ChapterFour
1033 Words
The next day arrived so fast.
Sitting across from him in his office, we locked eyes and I felt a surge of will.
I was not ready to let this man, even though he's a total stranger, pass me by.. he had offered me a way out, a means of saving the life of my mother.
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" He asked, his gaze still locked on mine.
“Yes, I am. I'll do it.” I replied, breaking our eye contact.
A small, was it ‘happy?’ smile played across his face as I agreed to his proposal.
“Excellent,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smirk. “The first step will be to sign the contract.”
He handed me a file on it boldly written PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT
I collected it with shaky hands. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be doing this. Getting married to a stranger.
“What does it say?” I asked, my voice low, almost a whisper.
“You should read it,” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “It outlines the terms of our marriage and the financial arrangements. I’ll give you a moment to review it.”
I nodded, my eyes darting over the lines of text.
I opened the folder, scanning through the pages, my eyes quickly glancing over the words.
It all seemed so formal, so clinical.
Then my eyes went to the names..
"This Agreement is made between Tyler Morgan and Nicole Brown hereinafter referred to as 'the Couple'...”
My pulse paused.
Tyler Morgan?.. Morgan?
The Morgans is a very big family in New York.. and the name Tyler Morgan.. Could it be…?
Breath caught in my throat, my heart thumping in my chest.
Could that Tyler Morgan be the man standing before me, this stranger I had just met few days ago?
The billionaire real estate magnate and art collector, the Morgan's some heir?
He was said to have returned to New York recently. Could he be..?
My eyes returned to the contract.
My name, Nicole Brown, was written in bold letters beside his. I remembered my father mentioning the Morgans, how his gallery had been involved with them in the past.
“Is something wrong?” Tyler asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
I swallowed, my hands trembling slightly as I held the contract. “The Morgans,” I whispered, my voice barely above a whisper. “You’re Tyler Morgan, aren’t you?”
He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he simply regarded me with that Nice penetrating stare.
“My name is Tyler Morgan, yes,” he said at last, his voice calm and measured. “And I assume from your reaction that you’ve heard of me.”
“Everyone's heard of you, your family is literally the biggest in New York, likewise your family's business.”
There was a hint of pride in his eyes when he said. “Yeah, I know”
“So why didn't you tell me who you were?” I asked.
“Nothing serious. Just felt it wasn't necessary. Wasn't like it'd change anything huh.” He replied.
Tyler Morgan was the heir to the Morgan family, a powerful and rich family. And now, here he was, offering to settle some kind of score by marrying me, a total stranger.
But I didn't care; I will gladly do whatever it takes to save my mother's life.
"Oh, I see. After a little pause, I spoke up and turned the page of the paperwork to see the roughly five laws that were there.
I looked over the regulations one by one, each one acting as a reminder of the peculiar circumstances I had stumbled into.
First rule: Tyler and I would be the only ones aware of the marriage. The second rule was that there would be no love involved and the marriage would just be for show. Third rule: I was not to tell anyone, not even my closest friends, anything about what goes on in the Morgan family or the details of our arrangement.
I read on, my heart dropping as I forced myself to swallow.
Fourth rule: Tyler and I were to attend parties and events together, put on a unified front, and I was to be a model wife in public. The fifth rule was to always keep a polite distance from Tyler and not to put any demands on his time.
A knot in my stomach started to form as I went over each rule.
It was clear that Tyler saw me only as a means to an end, a piece in a game of some kind.
Nevertheless, I was aware that I was forced to agree.
"Are you done reading?" My eyes shot up from the contract file at Tyler's words.
"Yes, done," I mumbled, trembling.
"Well done." Tyler accepted the contract and carefully read over the page for a brief amount of time. We still have one more rule to talk about. The most important one is the one that isn't documented.
My mind rushing, I looked up at him and my heart fell even further. What kind of rule might this be?
"You are not supposed to fall in love with me," he stated in a harsh, cold voice. "This marriage isn't real. All that it is is a business deal. "Are you understanding?"
I was going to scoff bit I held bavk. Why does he sound so confident, haughty, and proud? Fall in love with him? Oh please.
"Yes," I said, trying not to be heard. "I comprehend."
With his eyes fixed on mine, Tyler gave me a pen.
In a cool, low voice, he said, "Sign it." "After that, we'll handle everything else."
I grabbed the pen from him and signed my name on the dotted line, securing my future and my fate with shaking hands.
I could feel a feeling of fear, or was it doubt, seeping into my heart as I gave Tyler the contract back.
"This is it," Tyler stated in a low, unintelligible voice. "We're getting married this coming week."
Unable to speak, I nodded.
- Writer
