Lunistra
The Cafe
Contract Debriefing, A week later.

Laurence sat at the end of the table, typing studiously on his laptop. Emily and Timothy sat opposite each other at the long table, each with a copy of their contracts. 

He had also provided just enough information to imply the two were secretly dating and had decided to marry. It's nothing too invasive, of course, but enough to build a convincing story. Emily chewed on her bottom lip, continuing to read Timothy's profile alongside the revised contract that they signed a week ago.

"Living the most boring life out there, aren't you?" Timothy's calm and unbothered voice broke Emily's concentration as he dropped his copy of Emily's data onto the table, eyes scanning her with detached interest.

"I'm a florist, Timothy. I arrange flowers, sell them. Yes, I like my eggs scrambled—" she started, but Timothy's brow arched, a silent judgment in his eyes, which she brushed off with a roll of her eyes.

"And I had a crush on Joshua Reed once, but I'm over it. My real concern is making sure my brother is not getting involved in his questionable family business."

Timothy leaned back in his chair slightly, his expression unreadable. "Okay, about that." He gestured toward the contract, his voice devoid of warmth. "The 300,000 Luna we gave you should cover that, should it not? The rest of the allowances, will they be enough?"

Emily hesitated for a moment, considering asking for more money—after all, Timothy was probably the wealthiest man in Lunaria. But she kept it to herself, knowing well enough not to push too far. She had received the 300,000 Luna to pay her debt as an initial and had assured Joshua that she would pay the same amount monthly. Joshua immediately asked if she was okay and she hadn't sold any of her body organs to help fix this issue. 

"It should be enough. That's every month, right? I mean, until you find someone else you actually want to marry?" she asked, glancing up at him. She should still receive the 50,000 Luna as the monthly allowance that's outside of the allocated 300k for debt repayment. Though at the end of this monthy, she would have to give even that to Joshua since she's not receiving anything else from Timothy.

Timothy nodded, his face impassive..

"Yes. Until his parents start asking for grandchildren--likely in two years time," Laurence said as he began sorting through the paperwork.

"Hold up, hold up," Emily interrupted, holding up a hand. Both men looked at her with mild curiosity. She had more questions, particularly about why they'd decided to create a fake fiancée for Timothy, but she pushed them aside. Some things were better left unexplored.

"What if people ask how we met? Or how I proposed?" she asked, worried. Surely, they deviced a solid story for this if they planned to dupe the press and the socialites?

Timothy's gaze flicked to her with a slight narrowing of his eyes. "What makes you think you're the one proposing?" His voice was calm, almost mocking.

Emily shot him a glance. "Well, I can't imagine you, of all people, going down on one knee to—"

"Oh, Emily, believe me, I can go down on both knees to—" Timothy's smirk was cool, his voice barely rising in volume, but there was an unmistakable chill in it. Then, there it was again, the room temperature dropping along with Timothy's tone.

"Please, Timothy, just stop," Laurence said, already anticipating where the conversation was headed.

A sound of something like glass shattering reverberated in their quiet space. Emily visibly jumped as Timothy raised both hands in mock surrender, his expression still unreadable.

"What are we going to tell people, Laurence?" Emily asked, focusing her attention to the gentler of the duo. 

Laurence frowned, clearly tired of the absurdity. "To avoid any holes in the story, we'll say Emily was working to pay off her debts, doing it on her own without her parents' help. And while we were in Leifsh, we stumbled across her flower shop, which happens to be in our building. The closer we keep it to the truth, the better."

"Who asked who out first?" Emily asked again, shooting Timothy a glance.

"You, obviously," Timothy said flatly, levelling her with same gaze. "I mean, I'm Timothy Angeles."

"No, not happening," Emily countered, not liking where this was going.

"I can't be seen taking a florist out for dinner in the streets of Leifsh," Timothy said, his tone indifferent but bordering mocking.

"And I can't look like a gold digger, asking you—the owner of the building where my shop stands—for a date," Emily shot back, her tone just as sharp.

"Fine. I did the asking. I booked you both in a café—" Laurence interjected, clearly fed up with their back-and-forth.

"Like this one?" Emily asked.

"Yes, Emily, much like this one" Laurence sighed, rubbing his temples. "Please remember all of this. I'm not writing it down. I dropped you both at the cafe, leave you to your 'date,' and then pick you up in two hours."

Timothy glanced at him, his expression cold. "Two hours? Do you honestly think Emily and I need just three hours to get to know each other?"

Laurence felt a headache coming on. "Fine. You text me at 2 a.m. asking for a ride home. Yes, separately. I know you don't put out on first dates." He said, giving Emily a pointed look.

"I don't put out until I'm officially dating someone," Emily said firmly, crossing her arms.

"You sure you wouldn't have stumbled into my bed on the first night, Emily?" Timothy asked, his voice smooth and low, with a hint of a challenge in it.

Emily's eyes narrowed dangerously as she snapped, "What are you insinuating?"

"Okay, both of you, stop. When people ask about your sex life, avoid the topic. If it comes up, just say you have a healthy one." Laurence's voice was tired, but there was no softness in it. "As for the proposal, since you'll both need to play your parts, Timothy will handle it. You just say yes. End of story. Are we all clear now?"

Both Timothy and Emily gave their silent agreement, but Emily made it clear she had her own spin to the story. She'd tell anyone who asked that Timothy had taken something out of his pocket and said, "If you catch it, you're saying yes and moving with me to Lunaria." And, of course, she had caught it.

"Okay, so we're done?" Timothy asked, looking at Emily and Laurence.

"Should be," Emily said, gathering her things. "I can keep my shop, right? Work at the shop while I clean your house and attend parties--or whatever you want me to do?"

Timothy gave a small nod, while Laurence gave her a pointed look. "Just remember the contract. It might seem easy now, but anything can happen during the course of this arrangement."

Emily gave a hesitant salute. "Yes, sir. Thanks. Have a nice day, Mr. Angeles." With that, she turned to leave, thankful that at least, she has the flower shop to cling to. The last remnant of her ordinary days.