Chapter Four: the serect
1234 Words
The next day, after thinking over her uncle's words, Evelyn could bet she didn't have enough sleep because she was bothered by a lot of thoughts in her mind.
She lay on her bed holding her phone in her right hand and Henry's contract card in her left. She wasn't sure it was a nice idea to agree to Henry's offer, but she still needed a job; she wasn't expecting any anytime soon.
She couldn't understand why Uncle Ben was good with the idea.
She slowly clicked on her phone and dialed the number on the contact card. Her finger shook, and she felt reluctant to send the call. Immediately, her shivering fingers sent the call, and she tried to end it, but it was already too late.
“You finally thought about it,” Henry's deep voice said; he spoke like he was indeed expecting her to call so soon.
Evelyn froze; he recognized her without her saying a word. She was scared and didn't want Henry to see that fear boiling in her.
“When do I begin?” she asked, trying to get straight to the point.
“Whoo! "What a rush,” Henry replied. “We still need to get married first.” He laughed.
“You think this is funny? She frowned. "I am just doing this because my uncle begged me to.” Evelyn said she thought that bringing Uncle Ben in would make Henry think she wasn't weak or do it for the job offer.
“Meet me at Bemelmans bar by six pm, we need to talk,” he said, and her line went dead after that.
Is he serious right now? He was trying to go on a date with her. She looked at her wardrobe, it was half empty. She needed a new dress since Henry was indeed taking her to a fancy restaurant where rich people visited; she needed to appear nice to fit into her surroundings.
She calmly asked Uncle Ben for his credit card since hers went missing during the accident. He was really happy to give it to her, seeing that she was indeed going on a date with one of the richest men in the country.
Later that day, Evelyn was in her room preparing to leave; she sat before the mirror hung on the wall, appreciating the woman she had become. She looked at her phone. It was five-fifteen pm. She exhaled loudly. There was enough time. She made a few touches on her cheeks before leaving the room.
Uncle Ben sat in the living room watching the news. He looked impressed when he saw her.
She walked to where he was sitting and hugged him from behind. Her right arm was wrapped around his neck. She kissed him on the head before exiting the door.
Evelyn made her way to the restaurant; she was ten minutes earlier than the time Henry fixed; she approached the entrance door and realized that her hands were shaking, but she tried not to panic. She took a deep breath, and then she pulled the door forward.
The air inside the restaurant was refreshing, and the aroma of cooked meals made its way into her nostrils.
She looked shy, noticing that all eyes were on her; her red dress stuck to her skin, exposing her curves, while her footsteps were the sound in the room, which made it easier for one to notice her passing by.
She took an empty table on the right, and a waiter came to her a minute later, asking her what she would like to order. She stared at the menu; the meals were expensive, and she couldn't afford any; she immediately dropped the menu on the table and asked for a glass of champagne.
The waiter left and returned a minute later with a glass of champagne on a tray. As she sipped her champagne, she turned around, surveying the room; it was her first time being in a fancy restaurant; she didn't mind paying for the drink, seeing she still had Uncle Ben's credit card with her.
It was six-twenty pm; Evelyn kept glancing at her wristwatch and then at the empty glass. She had already exhausted all the liquid content in it. Immediately, the door opened. Henry walked in. He wore a black suit with a black tie and held a briefcase on his right. He walked towards her and took a seat before her.
“Mmm, You started without me,” he said, staring at the empty glass before her. He turned to the menu for a few seconds and had the waiter come to him. ”I will have some grilled cheese sandwiches and add some vegetables to them.”
The waiter turned to Evelyn, who was staring unbelievably at Henry. He was twenty minutes late and didn't apologize for it.
“Madam, what would you like to order?” the waiter asked.
“Oh sorry, I will need some chicken nuggets please,” she replied.
“Not bad, for the first time,” he said, still staring at the menu. “You will get used to all this,” he bragged, spinning his second finger around.
Evelyn became very furious. He was late and still couldn't admit it or apologize, but he kept pretending like nothing had happened.
“Six pm,” she said in a low tone.
“What?”
“You said six pm, but you came twenty minutes later and pretended like nothing had happened.”
“I was busy, you know, some of us have to work,” he said annoyingly.
“Oh, I see what you are doing there, Mocking me because I have no job.”
“Can we have a quiet dinner?” he asked.
Evelyn looked at others who were seated in the room; they were all staring at both of them.
“Why are we here?” She asked, before sipping her wine.
Henry took out some files from his briefcase.
“Here it is,” he said, handing the file over to her and a fancy pen.
She took the file from him and the pen. She opened every page of the contract, but she didn't sign immediately.
“Wait, the contract said to no third party that we are the only people who know about this.”
“Yes, that shouldn't be hard. It is just for a fixed time.”
“Well, I kind of told my uncle about it.”
“You did what?” Henry shouted. But immediately smiled when he noticed that others were watching.
“I have no choice, he is my uncle, and he is ready to play along.”
“I don't like this, but it's fine.”
“So, what now?” Evelyn asked. After signing the documents in the file,
“Now we celebrate our new married life.” He smiled. His look made it hard for her to detect if he was actually excited or scared.
He poured the wine into his glass and also hers. He then lifted it up before drinking, without thinking if she would join him.
Evelyn kept looking at him; she was scared and prayed that she wouldn't regret making this decision. She had just met Henry after the accident, and now she was getting married to him. How long would they hide this secret?
- Writer
