Diane had every reason not to continue reading the agreement but she just had to, just in case there were better terms down the list, but it never got any better.
She could remember swearing that she would do anything Christian asked of her as long as that wicked husband of hers didn't get to take a dime away from her assets but right now, she was starting to reconsider the entire situation.
One was the devil, and the other was the deep blue sea. She was stuck between them and either way, she dies.
Now, the question is, which death would be much less painful?
---
Christian sat at his desk, surrounded by piles of papers littered around. A bottle of Johnnie Walker whiskey rested on the corner of his desk, half empty, along with a full glass of the amber-coloured liquid.
He scribbled some notes furiously, lost in thought. A few moments later, he puffed out a deep sigh as he put his ballpoint pen down and grabbed his whiskey glass.
Just as the rims of the glass touched his lips, three soft knocks sounded on the door.
His gaze moved from the liquid in his glass and fell on the door. 'That was fast,' he thought idly to himself.
"Come in," his low voice instructed.
In the same second, Diane pushed open the door and took a step in. There was a slight pause in her steps as her gaze darted around the room, taking every visible piece of item in.
It turns out that this room he had directed her to was his workspace and personal library.
Suddenly, as she cast a glance at the Siena desk, surveying the messed-up scene, her brows drew in close.
"Are you done?" Christian cast a dismissive glance at her and went ahead to gulp down a mouthful from his glass before putting it next to the entire bottle.
Diane recovered from her earlier surprise and walked straight to him. "I know that I don't really have a say on your conditions to help me, but I really think you should consider letting me pay for your lawyer's services instead."
Christian looked her in the eyes and said slowly so she could catch every word, "You can never afford them."
"I know you have the best lawyers in New York for a reason, but I promise that if you let me pay in install…" Diane tried to make her pleas towards another method but Christian didn't budge.
"Installments?" he laughed out loud. He let his gaze ascertain her like he was trying to piece some item in the market. "Unfortunately for you, I am too rich to use that broke-ass method. Now, to save both of our time, I will draw the conclusion here."
As soon as he said that, the smile on his face completely disappeared without a trace. "It is either you agree to my terms, or you pick your bag and walk out. I won't blame you."
"How can I be your mistress when I'm still legally married to my husband? No matter how much I hate him, I can never do anything that contradicts my principles."
In Christian's mind, she was going to be contradicting all her principles when they got together.
Christian clasped his fingers as he examined her with his thoughts tucked away at the back of his mind. "Are you not curious to find out the feeling of ecstasy from cheating? Don't you want to give it a try?"
It was now that Diane confirmed that Christian's whole agreement actually centred on taunting her and trying to get back at her for what she did to him in the past.
It seems like a verbal apology did not amount to anything for him.
Christian pointed at the agreement in her hand and said while looking her in the eyes, "And I cannot go contrary to what is written there. I will give you until 8 PM to decide. As soon as you agree to my terms, my lawyers will be in touch with you."
"Christian," Diane called out as she licked her lower lips which were getting drier the longer she spoke. "Your agreement not only states that I have to be your mistress before you take up my case. It also states that I have to marry you after you have taken care of the prenup issue. Isn't this price too heavy for the favour I'm asking for?"
Diane found the whole situation ridiculous and seriously wanted to talk to him as none of his conditions made any sense but he wasn't interested.
"If you don't like methods, you should seriously reconsider giving your husband half of your assets. And I'm not going to take any more questions on this," Christian warned.
Hot tears took a stroll down Diane's cheeks as she watched the man with the coldest look ever. He was so mean to her. This was not how help was rendered. He was seeking to punish her.
If not for the fact that she would end up dying in her mother's hands for losing half of her assets to Phillip, she wouldn't have ever had to consider selling herself to him.
Diane wiped her tears away as she placed the agreement on the desk and flipped over to the pages that needed her signature. Finding them, she grabbed Christian's ballpoint pen and scribbled her signature on those places.
When she was done, she passed the agreement back to him and announced with a clear crisp voice. "It's done."
"Good," Christian said as an unknown emotion flickered in his eyes. He picked up the agreement and penned his signature in the right places before getting off his seat. He walked towards a black biometric safe that looked like a portable refrigerator on the large shelves behind him and keyed in his password.
The moment the safe unlocked, he dumped the agreement inside and shut the door before returning to his seat.
"How will I get my copy?" Diane frowned.
"You get no copies." Pointing at the safe, he returned his gaze to her and said, "You don't need it for anything, and as this agreement is between us two, a third party should not know of it. Is that clear?"
Silence enveloped them for a while before Diane moved on with her questions. "When do I get to meet with your lawyers?"
"6:30 AM if you sleep over and I move up my personal meeting with them. The last option for tomorrow would be through a video conference call at 9 PM. So… which do you prefer?" he trailed off as he leaned back on his seat, watching her with all manner of triumph.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
One thing Diane was yet to find out was that Christian seemed to like having her around, and that was why he would use any means to make her stay the night at his place whenever the opportunity presented itself.
This was the second night in a row and she had not had the time to consider this particular action of his.
If he hated her as much as she thought he did, she would never have known what the interior of his place looked like.
As soon as Diane walked out of the study, Christian picked up his phone to make a call.
"Tomorrow morning by 6:30, we have a meeting at my penthouse with Mrs. Diane Brown regarding a divorce and prenup issue. Yes. Contact the others, it's important."
After speaking with one of his lawyers, he put his phone down as his gaze strayed to the door. A few minutes after plotting something new, he rose to his feet and picked up his phone from the desk.
He left the study for his bedroom and two minutes later, he emerged with a set of clean clothes in his hand.
Meanwhile, Diane was busy thinking about the present condition of her life while soaking in the bathtub filled with warm water.
She neither heard the knocks that pounded on the door of her bedroom nor heard when the door opened plus the heavy steps that followed suit.
It was only after she had finished bathing and walked back into the bedroom that she realized that Christian had come into her room.
He had brought her the change of clothes folded neatly at the foot of her bed.
Diane walked to the bed and raised the big polo to check it out with her eyes before lifting the shorts beneath it.
It was strange putting on Christian's clothes, especially now that she had a new label for him. But what other choice did she have? It's not like she came prepared to spend the night at his place.
About fifteen minutes later, Christian came back to knock on her door. "Come out for dinner," he announced before walking away.
---
Coming out to the dining area and seeing different assorted dishes spread across the table, Diane wondered if he was inviting other people to join him in the feast.
"Are you not going to sit?" Christian asked, raising a questioning brow as his gaze strayed to her. Seeing her standing at a spot and staring at the food got on his thin nerves.
Diane met his gaze and gestured to the kitchen. "I will wash my hands first."
Christian found that ridiculous. He wanted to remind her that she had just taken a shower but before his lips could part, she had already dashed out.
In the kitchen, Diane noticed the takeout plates in the bin and couldn't help having a closer look at it. It turns out that Christian had ordered their dinner from his hotel; Heirs Hotel.
Diane's dinner with Christian was eaten in an awkward silence. Even though they sat several chairs apart; each sitting at the head table, they were both aware of each other's presence thanks to the clanking of forks and knives.
Diane couldn't wait to get to the guest room and when she finally did, she dived into the covers and shut her eyes after setting an alarm for 5 AM.
***
The next morning, Diane woke up to Christian making breakfast in the kitchen.
She had just brushed her teeth and washed her face only to step out to see him flipping pancakes in the kitchen by 5:15 AM instead of the housekeeper.
Speaking of the housekeeper, she hasn't seen her around since her second coming.
"Good morning," she greeted in a muffled tone as her gaze stayed on his broad back. In as much as she would have loved to disappear without a trace, she stayed back because she knew he sensed her presence.
Diane recalled how he used to make her breakfast while she sat on the kitchen island of his small rented apartment back when they used to date.
Christian was a good cook but as time passed, she had forgotten what the food he cooked used to taste like. She missed it.
Right on time, Christian flipped the pancake in the pan before turning off the stove. Turning to her, he pointed at the kitchen island. "Don't just stand there and watch me. Breakfast is ready."
His brows were knitted into a frown as his thin lips smoothened. He clearly didn't like seeing her clueless. But he had forgotten how mad he would be if she just assumed and did things as she liked.
"My lawyers keep to time," he revealed as he placed a plain ceramic flat plate before her. "Do you still eat only 4…" he suddenly stopped with the plate of pancakes in his hand paused in midair.
His gaze darkened as Diane curled her fingers on the table. She knew the rest of the words to the question he never got to finish, and she didn't blame him when he suddenly withdrew the plates of pancakes to serve himself first before dropping them at the centre of the kitchen island that doubled as the kitchen dining area.
She was left to serve herself as he was no longer interested in how many slices of pancakes she could still eat presently.
Continuing to serve breakfast, Christian put down some waffles, oats, milk and honey on the kitchen island before climbing onto a high stool.
It took Diane a while before she finally moved her hands. She had just dared to imagine how far her past relationship with Christian would have gone if she hadn't done what she did back then.
'We would have been married with a little cozy home to our name.'
"You have only an hour to get ready and come to the living room for the meeting," Christian reminded her as he stood up to clear his plates.
Seeing that, Diane quickly said to him, "I will do the dishes."
"When last did you wash plates?" he asked, not expecting an answer as he slipped the plates into the kitchen sink and began to tidy up.
Diane did not answer that question. She knew when to shut up.
After eating, she went to drop her plates inside the sink and thanked him before scurrying away; definitely afraid of his glares and scowls.
It took Diane only twenty-five minutes to freshen up and change back into her outfit from the previous day. And surprisingly, she saw Christian's lawyers already sitting in the living room when she arrived.
They were fifteen minutes earlier than the appointed time.
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Comentário de parágrafo
O comentário de parágrafo agora está disponível na Web! Passe o mouse sobre qualquer parágrafo e clique no ícone para adicionar seu comentário.
Além disso, você sempre pode desativá-lo/ativá-lo em Configurações.
Entendi