CHAPTER 5: THE CONTRACT
1143 Words
The whole house was unusually quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just tense.
Ozbert stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows with a whiskey glass in his hand, jacket discarded somewhere on the couch, tie loosened. the city below glittered beneath him, but he barely looked at it.
The TV was muted, yet his face was everywhere.
"Billionaire Heir Marries Waitress He Publicly Assaulted?"
"From Slap to Wedding Ring: What Is Ozbert Fitzwilliams Hiding?"
"Sources claim the marriage may have started before the viral champagne incident..."
The door to his room opened.
“Wow,” Malachi muttered as he walked in, dropping the pad in his hand onto the console table. “You’re trending above a cheating senator and a gay priest. That’s impressive.”
Ozbert exhaled tiredly. “Not tonight, Malachi.”
Behind him came Elowen, his older sister. Unlike Elowen, who looked genuinely worried, Malachi looked like he owned every room he entered.
She glanced at the television. “They’re tearing her apart online.”
Ozbert’s jaw tightened instantly.
That tiny reaction didn’t escape Malachi.
“Oh?” he said slowly, crossing his arms. “Interesting.”
“Don’t start.”
“No, I actually will start.” he walked further into the large and dim room. “Because I need you to explain to me why you slapped that girl.”
Silence.
“Oz—”
“I lost my temper.”
“That’s not an explanation.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I said I lost my temper.”
“And I’m asking why.”
Another silence.
Then finally—
“My ex texted me that night.”
Malachi blinked once. “...Selene?”
He laughed bitterly. “Who else?”
Elowen frowned. “I thought you blocked her months ago.”
“I did.” His voice sharpened. “New number.”
Elowen pulled out a chair slowly and sat down. “What did she say?”
Ozbert stared at the city lights for a long moment before answering.
“She sent me pictures.”
Malachi looked confused. “Pictures of what?”
“Herself. Her engagement party.”
That made both of them go still.
“She got engaged?” Elowen whispered.
Ozbert gave a humorless smile. “Three months after ending a five-year relationship.”
Malachi's eyes narrowed carefully. “Okay... that’s horrible. But that still doesn’t explain why you were angry enough to slap a stranger.”
He swallowed hard.
“She didn’t just leave me, Malachi.”
His voice lowered.
“She left because grandpa got sick.”
The room quieted completely.
Ozbert finally turned around.
“When the old man collapsed last year, the company shares started fluctuating. Investors got nervous. Board members started circling like vultures.” He scoffed. “Selene told me she didn’t want a life tied to instability.”
Malachi stared at him. “She said that?”
“She said she was tired of competing with the company, the family, the pressure...” He paused. “Then two weeks later I found out she’d been seeing Damian Kessler.”
Elowen cursed softly under her breath.
“The Damian Kessler?” Malachi asked.
“The same one currently trying to buy Fitzwilliams Tech from under us,” Ozbert said coldly.
“Oh, that is evil.”
“She didn’t just leave me.” His eyes darkened. “She walked straight into my rival’s bed.”
Nobody spoke for a moment.
Then Elowen leaned back slowly. “So she texted you that night to rub it in.”
“She said,”—his grip tightened around the whiskey glass—“‘looks like someone finally won.’”
Malachi winced immediately.
“And then Esmée spilled a drink on you,” Elowen guessed quietly.
Ozbert shut his eyes briefly.
“It wasn’t even the drink.” He sounded disgusted with himself now. “She laughed first.”
Both blinked once ... staring
“She obviously laughed because she was nervous,” Malachi said looking like it should have been a no brainer. “I understand that”.
"But..."
" But I was already angry and everyone around me started staring and recording and—”
“You snapped,” Elowen finished.
He nodded once.
Malachi folded his arms. “That’s still not okay.”
“I know.”
“And now she’s your wife.”
That sounded even crazier said out loud.
Ozbert laughed tiredly and dropped onto the couch. “Trust me, I’m aware.”
Elowen studied him carefully for a few seconds.
“So what are you going to do now?”
His answer came too fast.
“Its not going to work.”
Malachi smirked. “You cannot get a divorce.”
“I literally just met her last night.”
“Doesn't solve anything.”
“She looks at me like she’s deciding whether to stab me or choke me.”
Malachi burst out laughing.
Even Elowen grinned
Then suddenly, her expression shifted slightly.
“Actually,” she said slowly, “there might be a way to contain this.”
Ozbert already looked exhausted. “I don’t like that tone.”
“You can’t divorce her now,” Elowen continued. “The media would destroy you, grandfather would lose his mind, and the board already thinks you’re unstable.” She crossed her arms. “So keep the marriage. Temporarily.”
Ozbert frowned.
“You’re suggesting a contract marriage?”
Malachi blinked. “Why does that sound like you’ve planned this before?”
“I read books.”
Ozbert let out a tired laugh before taking another sip of whiskey.
“She already agreed to it.”
That caught both their attention.
Malachi narrowed his eyes. “Agreed to what?”
Silence.
Then —
“I offered her a hundred million dollars to marry me.”
The room went completely still.
- Writer
