"Every day something new pops up, your reputation keeps on getting ruined, what do you plan on doing about it?" Blake asked.

"I … my dad is talking to lawyers, they're going to help me fight this person that keeps on spreading these lies," Sara said, even though she wasn't feeling confident at the moment.

​​

She knew her father was working night and day to find her a lawyer strong enough to get her out of this mess, but so far, he has not been successful. Her father probably didn't even know he was fighting a losing battle with Joaquin as his opponent.

"Oh really, but why is it that I've heard differently? Your father hasn't had enough luck to find this elusive lawyer," Blake raised a brow. He was getting updates daily about her, he knows that nobody was willing to take her case.

"He's trying his best," Sara said in a meek voice.

"Keep telling yourself lies," Blake said.

"What is your problem? Why are you so worried about me anyway?" Sara was angry. She thought he wanted to have a friendly chat, but he keeps on getting rude by the minute, she was losing her cool.

"I am not worried about you, I am worried that you are an artist representing my company," Blake said sternly.

"You knew there was a scandal when you hired me," she said

"And I know that they won't stop," he said. "See, you are under my wing, if you keep on getting in trouble you won't get advertisements, and at the same time, it'll ruin the company's image," Blake said.

"Then what do you think we should do?" she asked.

"See, I can get a lawyer and have this case closed," he said.

"Thank you," Sara smiled and let out a nervous breath.

"I'm not finished," Blake gave her an evil smile. Sara furrowed her brows. not understanding what he meant. "If I close this one, another one will pop up tomorrow. What you need is someone to back you up to shut this down from the root," he said.

Sara stood there silently. What did that mean? It didn't sound good.

"Do you get what I'm saying? You should be with a man who can protect you from all of these," Blake said.

"I don't want a man to protect me," she said.

"You don't want one, but the thing is, whether you like it or not, you need one. If you have a very powerful man to back you up, nobody will dare cross you again," he explained.

"Okay, just say I agree to this solution of yours, where do I find this man, it's too late to go out there searching for him," Sara asked.

Blake frowned, "Is this a joke? I'm right in front of her, and she won't even consider me. Does she think I'm so bad that she's not even attracted to me, or does she think I am out of her league?"

He was doubting himself, "It's the latter right? All the women fall at my feet, so how come she is immune to my charms."

"I know there's a lot going on with you, but I don't know if you are dumb or blind?" he asked.

"Hey! Mind your tongue, how dare you talk to me like that?" she screamed, feeling offended.

"Then look in front of you," he was not a bit bothered about Sara's complaints.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" she was not so sure. "Is he suggesting I pick him to be my man?" she thought this was preposterous, "No way! It's not possible."

"Yes, of course, I'm talking about me, I'm powerful enough to protect you from whoever wants to harm you, you should make me your man," he said cockily.

"Are you out of your mind? You want me to date you? You want me to jump from one frying pan into another?" Sara said flabbergasted.

He was getting angry, "Why can't you date me? What's wrong with me? You don't even know me, and you've pegged me to be a bad boy?" He thought she would be very happy and over the moon when he offered himself to be her boyfriend, but here she was acting like he was something that came out of the sewer.

"He was an aristocratic heir, does she even have any idea of the extent his power and protection can offer her? Obviously, she was not intelligent enough because she associated herself with someone like Joaquin," he thought, "Why do these women always get fooled by sweet-talking men? How does she not know that men are like vultures in this industry?"

There was nobody else she could trust except for him. He was a good person and an absolute gentleman, except for that lapse in judgment at the wedding, but if his friends could see him now, they would have mocked him.

He was groveling at her feet, trying to convince her. Why does he even need to convince her? Women fell on his feet every day, but then again, she was different from all the other women he's ever known.

But all the Aristocratic heirs were patient, like the wolf, they watched their prey until it was time to attack. They always achieved what they wanted, and they used any means to fulfill their goal.

"Mr. Anderson, listen, I don't really want to date anybody right now, but even if I date you, how will our relationship help get me out of this mess?" Sara inquired.

"Do you have a bad memory? How many times should I tell you to call me Blake?

Listen here, I can hire the best lawyer to fight for you, and they will think of you as another valuable asset to my company, nothing else.

But if you become my girlfriend, you get all the privileges that come with having a relationship with an Aristocratic heir. I'm not sure if you've heard, but nobody goes against us, a lot of people have tried, and they've always lost, which means nobody can harm you, ever again. And you can have everything you want, everywhere you go," Blake explained.

"But... I do not know…," Sara stammered. "Did she really want to be with Blake? Joaquin and Blake were the same, there were no scandals associated with their name, people adore them, and they are both powerful. But that's where the similarities ended because Blake has an Ace up his sleeve, and that was Tristan, Tristan was very ruthless, but he was an honorable man, he would never associate himself with unscrupulous men. So yes, she thought Blake was her best option. She just hopes Blake is up for it because Joaquin was so twisted, and he was her last hope to win against Joaquin.

"Why not? Why are you thinking so much? You have no one else except me unless you want to go back to whoever is doing this to you. Do you think he will stop?" Blake asked.

She knew Joaquin would never stop, he had many cards up his sleeves, so he was going to use everything he has until she comes to him.

"She never even once mentioned Joaquin's name, but why does it feel like Blake knows about him?" she wondered, her eyebrows furrowing. "Why do you want to help me? What are you getting from all of this?" She had a feeling Blake doesn't just make offers without anything in return.

"I��m a very good person, and I help those in need," Blake said innocently.

"Stop acting, you are not as charitable as you say you are," Sara fumed.

"You are right, I knew you were smart," Blake chuckled.

"I have a hidden motive in helping you. You don't need to know that for the time being, you will know when the time comes," Blake said.

"I'm... tired of hidden motives, the last person I trusted ended up asking more than I bargained for. You... cannot demand anything illegal from me... or my virtue," Sara stammered, she got scared, thinking that Blake just wanted the same thing Joaquin wanted.

"Relax, I won't ask you to do anything inappropriate. We're going to be in a normal boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, so just act the part, I will fulfill all my duties, and I expect you to do the same.

All the accusations against you will go away, and you have my protection for any other problems you will have in the future," Blake said earnestly. She stared at him, considering his offer.

"It will be a fake relationship, right? You will marry someone else in the future, and maybe I would too then, we can just forget this happened? So what is the lifespan of this relationship?" Sara started thinking of the relationship as another business deal.

Blake frowned when she said she wanted to meet someone else in the future, he knew that she was treating this as a business transaction, and it hurt his ego. Why is she acting like she didn't even want to be with him?

"Well, what would you do if I wanted to have a real relationship with you?" Blake taunted, and Sara rolled her eyes. "This girl is trying my patience, what am I going to do with you?" he thought.

"Fine let's start with six months while all your mess is getting cleaned up, we'll extend it if anything else happens after that. You have to yield to my request and not be so stubborn, this will not work if you do not listen to me," he said.

"What are your requests? Surely, you won't want me to fulfill any of your physical needs right?" Sara asked, scared.

"Do you think we're in kindergarten? I don't want a platonic relationship," he scoffed.

"You… ugh! Why… I will not agree to this," she snapped, and he kept quiet and stared at her coldly.

"Okay, fine, we can hold hands," she compromised, as he stared and acted bored.

"Uhm… holding hands and hugging?" she asked, unsure, he just kept staring.

"Okay, those are my conditions, take it or leave it," she said irritated.

"I want kissing to be included in your conditions, I'm compromising for you to use my protection and my status, and that's all you're going to give me? This guy sounds very dangerous, I'll be risking my life for you, you know that right?" he said, pitifully, like he was the one on the losing end of this deal.

"Okay, I'll take your deal," Sara said meekly.

Blake smiled, the first part of his plan was a success. He just trapped Sara in his cage, and he hopes that she'd never want to escape.