathryn and Mason entered the house. At that moment, I knew the word partnership is going to be an understatement and I was right.

The elevator door slides open and thankfully it's empty. With one long stride, I step into it and press the button with the number twenty scripted on it.

As the door closes, I shove my hands into my pockets and lean to the cold metallic wall as the elevator ascends.

I try extra hard not to think about Gracie, to not allow her face to come to the front of my mind.

Five years.

For five fucking years I cut off everything and anything that reminded me of her. I was doing good. Out of sight, out-of-mind concept was working well for me. I had successfully moved on from the girl who screwed me over. And I knew as long as I stayed away from reminders, I'd do fine.

But no.

Fuck her for screwing everything up again.

I clench my jaw and rest the back of my head on the wall behind me, shutting my eyes for a moment.

At that instant, I greatly regretted giving William a second chance. He's no father, but for Saff's sake, I had to give the asshole a shot. On top of that, no human being possesses the power to ruin me as thoroughly as Gracie Stewart did.

Gracie... it still annoys me to think when I decided to give William a chance, a considerable part of my decision had to do with her words, 'maybe one day you'll regret never letting him try... and maybe then it'll be too late.'

She sure as hell knows how to play around with words, make everyone do whatever she wants them to do.

Plus there wasn't much on the line so I gave my sister the well-deserved break from the constant sneerings of William's she-devil wife.

I rub my face and straighten myself, pulling myself to my full height as the elevator slows down, reaching the twentieth floor. I step out and head to the other end of the floor, where William's office is located.

Once the gigantic double door, covered with black leather comes in sight, I slow down my pace, going over my end of the argument, hoping it'll be enough to convince William out of this contract.

I fix the hem of my sleeves before knocking on his door.

"Come in," his responds and I let myself in.

"Son!" His eyes light up and he gets to his feet, a grin stretching across his face.

'He can't change the past but he's trying to not let the future turn out just the same.' Gracie's voice echoes in my head and half of me wants to keep on slamming my head on the wall until I get amnesia and Gracie is wiped out of my memories entirely, finally letting me live in peace.

But I doubt that'd be scientifically possible.

"William," I greet him, accepting his hand for a handshake before we both settle down on our seats. Him behind his desk and I, across from him, on the comfortable leather armchair.

"What do you wanna drink?" he asks, moving his arm to the phone on the desk.

I shake my head and push my glasses up. "Nothing, I just came here to talk for a bit... I have to leave soon."

His brows knit together and his shoulders tense as he nods hesitantly. "Is everything okay?" he carefully asks, sounding slightly worried.

I shift on my seat, locking my ankles together. "Yeah, I haven't come here to talk about me, or us." I motion my index finger between us then point to the stacks of documents neatly pilled up. "Nor the usual topic of me starting to work for you."

He snorts. "Son, the sooner you accept to start working here, the better it'll be for you."

I clench my jaw, suppressing my annoyance. Son. I wonder how can he so easily call me that? Has he ever stayed awake at night, twisting and turning with guilt for not once checking up on his son for fourteen years?

I highly doubt that.

With a sharp breath, I push these off track, distracting thoughts away and focus on the problem at hand. I plant my elbows on the armrest, straightening my back as I fix a hard gaze on him. "About this contract you've recently signed," I begin.

William frowns with confusion and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.

"The one with the MK industries," I explain.

"Oh, that." He relaxes instantly and leans into his chair. "What about it?" A corner of mouth quirks up in a smirk.

"Don't you think it's a bit-"

He chuckles, interrupting me. "Outdated? Insane? Illogical?"

I huff and lean into my seat, propping my ankle on my knee. "Yes."

He shrugs with indifference, smugly saying, "It's the best option."

"But letting her into the family-"

"It's wise." William raises his eyebrows for emphasis.

"She's... dangerous, "I counter back.

He chuckles, shaking his head. "You think I don't know that?" he leans forward, resting his forearms on the desk, weaving his fingers together. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"By making your son marry her!"

"Yes," he calmly replies as if it's the most normal idea a human being can probably stumble upon.

With what sort of people am I stuck with! Why are all of them a bunch of idiots?

Irritably, I shove my fingers through my hair and shift on my seat. "Enemy?" I ask at last. Frowning slightly to myself as I scrutinize him, aren't they partners ?

"The Stewart family is certainly not our friend."

"I thought-"

"Spencer, if that girl along with her brother and mother managed to build a business from scratch in the span of four years, soon she'll be a threat to us."

"To your money you mean." I drum my fingers on the armrest as he nods. "But aren't you partners?"

"We are, but once Benjamin Stewart is out of the way, there won't be anything stopping her from overtaking our companies and outshining us."

I push my glasses up and fix a hard stare on William. If I am to read between the lines, this man is after bringing her down too.

A sudden urge of defending her and protecting her from William's scheme flares up in me.

Sure, I hate her guts, but Gracie has worked her ass off to reach this point. I'm not that petty to want her to lose it all. Especially since I know exactly how far she has gone to reach all she has now.

I clench my jaw, suppressing my spiraling, meaningless thoughts. Instead, I say, "But you can do all of this without having her marry Kristian."

"Not really. You think I haven't considered that? Or the risk I'm taking with this move?"

"What risk?" What could this asshole be possibly risking?

He laughs and shakes his head. "Son, we're talking about marriage, anything can happen, including her getting pregnant with Kris' child."

Oh.

Oh shit.

Not for one second since this bomb has gone off, did I consider this specific aspect. His words are like a kick to the gut. Fuck. Gracie becoming- no.

I halt my train of thoughts. It's none of my business. I've moved on from her. Fuck her for using me for the prize money. I don't give a damn about her... but still, considering the notion is oddly uncomfortable... and painful.

I compose myself. I'm good at locking away every thought and discomfort. For five years she was out of my life and as long as she wasn't in front of me, I didn't care what she did. Now, ever since I saw her at the weekend gathering, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. I have to end this deal.

"That can surely be problematic."

"I know, but what else can I do? Anything less and she wouldn't have signed the contract."

"But there has to be something else, you can't just-"

"I can, and I'm doing it, Spencer. It has its benefits for the family, like fixing Kris's reputation before it's too late. I can understand how uncomfortable it can be for you, she was your student and everything and now she's going to become your sister-in-law, but it needs to be done."

I rub my chin. Yeah, my student. The one I slept with. I inhale sharply, cursing her in my head. She turned me into a man I spent years despising the lot of them, a professor who sleeps with his student. For all those months and after everything ended, I couldn't stop being disgusted by myself.

We were doomed to fall apart, yet foolishly I allowed myself to fall for her.

But the word 'sister-in-law' slams into my consciousness no matter how hard I try to overlook it. It sets my chest on fire, twisting my stomach into uncomfortable knots.

The reality is slowly forming in my brain but I desperately push it away. Now is not the time for mulling over it.

"Fine, yes, it can fix Kristian's image, but have you thought about bringing her so close to yourself will give her an open access to all of your business information," I point out, raising an eyebrow and cocking my head.

He runs his hand over his face. "I have, but at least on the bright side, Kris is not much in on those details and I'll be careful."

"But the contract is five years long, anything can happen during that time."

He nods, his dark blue eyes taking on an odd gleam as he stares at me.

Taking this opportunity, I decide to tackle this problem from another path. "Have you considered, perhaps shortening the length of the contract?"

"We don't know how long it'll take us to gather the needed information for bringing down Ben Stewart."

I purse my mouth, running my finger over the edge of the armrest. "You can add a clause where the contract can end sooner if you've achieved what you want faster than planned."

He squints at me but nods. "We can work on that."

"Or you could have simply stated if she ever dared to double-cross you, you'll legally be permitted to attain over half of her riches instead of making her marry Kris," I mutter.

William has the audacity to smile at me. "Son, proving those things in court is impossible."

"And adding a marriage deal between this business is insane," I counter back.

"What do you propose? Something firmer than this deal? For five years she has to stay under the same roof as Kris. There's no other, better, way than this for keeping her close to monitor her steps."

"But have you thought about maybe Kris might end up ruining your plan?"

"I'm taking my chances, and it's not like I can change Kris' place with you, I have only two sons, and the mature, more reliable one is already engaged." He laughs and leans into his seat and shakes his head. "Not that you would have ever agreed to this plan, but as you can see, my options are limited."

I snort and drum my fingers on the armrest, glancing at the blinders covering the small window on the other side of the room.

Out of my control, my mind reels in that stupid direction. The prospect of being stuck in a contract that'll force me to marry her and stay with her for five years. It's laughable, I can't bear to stand her for one minute.

I shake my head and shift on my seat. Regardless of the irony an image of us, Gracie and I, forms in my head.

Us. Together. Even if it's fake.

My chest tightens and I shove away the thoughts.

I'm engaged to Julia. She's the one for me, why the hell am I even considering spending one second with the girl who screwed me over without a heartbeat's hesitation!

"Which reminds me of," William starts, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts. I fix my attention back on him. "When are you planning on officially tying the knot with that girl?"

I blink a few times, scratch the back of my neck, yet no words form on my tongue. No, this discussion was not supposed to take this turn.

"Have you settled on a date?"

"Uh... no, not yet."

William sighs and tangles his fingers together, his features softening. "Son, getting cold feet is normal, but if you think she's the one, then what are you waiting for?"

I shrug. "The right time I suppose," I mumble.

"Her father is one annoying man, you two aren't married yet and he has already started begging for an investment deal from me," he grumbles.

I clasp my knee and lift a shoulder. "Good thing I don't care what you think of my relationship with Julia."

William forces out a chuckle, nodding once.

"I still don't think Kristian's marriage with her is a good idea."

"Don't stress over it, son. Everything's under control, and if it makes it better to know, she should be the one worried and anxious, not us. She's the one who will lose the most if anything goes sideways."

I curtly nod.

His statement has to reassure me, but it's doing the exact opposite. What is wrong with me!

"As always, you can join me here whenever you want, especially if it makes it more believable that we have everything under control. You can also monitor her moves, that can really help me out since you've worked with her before and know her better than me... and who knows, it might help to get rid of her faster."

I stare at him blankly. I highly doubt the phrase 'to get rid of her faster' carries the same meaning for both of us.

All I want is for her to stay as far away from me, and my life, as possible, but for William, not so much.

It should make me happy, to see her lose it all, to know everything she holds so dear and used me because of them will be snatched away from her. But it doesn't.

I know what I should be thinking and feeling, though I don't know why I'm not feeling any of those emotions. Instead, I'm left conflicted between wanting to push her away from my life and protecting her from the vicious tycoon my father is.

Damn you, Gracie Stewart.

I fucking hate you, Gracie. I hate you with every single fiber in my body.

❦ ♥︎ ❦

The first-ever chap in Spencer's POV! I hope you liked it =)

Please tell me your thoughts, what you think of him, and his line of thoughts and everything

I'm sorry for the long wait, if you're curious why I'm so inconsistent with my updates you can read the bottom of this chapter =)

I'll try my best to update tomorrow but I have a project deadline so who knows, let's see what happens =)

Well, that's about it. Thank you so much for reading this chapter (sticking around for so long) it really means the world to me ♡

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading <3

The explanation: 

I'm double majoring = studying 2 majors simultaneously (in the end, I'll be getting 2 bachelor degrees [for those of you who are curious, I'm double majoring in electrical engineering along with physics])

Since I'm half-mad (if you hadn't noticed already) I've picked 16 courses [the normal number here is about 6-7 courses per semester], meaning for about 50hrs/week I'm just in classes, listening to profs(&TAs) drone on and on :') Add assignments & everything else to the pile & I'm thoroughly fucked each week :"))

I'm trying to manage my time better but it hasn't been going well. Not to mention I've been feeling really down and drained recently.

I write/read whenever I can and I'm so sorry I keep you waiting (especially for this story). I'm trying my best but physically and mentally I'm incapable of doing more.

I know waiting for a new chap sucks and I'm really sorry.

I hope you understand. If you decide to stick around, thank you so much! <3