CHAPTER 33: TERMS OF DECEPTION

Their was a long, unsettling silence in the room after Maximus’s daunting question.

Maximus had a mission, and he couldn’t afford to get distracted by allowing himself to get sucked into intra-family politics of a large conglomerate when he should be building his very own.

"Yes..." Valerie’s voice crashed the silence like a bowling ball.

"Genius... you are absolutely right..." Valerie started as she picked up the tea cup from the dining table and hovered it around her silk lips so that the steam warmed her breathe.

"Because I’m a woman and the only child of my deceased parents, I need to bear a child and extend the family line so that my grandmother would finally allow me to inherit the family’s fortune..."

She was about finishing her statement when Maximus suddenly cut her off by clearing his throat loudly.

"Ahem!!!"

"I missed the part where you talked about the Ashen Halo..." he said with his eyes narrowed to a slit.

Clang!

Valerie placed the cup of tea on the coaster gently before speaking.

"Yes... the Ashen Halo..." she said then swallowed a huge lump of saliva.

"How did you know it was in the wood carving and how do you know its real value?" Maximus asked with a stern voice, almost like as if he was interviewing her.

"The Ashen Halo has been a prized possession of the Sawyer family for generations... that was until a successful robbery claimed it and my parents lost their lives while trying to protect it from the thieves... they were shot dead on, right there..." Valerie said softly gesturing towards the exit door of the dining room.

"The thieves didn’t know the true value of the artifact because of it has always been hidden in the horse carving, that’s why it ended in some antique shop in Orchard Street..."

"I have searched for it a long time... and when I found it... when I found you, I figured it would be the perfect gift for my grandmother’s birthday... one that would make her see me as ’worthy’..."

Maximus tilted his head inquisitively, then furrowed his eyebrows till they formed a wavy pattern on his forehead.

"But your grandmother’s birthday was last night, and you didn’t get her gift because I refused to sell the artifact to you at a cheap price..." Maximus said. "...That means you have no use or need of the artifact again..."

Bam!

Valerie slammed her fist on the hard surface of the dining table immediately Maximus uttered his words.

"I still need the Ashen Halo back in the custody of the Sawyers... I just fear that when I buy it from you, you would go your separate way when I still have need for you..."

"Huh!!!"

Maximus was completely taken aback by her words, he stared at her silently for a few seconds before speaking.

"Need for me?"

"I am a despicable woman that likes to manipulate others to do my bidding, and I wanted to use you to lie to my grandmother..."

"My parents are dead, and my childless uncle is actively trying to get me to marry his adopted son so that he can swallow the entire Sawyer family wealth for his personal gain..."

"Therefore, in order to prevent that from happening, I seduced you to acting as my Fiancee..."

Valerie spat out in a fit of rage, ranting out her feeling without filter.

When she found out that she had revealed too much to Maximus, she immediately covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

"I figured..." Maximus said nonchalantly as he fundled with the teaspoon on the dining table.

"Tch! You’re that smart..." Valerie scoffed at him.

"The thing I don’t get is...There are many outstanding men out there. Given your exceptional looks and family background, you could have anyone you wanted, so why me?"

"Well, my grandmother has a set rule: If I want to choose my own husband instead of marrying Vikram, the man I choose must be more outstanding than him," Valerie answered in a soft voice.

"Me? Outstanding?" Maximus thought that was funny.

"You underestimate yourself Maximus... I took the liberty of doing a deep dive on your history last night and you’ve been through IT, they accused you for something you clearly didn’t do and even when they exonerated you they didn’t help put your life back on track..."

"Yet, you were able to climb out of that hole and become the man you are today..."

"Such feat is impossible even for me!... Imagine what you can do in the future!" Valerie exclaimed with admiration.

"So, what is your next plan? Even if you did manage to seduce me successfully, what are you going to do next? didn’t you say that your grandmother would only allow you to inherit the Sawyer family’s wealth only after you give birth to a child?" Maximus posed a questions that rippled the atmosphere in the dining room.

"I-I-I will try to fall in love with you before we proceed to the next stage..." Upon finishing her sentence with a stammer, Valerie’s face blushed.

A burst of visible hot air expunged from her head, spreading into the surrounding area.

And at the same time, her face became as red as a cooked lobster, and she could not hold eye contact with Maximus any longer.

On the other hand, hearing her answer had left Maximus dumbfounded.

After a brief moment of contemplation with his eyes closed, Maximus finally spoke.

"Alright, this is how it is gonna be..."

"I will help you deceive your stubborn grandmother and pretend to be your fiancee for the time being strictly as an acquaintance..."

"In exchange, you will help me by introducing me to the business world of the antique industry, since that is what your family specializes in..."

"Take your time slowly, find someone who you truly love instead of settling for someone like me... I’ve been stabbed in the back once by bureaucrats like you and your family, I’m not going to let that happen again... not even a chance".

Trust is earned, not given.

’Selling the Ashen Halo would most definitely give me an XP boost...’

’However, that’s where it ends. I don’t generate a steady stream of income from that Business Domain after I have moved on to another one... just like I am expanding my mobile kitchen Industry, real estate and resort, I want to create and expand my Antique Business domain... and Valerie Sawyer is my ticket to accomplishing that task!’

Maximus thought to himself.

Unbeknownst to Maximus, his decision to help Valerie made her completely fall for his charisma and charm.

"I can make due with that..." Valerie said, confirming the deal.