Mr Sinclair's Contract Bride

"I'm coming, Mum. I promise I'm going to save you," Crystal says with a shaky voice as streams of tears flow down her red cheeks. She stormed out of the emergency ward of the hospital, leaving her bleeding mother helpless and almost breathless on the miserable stretcher. Her mum had been involved in some form of a domestic accident while working as a cleaner at the billionaire mansion of Mr. Sinclair; even though the injury was everything but domestic. Matter of fact, it was the worst head injury she had ever seen. Trying to wipe the tears off her face, she proceeded to stop the first taxi she saw and yelled, "Sinclair, Sinclair!" The taxi driver, who understood she was not in a place for many words, understood immediately what she wanted. She wanted to go to the famous Sinclair mansion owned by Dominic Sinclair; son of his late father Edward Sinclair. He immediately took off in that direction. The taxi stopped, and she highlighted as she scurried through her bag to find some change to pay the driver. "Don't worry about it," the driver said with a warm smile. With gratitude, she tried to return a smile, but her face betrayed her as she was overwhelmed with emotions that did not have a smile in their catalog. She walked briskly to the gate and was let in by the security guard at the gate who recognized her as the cleaner’s daughter. She made her way into the intimidatingly massive mansion and walked straight to Mr. Sinclair’s bedroom. After a few knocks on the door with no response, she barged in to meet a shirtless Mr. Sinclair trying to get dressed. She immediately averted her eyes and apologized. “I'm so sorry, sir,” she said. “The audacity!” He replied with a boldly intimidating tone and a baritone voice that reverberated across the room down to her spine. “Im desperately sorry, sir, please forgive me,” she responded with a shaky voice and her head still faced down. “Lift your head,” he commanded. He took a long cautious look at her trying to pick out where he knew the familiar face from. “Who are you?” “Im Crystal Rivera, sir, daughter of your house cleaner who was just involved in the accident,” she said trying to maintain eye contact. “Oh, you're her daughter. I see the resemblance,” he said as he walked past her stepping out of the room. “So why are you here?” Crystal was stunned. How could he ask her that, her mother was dying in a hospital bed due to a hazard that occurred in his house? How dare he? “Sir, my mother is dying.” “And?” Mr. Sinclair scoffed as he walked down the stairs. “Sir!” Crystal raised her voice, she had had enough of his dismissive and smug attitude. “How could you say such a thing?” She added with anger in her tone. “How old is your mother again? Won’t her death be doing you both a favor? You won’t have to worry about one extra person to look after, and she won’t be a burden to anyone else,” he said with a stern tone that defied all morality. “Sir, please,” Crystal crashed to her knees, begging. She couldn't keep up the bravado anymore; she had to come to terms that she was dealing with a cold-hearted billionaire and all logical reasons didn’t apply here; her only course of action was to plead. “Please? Please what?” Mr. Sinclair retorted. “Please help my mother, sir. I won't be able to live with myself if she dies.” He turned to her and squatted so their eyes met at an equal height. “What do you want from me?” he asked with his eyes piercing deep into her soul. “Financial aid,” she cried. “Just to save her life, we would be forever indebted to you, I will do anything.” “Anything?” he pried. Crystal hesitated, trying to understand that the next words she spilled from her mouth would determine the weight of the burden she put on her shoulders and possibly the course of the rest of her life. “Yes, anything,” she said, mustering all of the courage in her to make such a commitment. “Alright, then,” he got up briskly. “If you wish your mother still lives you would give me your life and devotion in exchange for your mother’s..” “My life? How?” she asked confused as she forced herself to her feet. “You’re going to kill me like you tried to kill my mother?” “What?” He replied at the top of his voice with fury creeping on to his face quickly replacing his calm demeanor with a red hot temper. “You think I killed your peasant mother? Of what good would that do me?” He spoke every word with intense emphasis while his veins visibly popped “I...I’m sorry sir” Crystal replied with her head down in immediate regret. “I just did not understand what you meant” “Im speaking of marriage” Mr Sinclair replied as he calmed himself. “A contract marriage” “Marriage? Sir I barely know you” “And I intend it remains that way” He shot back. “This is only for formalities, I have no romantic interest in you whatsoever” “So why would you want to marry me?” she asked “Do you want your moher to live or would you ask more questions till she dies” He had the coldest demeanor worn over him as he uttered the words Crystal was caught inbetween, she barely knew who this person was.”I ca-”. She stammered.. As she was stopped in her tracks by a ring from her phone. She drew it out and saw an unknown number “Hello?” she cleared her voice after picking the call “Yes Miss Rivera, this is the Crawford General hospital and we wanted to inform you of your mother’s condition. She is currently in a critical state and would require urgent attention but nothing can be done till we see the required sum of money” “Oh no please I’m coming” She screamed in tears. And looked to Mr Sinclair with eyes that pleaded mercy Mr. Sinclair had no words; he only looked steely into her eyes. His gaze reminded her of the commitment she made a couple of seconds ago. She realized immediately what she was in, and within a split second came to terms with it. After all, it was for the safety and well-being of her only mother, the only family she had left. She adjusted herself. “I’d do it,” she replied, wiping her face of the unending stream of tears. “Good girl,” he replied with a sinister smirk. He called out to a guard who came to his side and received a whisper from him then took off upstairs and returned with a file of documents “What is this?” Crystal asked. “A contract,” he replied. “You sign, and we make this official.” She picked the pen and stared at the piece of paper that was going to alter the rest of her life for either good or bad. It felt like thousands of emotions flooding her. She could feel her heartbeat throbbing its way out of her chest as well as hear it in her head. “You’re keeping me waiting,” he added, jolting Crystal back into reality. She gasped, trying another futile attempt to hold back the tears. Finally, she put the pen to the paper and appended her signature, raised her head, and looked at him. He did not spare her a glance; he immediately packed the papers and began to walk back upstairs. “Get yourself prepared, the wedding holds this time next week, and you would be moving in with me. And don't worry, your mother is in good hands now.” With that, he vanished back into his room. Crystal was overwhelmed with confusion; she couldn't make heads or tails of what had just transpired but she had to make her way back to her mother’s side. She stormed out of the house immediately and stopped yet another taxi and headed back to the hospital. As she walked briskly into the hospital on her way to her mother’s ward she was stopped by the doctor who had a grim expression worn on his face. No, no, she knew that look anywhere; he was about to say something earth-shattering to her. “What happened to my mother?” she yelled as she cried, barely able to string the words together. “I'm sorry, ma’am,” the doctor said with a calm voice, trying to soothe her. “I'm sorry, but your mother…”