False Hope

Elias looked at her with a look of confusion. 

"Not yet, not like this," He replied without hesitation. 

Hearing his words made her blush. Maddison tried averting her gaze, hoping he didn't notice her embarrassment. Elias proceeded to remove the ring from the box. 

"May I?" He asked, gesturing to the ring and her finger. 

Maddison agreed. He carefully placed the ring on her finger while explaining its function. The ring was an unreleased product King Enterprise was developing. It functioned the same as the Royale Bank card Elias had given to her earlier that day. 

"So I can use this to make payment?" She asked while admiring the ring. 

"Yes, we are still developing new functions for it. But right now, that is its primary function." 

Maddison bit her lip, "Are you sure it's safe?" 

"Of course it is. They've already completed the final rounds of testing and quality checks."

She shook her head, "No, that's not what I meant." 

She looked down at the ring on her finger, unable to hold back her smile. But when she returned her gaze to Elias, she looked a little more serious than before. 

"I mean, is it safe for me to have it? After all, I'm not an employee of your company or anything," Maddison explained. 

Elias looked at her with furrowed brows. 

"You do remember you're about to become my wife, do you not?" He asked, "As the future Mrs King, you have every reason to wear it. Let alone to be one of the first to do so."

She could not argue with that. Just then, her phone buzzed in her bag. Maddison rummaged through her bag to find her phone. It was low on battery but she was able to see the new message that came through. 

Her heart sank as she dropped her shoulders. It was a reminder from the bank about her bills! Even though it's been a couple of years since she graduated, she was still paying for her school fees out of pocket. 

When she checked her bank account, it was in the red!

Elias noticed the change in her demeanor. He also noticed what she was looking at. 

"You can pay that off now, can't you? You have the money I've given you in the card and the ring," He reminded her. 

Maddison pursed her lips. It wasn't that she didn't want to repay the loans, she felt like the money Elias gave her should not be touched until after she'd fulfilled their agreement. It didn't feel right to use the money now. 

"I just don't feel good using the money now. I know we have an agreement in place but I haven't fulfilled my obligations yet." 

"That's what you're worried about?" Elias asked. 

Maddison nodded. 

"Sir, your meeting," Jack reminded Elias from behind. 

He waved Jack away while he typed away at his phone. Two seconds later, Maddison's phone buzzed again. She could not believe her own eyes when she saw that her bank account was no longer red or negative! 

$5 million. 

Apart from the $99 million Elias had given her, she now had $5 million in her personal account. When she looked at Elias in shock, he looked concerned. 

"Is it not enough? I can send you more if you need," He said flatly. 

Maddison shook her head vehemently, "No no, it's more than enough. Thank you. I… you didn't have to do this. Why are doing this?"

"Doing what?" He asked in return. 

"Well, being so nice to me? You gave me money. You're getting me a new apartment and in the meantime, you're letting me stay here. I just… why?" 

Maddison never had anything handed to her. Everything she had, she worked for it. To be shown such generosity all of a sudden made her feel uneasy. She didn't know what to do. 

"Well, first of all, we have a signed agreement, Maddison," Elias explained as he took a step closer to her. 

He was close enough to reach out and curl a lock of her hair in his hands as he continued to speak, "Secondly, I've taken a liking to you. Is that a good enough answer, Miss Lane?" 

"Sir, we really have to go." 

Elias turned to leave immediately, not waiting for Maddison's reply. But just the look on her face left him satisfied. Her cheeks were blushing beet red. After he and Jack left, Maddison stood there frozen for some time. 

Finally, when she regained her senses, she slapped her cheeks.

"Get it together, Maddy!" She said to herself. 

Not wanting to dwell on what had happened, she decided to unpack her things. But just as she was about to do so, her stomach began to growl. It was at this moment that Maddison realized she hadn't eaten anything yet!

Instinctively, she headed towards the kitchen, only to be reminded that she was not in her own apartment. She was unfamiliar with her surroundings and felt out of place. But the hunger pushed her forward. 

Everything in the penthouse screamed luxury. 

[Here I thought Hugo was rich but this… this is on a different level.] She thought to herself as she examined the furniture and sculptures all around the living room. 

Every piece of furniture seemed to be crafted specifically for the space. Maddison sat down on the sofa to have a feel of it. She didn't want to get up anymore. The smell of leather, accompanied by memory foam padding melded to the shape of her body. 

She'd never felt so comfortable before!

Once again, the hunger pushed her forward. 

Maddison got back up on her feet and dragged herself into the kitchen. She opened the double-door fridge to look for inspiration. She perked up immediately when she smelled a familiar fragrance. 

It was the aromatic fragrance of her favorite cooking ingredient!

Black Truffle!

Food was Maddison's forte. Her passion! With a look and a sniff, she could tell the quality of an ingredient. She picked up the black truffle carefully. From the color and smell alone, she could tell it was freshly picked. 

The smell of black truffles was oddly familiar to Maddison. She was convinced that it was somehow connected to her lost memories of the past but she didn't know how. 

"I need to make something with this," Maddison muttered to herself as the fears in her mind began to churn.