CHAPTER FOUR
1065 Words
The Meeting
Xia’s background report was waiting on Ethan’s desk when he arrived that morning. He skimmed the first page while Lin stood nearby reviewing the day’s schedule.
She had ranked high enough on the university entrance examination to receive an offer from Tongji, but the registration fee had never been paid and the offer expired three months later.
There wasn’t much else in the file. She had spent the last three years working at a diner on Wuding Road, had never earned a degree, and had no employment history outside restaurant work. Her monthly salary was four thousand two hundred yuan, nearly half of which went to her father at the beginning of every month.
Ethan closed the file.
She needed money.
He needed a wife.
As far as he was concerned, that was enough.
“Send her the address,” he said.
Lin glanced up from his tablet.
“And the meeting time?”
“Two o’clock.”
Lin nodded and made a note.
“And tell her to be punctual.”
Lin paused.
Ethan looked back at his laptop.
“I keep a strict schedule.”
He thought that was a perfectly reasonable request.
***
At nine that morning, an unfamiliar number had sent her a message:
Croft Industries Tower, 22 Century Avenue. 14:00. Please be punctual. Mr. Croft keeps a strict schedule.
Xia had spent most of the journey rereading the contract tucked inside her bag, stopping every few pages whenever the legal language became too dense to follow. She wasn’t sure why she kept reading it. Maybe she thought understanding every clause would make her feel more prepared. It didn’t.
She reached Croft Industries Tower at 13:56.
Lin met her in the lobby and led her upstairs to the conference room. She had expected an office. An office belonged to someone. She sat near the end of the table with the envelope resting on her lap and watched the city through the glass until the door opened.
Ethan Croft walked in at exactly 2:00 p.m. He looked exactly like the sort of man who owned a company.
Dark suit.
Silver watch.
Composed expression.
Nothing about him suggested he was trying to find a wife before an inheritance deadline expired.
He extended his hand.
“Ethan Croft.”
Xia stood.
“Liang Xia.”
They sat.
He opened the folder in front of him.
“I assume you’ve read the contract.”
“Most of it.”
“Most?”
“There were parts I didn’t understand.”
“You could have contacted legal.”
Xia lowered her eyes.
“I didn’t know I could.”
“If you don’t understand something, ask.” He glanced down at the papers.
“The marriage lasts two years. Separate bedrooms. Public appearances when necessary. Mrs. Tao manages the household. The allowance is transferred on the first of every month. If there are no concerns, the wedding registration is scheduled for Thursday.”
Xia looked down at the contract.
She had questions running through her head.
‘What if I hated living there? What if I regretted this six months from now? What if I woke up one day and realized I had traded one obligation for another?’
But none of those questions would change anything at the moment.
She shook her head.
“No concerns.”
Ethan nodded once.
“Good.”
He reached for his pen.
Xia watched him for a moment before speaking.
“The debts.”
He looked up.
“What about them?”
“Can they be cleared before the wedding?”
“Why?”
She tightened her fingers around the envelope. “Because I’d rather know they’re gone before I move.”
It wasn’t the whole truth.
The whole truth was that she didn’t trust her father not to borrow against promises that hadn’t been fulfilled yet. The whole truth was that she didn’t think she’d ever ask Ethan Croft for anything again once she moved into his house.
But those things belonged to her; they weren’t his business.
Ethan considered it.
The amount was insignificant. Changing the payment date wouldn’t affect anything.
“Fine,” he said.
“They’ll be settled before the wedding.”
Xia nodded.
“Thank you.”
“The revised contract will be sent tonight,” he said, closing the folder. “If there are no further changes, sign it and send it back.”
Xia nodded.
“ That’s all?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Okay.”
She stood, slipped the envelope back into her bag, and picked it up.
***
Lin escorted her downstairs and disappeared back into the elevator without another word.
Outside, the afternoon traffic moved as if nothing had changed. Xia stood on the pavement for a moment and looked up at the building.
Less than twenty-four hours ago, Ethan Croft had been a stranger whose name meant nothing to her. Now she knew what he looked like, how he spoke, and that he discussed marriage the same way other people discussed quarterly reports.
In two days, she was supposed to become his wife. She tightened her grip on the strap of her bag and started toward the bus stop.
She still wasn’t sure whether she had made the right decision, but she was beginning to understand that Ethan Croft wasn’t waiting for certainty. He was simply waiting for her signature.
Whether she was ready or not, Thursday was coming.
***
The revised contract arrived at 6:17 p.m. Xia read it over and over again.
“Shared access to the household accounts.Both debts cleared before the wedding.Nothing else had changed.”
She signed.
Liang Xia.
Document received.
Her father looked up from the television."Did you send it?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Good."
Xia waited. Maybe he would say something else.He picked up the remote.
"The debt should be cleared tomorrow," he said.
“That was all?.” Not are you sure. Not thank you. Not I'm sorry.
Just relief?
Xia went back to her room, closed the door, and sat on the edge of her bed.
Three days before she became Mrs. Croft. Three days before she moved into a house she had never seen. Three days before she moved into a stranger’s house because she had been born four minutes earlier than her sister.
For the first time in years —
Liang Xia was afraid.
- Writer
