MARRIED TO MY RIVAL DOCTOR

chapter six

Agreement

Seth

I opened my mouth to answer but didn't get the chance as my father spoke before I could.

"Seth didn't know about the marriage clause."

Her eyes remained on me.

I could see the disbelief in them.

She didn't trust the answer.

I couldn't blame her.

If I were sitting where she was, I'd probably think the same thing.

I leaned back in my chair.

"My father is telling the truth."

Her gaze narrowed.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect anything from you."

The words came out colder than I intended.

Her expression hardened.

"Of course."

I frowned. That wasn't what I'd meant.

But I wasn't about to explain myself in front of a room full of board members and lawyers.

My father looked between us.

"This clause was written by your fathers years ago. Seth was seven. Emily was three."

Emily stared at him.

"Three?"

"Yes."

She slowly shook her head.

"My father planned my marriage when I was three?"

"Not exactly," the family lawyer interrupted. "The agreement was made between your fathers with the intention that, when the time came, the two families would unite their interests. The marriage clause was part of that arrangement."

"That doesn't make it better."

"No," the lawyer admitted. "It doesn't."

I looked down at the document in front of me.

I hadn't seen this version before.

The pages were old, carefully preserved, but the signatures were unmistakable.

My father's.

Her father's.

I ran my thumb along the edge of the paper.

"How long have you known about this?"

My father looked at me.

"About the marriage clause?"

"Yes."

"Not long."

I gave him a hard look.

"You called me back from the hospital for an emergency board session and failed to mention that the emergency was my marriage?"

A few people around the table shifted uncomfortably.

My father sighed.

"I didn't know how you'd react."

I almost laughed.

"You were right to be concerned."

Emily crossed her arms.

"This is unbelievable."

I looked at her.

She wasn't wrong.

None of this made sense.

I had spent years building Healing Grace into what it was now. Every department, every expansion, every difficult decision had required sacrifice.

And now I was being told the future of it depended on marrying a woman I'd barely spoken to before our fathers' agreement was placed in front of us.

I looked at her again.

She was still standing.

Angry.

Confused.

Probably terrified underneath all that attitude.

I understood the feeling.

I just didn't show mine.

"Sit down," I said quietly.

Her eyes snapped toward me.

"I don't need you telling me what to do."

"I wasn't ordering you."

"It sounded like one."

I leaned back.

"Then don't."

She stared at me for another second before sitting.

Good.

At least we could get through this without turning the room into a battlefield.

My father folded his hands on the table.

"There is a reason this agreement exists."

"I don't care about the reason," Emily said. "I care about the fact that I'm being told my life was decided before I could even speak."

Nobody answered immediately.

I understood why.

There was no good answer.

The lawyer cleared his throat.

"Miss DelaRosa, the agreement also protects both hospitals from being divided after the merger."

"Then protect them without using my marriage."

"The two were legally connected."

"Then find another solution."

My father looked at me.

I knew that look.

He wanted me to say something.

I didn't.

Because there was nothing I could say that would make this better.

Emily suddenly turned toward me.

"What about you?"

I raised my brows.

"What about me?"

"You seem strangely calm."

"I don't see how shouting will change a signed agreement."

"So you're just accepting this?"

"No."

Her expression changed slightly.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Find out exactly what we're dealing with."

The room went quiet.

I picked up the agreement.

"How long is the marriage supposed to last?"

The lawyer hesitated.

"Until the merger obligations are fully satisfied."

"Which means?"

"Permanent."

Emily's chair moved backward slightly.

"Permanent?"

I looked at the lawyer.

"You're telling us this isn't temporary?"

"No."

Emily stood again.

"No. Absolutely not."

My patience was beginning to wear thin.

Not with her.

With the situation.

With the men who had created it.

With everyone sitting around the table acting as though two people's lives were simply another business term.

I looked at my father.

"Why wasn't I told before the merger?"

His face became serious.

"Because the merger couldn't be completed without both sides agreeing."

"And now?"

"Now it's already done."

I stared at him.

So that was it.

They had completed the merger first.

And now the marriage was the final condition.

I hated the strategy.

But I couldn't deny that it was effective.

Emily looked at the document again.

"Can we challenge it?"

The lawyer shook his head.

"Not without consequences."

"What consequences?"

He glanced between us.

"If either party refuses to honor the agreement, the ownership structure of both hospitals can be challenged by the board. Your parents' shares would be redistributed according to the conditions attached to the merger."

Emily went completely still.

I watched her face.

There it was again.

That fear she kept hiding.

Gifted Hands wasn't just a hospital to her.

It was her parents.

Their name.

Their work.

Their legacy.

I understood that better than she probably realized.

Healing Grace was the same for me.

My father had built its foundation.

I'd spent years expanding it.

I couldn't simply walk away.

Neither could she.

Emily looked at me.

"So we're trapped."

I met her eyes.

"Looks like it."

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I hate this."

"So do I."

"Do you?"

I almost smiled.

"No, I secretly enjoy being told who to marry."

Her expression didn't change.

I realized sarcasm wasn't going to help.

"Yes," I said. "I hate it."

She looked away.

My father sighed.

"I know neither of you asked for this."

"That's an understatement," Emily muttered.

I almost smiled again.

Almost.

The lawyer began explaining the remaining conditions.

The marriage would need to be legally registered.

Both hospitals would remain under joint leadership.

Neither of us could transfer ownership without the other's approval.

And most importantly, neither of us could dissolve the marriage without triggering the consequences written into the agreement.

I listened carefully.

Emily did too.

She asked questions.

A lot of them.

Some were angry.

Some were practical.

I noticed that.

Despite her frustration, she wasn't careless.

She was thinking about her hospital.

Her patients.

Her parents.

That told me more about her than anything I'd heard before.

When the lawyer finally finished, silence settled over the room.

Emily looked exhausted.

I probably did too.

My father stood.

"We'll give you both time to think."

Emily laughed bitterly.

"Think about what? Whether I want to destroy my parents' hospital?"

My father didn't answer.

Neither did I.

He left the room with the lawyer.

The board members slowly followed.

Within minutes, the conference room had emptied.

Only Emily and I remained.

She picked up her bag.

I watched her.

She looked at the door.

Then at me.

"I don't want to marry you."

"Good."

Her brows furrowed.

"Good?"

"I don't want to marry you either."

She stared at me.

For the first time that morning, I saw something other than anger in her eyes.

Surprise.

Maybe she had expected me to be eager.

I wasn't.

Marriage had never been part of my plans.

Not now.

Not ever.

I stood and buttoned my jacket.

"We'll find a way through this."

She shook her head.

"There has to be another way."

"There might be."

"And if there isn't?"

I paused.

I looked at the woman standing across from me.

Emily DelaRosa.

The woman who had become my biggest problem without doing anything at all.

"If there isn't," I said calmly, "then we'll deal with it."

She frowned.

"That's it?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I."

She looked away.

I walked toward the door.

Behind me, her voice stopped me.

"Seth."

I turned.

She hesitated.

"Did our fathers really plan this when we were children?"

I nodded.

"Apparently."

She swallowed.

Then she looked down at the agreement in her hands.

"I don't know what to think anymore."

Neither did I.

But I wasn't going to let her see that.

"Get some rest."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You really like telling people what to do."

I gave her a small look.

"And you really like arguing."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

I opened the door.

"See you tomorrow, Miss DelaRosa."

She glared at me.

"Don't call me that."

I paused.

"What should I call you?"

She seemed caught off guard by the question.

After a second, she answered.

"Emily."

I nodded.

"Emily."

Then I walked out.

The moment the door closed behind me, my expression changed.

I pulled out my phone and called my father.

He answered immediately.

"What is it?"

"You said you only recently found out about the marriage clause."

"I did."

"Who knew before you?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Why are you asking?"

"Because I don't believe something this important stayed hidden for this long without someone knowing."

My father's voice became quieter.

"I've been thinking the same thing."

I stopped walking.

"Then find out."

"I will."

I ended the call.

For the first time since entering that conference room, I allowed myself to breathe.

This wasn't simply about marriage.

There was too much history attached to it.

Too many unanswered questions.

And one thing bothered me more than everything else.

If our fathers had planned this when we were children...

Why had they waited until now to force us into it?

I looked through the glass wall toward the corridor.

Emily was still inside the conference room.

She stood alone, holding the agreement against her chest.

I looked away.