章 2: CHAPTER 2: THE UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL – CONTRACT MARRIAGE
Moments later, Briar holding the document in her hands looked at her master with a stunned expression on her face, and asked in a trembling voice, "Master, are you pulling my leg right now?"
What she had just read, did it even make sense?
Briar couldn't believe it. She refused to believe it.
How could it be true?
She had seen wrong; she was very certain of it.
However, when he sat back on his couch and lazily responded to her question, "Briar, have you ever seen me joke?"
Badum. Badum. Badum.
She knew that her time had finally come.
But was it that easy?
"Master, I, this …. You didn't make a mistake, right?" still, she refused to believe his words as her gaze shifted to the document in her hand, her hands shaking.
Logan sighed inwardly, seeing the shock he had made the other go through with all this. But this was supposed to be done. Whether she liked it or not, in his heart and mind, he only expected just one answer from her.
Yes.
"I never make a mistake, Briar. It is as it is. The way you see it right there. Is there anything that you don't understand? We can discuss it, and once we are done, we continue with the next step!" he calmly responded, doing his best to remain rational and at the same time not scare her any further.
Briar closed her eyes as she listened to the thumping of her heart.
She could tell her whole body, from the feet to the hair, was currently celebrating. She didn't expect to run into something like this when she left the mansion earlier.
All she wanted to do was beg for some help and get some money needed for her brother. And yet her master slapped her with something even better than what she expected, an unlikely proposal. The kind she had seen in the series she loved watching and those novels, Lyra, Logan's eldest daughter, kept pushing to her.
To think that something like that can also happen to her, who grew up in a backward village where cars dread even going there because roads were just so bad. And the network made it look as if they were still living in the Iron Age era. Briar felt like everything was just a dream.
If it wasn't, then he must be kidding with her, but he constantly emphasized that it wasn't the case, which only meant that he was serious and what she had read was all true.
But why would he pick her, of all people?
Curious about that answer, she opened her eyes, determined to receive some answers before accepting this unlikely proposal from her master.
"Master, if you don't mind, can I ask a few questions before answering?" she courageously asked, as she looked at him with an unwavering gaze.
Logan, seeing that, his brows rose, completely taken aback by this move. Was this how the script was supposed to go?
Shouldn't she just give him a response and show a happy smile as if she had received the world?
Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but inwardly praise himself for picking the right person. She was indeed unlike those women out there. Very calm and, above all, wasn't vain.
"Sure. Go ahead and ask!" he responded, curious as to what she wanted to know.
Seeing him agreeing easily like that, Briar's heart became restless once again. She couldn't help but reorganize her questions.
What if her questions are too much for him and he changes his mind?
Won't she eat a loss then?
After sorting the questions, she asked, "Master, if I accept this proposal, won't this affect you? I don't think that I am qualified to take on this handle!" and as soon as she finished, she felt like beating herself.
why did she have to stomp on herself like that?
What if her words remind him of how much she was lacking and then he cancels this proposal? What would she do?
Briar once again wanted to cry, but the tears were a no-show.
If he could hold her hand and shake it right now, he would have done so.
Having someone be self-aware of who she or he is, Logan always respects people like that. People should always know their boundaries and never overstep.
She knew that she was lacking, and that was something that everyone knew. While people her age were working either for other people or owning their businesses, she just got her high school diploma. Something that was supposed to be done at the age of seventeen or eighteen.
And yet it took her until that age to achieve something like that.
People nowadays always compare themselves to what they had achieved at so and so age. And to be honest, her qualifications, especially the kind that society would always brag about, weren't enough. They were non-existent, but that didn't mean that she wasn't qualified.
If she hadn't, then he wouldn't have bothered to find her in the first place.
However, he wasn't going to tell her lest she become arrogant and go astray. Something that he desperately wanted to avoid from the word go.
"If I say that you are qualified, then you are. Don't stress yourself with much!" he brushed her question with a vague response, making Briar feel sour.
Could it be that there was nothing good about her, that he couldn't even say a word?
Anyway, since he said that she was qualified, then that's all she needed to hear. She didn't dare continue asking any more questions lest she offended him.
He was still her golden thigh and one she should hug seriously without letting go.
She took another deep breath as she looked at the document once again, which was actually a contract and one that was going to bind her for three years if she accepted it.
And reading it for the second time, Briar found herself loving it more and more.
Her master Logan just handed her a marriage contract so casually, as if it didn't mean a single thing. She who had thought that in this life it would be hard to get married since the target of her affection didn't have her in his eyes and she wasn't qualified to even have such thoughts towards, found herself in an unbelievable situation. And one that made her feel like stripping naked and dancing until she got exhausted.
That's how happy she was right now, although she wasn't showing it.
In the contract, if she agreed, she would be his wife for three years. And as his wife, she was expected to complete her wifely duties.
What she loved about the contract was how clear it was, although some of the terms made her blush with shyness.
As a wife, she would be sharing the bedroom with her husband. If she happens to conceive during that period, then she would be rewarded greatly and the child's custody would be given to her master once the contract was over.
Reading that part made her feel a pang in her heart. After all, it wasn't easy to just abandon your child, even if that was what she agreed upon. But children weren't like fruits that everyone was certain would be harvested once the tree bore them.
If the deities didn't want to bless a couple with a child, then it would be like that. She wasn't sure if she could have children or not, but if something like that happened in the future, she was going to deal with it when the time came.
For now, make sure that during those three years, turn this contract marriage into a real one. When it becomes real, won't the child become theirs then?
Another term of the contract was for her to attend events with him or on his behalf. There were events where the wives attended, and as his wife, that would be her duty.
As a wife, and automatic stepmother of three. Her master has three children with his deceased wife. She would be required to attend any school events as the parent and guardian. That was something that she had been doing for years. She was used to it. Even if she didn't become his contracted wife, she would still do it.
After all, as the official nanny of the Meyer family, that was part of her duties. So how can she shirk her responsibilities?
The rewards for being a contracted wife attracted her greatly apart from her unrequited love of her master.
She would be entitled to a monthly allowance of B$500,000 that would be transferred to her account. On top of that, she would be given a secondary credit linked to her master's and she could use it to buy whatever she wanted.
That in her mind meant that the money transferred into her account could be used for other things. For example, with such a problem that she was facing right now, use it, to save her brother.
The money was way more than enough to deal with her current problem and that reward alone was enough for her to agree to the contract automatically.
As long as she gets the money needed for her brother's problem right now, even becoming a contract wife for ten years, she wouldn't mind.
That's how desperate she was.
If she were to conceive a child, the benefits were negotiable but there was a fixed benefit written there, she would get 2% shares of the Meyer Incorporation, and that share alone would make her live her life without any regrets.
It was simply too tempting.
And lastly, when they divorce without her cheating during the period, she would be given a house, and an additional B$20 million.
What more could she want from a contract marriage?
As for the drawbacks of the contract, she completely brushed them out of her mind. Why did she need to commit them to memory when she was certain others would never move her heart?
With that firmness in her mind, soul, body, and heart, she silently picked up the pen on the table and signed her name.
She was ready to take on this challenge.
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