Mia's POV
The bus ride to Bel Air takes forever. Mia sits by the window watching the city change from her neighborhood to rich neighborhood. The buildings get prettier. The cars get fancier. The people stop looking like they're struggling.
She's been crying since she woke up. Her eyes are swollen and her throat hurts. She didn't sleep at all. Just kept thinking about Henry sitting in that booth saying she was special. Saying she'd make it. And now he's gone and she'll never hear his voice again.
The second bus is worse because she has time to think. Time to wonder why she's even going to this meeting. She's a waitress. She knew Henry for six months. She's nobody to his family. Probably they just want to say thank you for being nice to him. Maybe give her some money. Maybe ask her to not talk to the media.
She doesn't expect anything more than that.
The mansion appears like something from a movie. Huge white columns and gates that probably cost more than her entire apartment building. A guard checks her name on a list before the gates open. That's when Mia realizes this is serious. This is expensive. This is completely out of her world.
A butler in a black suit answers the door. He looks at her like she might steal something. Mia's wearing her only nice dress, the black one from Target. It suddenly feels cheap. Everything about her feels cheap.
"Miss Chen?" the butler asks.
"Yes."
"Follow me."
The inside of the mansion is cold and bright and nothing like Rosie's Diner. Everything is white and gold and smells like money. Mia's footsteps echo on the marble floor. She feels like she's walking through a museum where she's not supposed to touch anything.
They stop at a heavy wooden door. The butler knocks and then opens it.
Three people are sitting in a study that's bigger than her apartment.
The first is a woman in a sharp black suit behind a desk. She has red glasses and a clipboard. She looks official. The second is an older woman in a black designer dress dripping with diamonds. Her face is tight like she's angry about something. Her eyes look at Mia like she's trash on the street.
The third person makes Mia forget how to breathe.
He's tall. Probably six foot two or three. He's wearing a suit that costs more than Mia makes in three months. His hair is dark. His face is sharp like a knife. And his eyes are blue like ice on a frozen lake. When he looks at Mia, those eyes go even colder.
"Mia Chen?" the woman in the suit asks.
"Yes."
"I'm Patricia Albright. I'm Mr. Westwood's attorney. This is Victoria Westwood, his wife. And this is Adrian Westwood, his son."
Mia's stomach drops.
Henry had a son.
Henry had a wife.
Henry had a whole family that apparently doesn't even want her here.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Mia says because that's what you're supposed to say. The words feel stupid in her mouth.
The older woman, Victoria, makes a sound like she's disgusted. "Loss. What a polite way to describe whatever manipulation you managed to pull."
"I'm sorry?"
"You heard me," Victoria says. Her voice is sharp as glass. "What exactly did you tell my husband to get him to put you in his will? What lies did you tell that poor dying man?"
"I didn't tell him anything. He was just a customer who came to the diner."
Adrian laughs. It's not a nice laugh. "Right. A customer. And it's pure coincidence that you, a broke waitress, befriended a billionaire? That's a hell of a coincidence."
Mia's hands shake. "I didn't know who he was."
"Didn't know or didn't care?" Adrian steps closer. He's so angry she can see his jaw clenching. "My father was sick and lonely and you saw an opportunity. Classic gold digger move."
"That's not what happened."
"Then what happened?" Adrian's voice is ice. "Explain it to me because from where I'm standing it looks like you played a lonely old man for money."
Mia wants to defend herself but the words are stuck in her throat. She's never dealt with someone like this before. Someone who's already decided what she is without even knowing her.
"Perhaps we should read the will," Patricia says quietly. She's watching this like it's a show she's seen before.
"Perhaps we should throw her out," Victoria snaps. "Whatever my husband promised her, it's not valid. She's nobody."
"The will is ironclad," Patricia says. "Mr. Westwood was of sound mind when he created it. I strongly advised against it, but his instructions were very specific."
Adrian sits down like his legs won't hold him anymore. He's still looking at Mia but now he looks angry and confused. "What did he put in the will?"
Patricia opens a folder on her desk. "Mr. Westwood has left specific instructions about his estate. The reading is complex, but the main clause is quite unusual."
"Just read it," Adrian says.
Patricia adjusts her glasses. When she speaks, her words hit like a bomb.
"Adrian Westwood inherits the entire Westwood fortune and Westwood Industries. However, this inheritance comes with one condition. Adrian must marry Mia Chen within one week. The marriage must remain legal for exactly one year from the date of the wedding. If Adrian refuses or the marriage ends before one year has passed, the entire estate including Westwood Industries will be donated to various charities."
The room goes completely silent.
Mia's ears are ringing.
Adrian stands so fast his chair crashes backward and hits the wall.
"This is insane," he says. His voice is shaking. "He can't force me to do this. This can't be legal."
"It's legal," Patricia says calmly. "I advised Mr. Westwood against it extensively. He was adamant. The will is ironclad. If you refuse the marriage, you get nothing. The company goes to charity. The houses go to charity. The fortune goes to charity. You'll be left with only what was in the trust your mother set up for you, which is roughly two million dollars."
Victoria is on her feet now. "This is madness. This is a setup. She's behind this. She manipulated him into writing this will."
"I didn't know about any of this," Mia says. Her voice sounds small and far away. "I had no idea. Henry never said anything to me about his family or his money or any of this."
Adrian is staring at her like she's a stranger. "If that's true then why would he put you in his will at all? Why would he make this deal?"
"I don't know," Mia whispers.
"There's a letter," Patricia says. She pulls an envelope from her desk. "Mr. Westwood left a sealed letter explaining his reasoning. However, he specifically requested that it not be opened until after you've both agreed to the marriage or refused it. He wanted you to make your initial decision based on the facts of the will, not his explanations."
Adrian laughs again but this time it sounds broken. "So he wanted me confused. He wanted me desperate."
"He wanted you to think carefully," Patricia corrects.
Victoria is pacing like a caged animal. "We'll fight this. Get another lawyer. Get three lawyers. Get the best lawyers in California."
"You're welcome to try," Patricia says. "But Mr. Westwood had the will reviewed by three separate attorneys. It's airtight. He also left a video recording of himself confirming his mental state and his intentions. It will be presented in court if there's any challenge."
Adrian looks at Mia for the first time since the bomb dropped. His eyes are dangerous and hurt and angry all at once. "A week," he says quietly. "I have one week to decide whether to marry you or lose everything I've ever worked for."
"Yes," Patricia confirms.
"Did you know about this?" Adrian asks Mia. "Did Henry tell you?"
"No. I swear I didn't know. I had no idea he was even sick until the lawyer called last night. He never mentioned being married or having a son. He never talked about being rich. He was just Henry. He was just my friend."
Something flickers in Adrian's expression. Not belief exactly. But maybe something close to it.
"Get her out of here," Victoria says to the butler. "And don't let her near Adrian or anyone else in this family."
Adrian doesn't argue. He just sits back down and puts his head in his hands like the weight of the world just landed on his shoulders.
Mia wants to say something. She wants to apologize even though she didn't do anything wrong. She wants to explain. But words won't come.
The butler appears at the door and gestures for her to leave.
As Mia walks out of that study, Adrian looks up at her one more time. His blue ice eyes are filled with something that might be regret or anger or desperation. She can't tell.
"One week," he says quietly.
Those two words follow Mia out of the mansion and all the way back to her tiny apartment. They echo in her head as she sits on her bed staring at nothing.
One week until she has to marry a man who hates her.
One week until everything changes.
One week until she finds out why Henry Westwood decided to turn both their lives upside down.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, a dangerous thought appears. A thought she shouldn't think but can't stop thinking.
Henry left her in his will for a reason. There was something he wasn't telling her. Something big enough to force his own son into marriage with a stranger.
Something that's going to change everything.