Contract Marriage: Love and Strife

Chapter 3: A Deal with the Devil

Victoria Watson was motionless as she stood in the elegant living room of her parent’s apartment on the Upper East Side. She could hear every single one of her pulses, and her heart was racing. Her father had just said something that made her uneasy with every breath. They remained in the air ponderous.

"Are you joking?" she asked, although with a voice barely rising above a whisper.

Margaret, her mother and an embodiment of Upper East Side grace in her tailored Chanel suit, nervously wrung her well-manicured hands. "Sweetheart, we-"

With a little laugh, Victoria looked at her parents and said, “Tell me this is a sick joke!”. Her sense of urgency was evidenced by an uncomfortable silence.

Robert, in a familiar manner, adjusted his silk tie. This shaking of anxiety was apparent: He turned his gaze from her to the painting which was on the other side of the wall. “It is not a joke, Victoria,” was his response, which almost sounded clear to her. "The agreement was signed before you were born. Now that law school is over, let's fulfill our end of the agreement."

It took a few seconds for Victoria’s mind to register and try to grasp how serious what she was hearing was. In This age, a Contract Marriage? And to Louis Sebastian, of all people? The arrogant, rude billionaire whose ruthless past precedes him? All of it seemed rather like a movie series or a comic strip. It all felt too absurd to be real.

She shook her head and said, “No, I won’t do it. ”

And then, Robert’s face grew stern, and the wrinkles around the mouth became broader. This was the face Victoria had once observed on him that he made in business meetings but was never turned on her. "You don't have a choice," he said in a voice that didn't sound open to argument. "The Sebastians saved the financial collapse of our family. We owe them this"

What he said seemed to have a physical presence of its own, to which Victoria observed, "So you're selling me to pay your debt?" She yelled, her expression changing from disbelief to rage.

Victoria backed away as if she had been burnt by her mother's touch. She raised her voice and asked, “Understand what?” “That my parents see me as a commodity that can be sold?”

“We have given you everything,” Robert yelled, losing his cool. "The best schools, endless opportunities-"

“Well, except for the choice of who I am to marry, of course!” Victoria said with her voice laced with pain.

There was no sound at that moment, only the shrill sound of the grandfather clock situated in the corner of the room. She began to think as fast as she could in a bid to try and get herself out of this abnormal situation.

What if I refuse?” With a low, frightening voice she said.

Robert’s face changed, and his eyes turned to be serious. “ Sebastian will take down all the debts that we got. I will lose everything: the house, the company and social status, Everything! ”

What complicated the matter even more was that Victoria realized that she could feel her carefully constructed world collapsing. She wondered if her hard-earned law degree and her dreams of making a difference in the world would be compromised by her parents' poor financial decisions.

"When?" she said, her voice suddenly free of rage.

”The wedding has been set for next month,” Margaret said calmly, as if showing compassion could lessen the suffering.

Victoria looked with surprise as her head sprang up. ”A month? In a month I am to marry a man whom I don't know?” Victoria queried, frowning. ‘He’s hardly a stranger!’ Robert protested. "You've met Louis at charity events-" He turned his attention to a middle-aged man in glasses with a silky mustache who was strolling near the fence.

"Where he was rude and dismissive!" Victoria exclaimed, her voice still rising. A memory crossed her mind – Louis Sebastian at a gala, barely acknowledging her existence as she tried to engage him in conversation about his company's environmental policies.

"Does he even know about this?" she asked.

She only needed to look at her parents' guilty expressions to know what she needed to know.

She looked around and touched her neatly done hair and thought, "Unbelievable," she said. ‘So I am the last to know about my arranged marriage."

Unable to stand one more minute in the living room with her parents, Victoria got up abruptly and left.

"Victoria … where are you going?" Margaret asked, her voice rising with fear.

Victoria stopped on the doorknob with her hand. Without turning back, she fumed, "To get some air before I suffocate in here." The door banged shut behind her.

A few moments later, as she exited the building and stepped out into the warm New York air, she was overcome with thoughts and feelings. How could her parents have taken advantage of her? How could they have been allowed to take her future for nothing? And what role was Louis Sebastian involved in all of this? Did he know? Was she the only one shocked or was this all part of a bigger plan?

Victoria went to a small park and sat on the bench. She took out her phone with trembling hands and scrolled through her contact list. With whom could she discuss this? Her friends wouldn't understand. Finding a perfect apartment or securing the perfect job were their top priorities. They have no experience with this.

Then she noticed Barry Joe's name, which caused her to halt her ex-boyfriend even though she had moved on to focus on her career. Barry, with his easy laugh and kind personality. Could he even understand? Could he help?

With that, Victoria reached out to call Barry.

The voice of Barry emerged from the speaker. He sounded both curious and a bit uneasy. Of course, he wouldn’t recognize her phone number. After their breakup, she made a change of contact as part of her fresh start approach to move on.

In a dumbfounded manner, Victoria tried to speak. Her lips opened, but no sound would come out. She cried and broke down knowing that it was reality staring right at her once more. How could she say anything? She was unsure about what to do.

Barry, reluctantly said, ‘Hello?’ followed by a long silence, On the other end.

Victoria panicked and hung up the phone. She looked at the phone she was holding. She couldn't recognize her reflection on the black screen.

The reality of the situation dawned on her. But she refused to allow a contract she never signed to dictate how she was going to live her life.