Contract marriage with my professor

“No”. was Nathaniel’s curt reply. “Nathan please. At least think about it”. his mother urged. “She’s sweet, she’s nice, she’s sucha lovely girl”. He didn’t doubt that she was, however, she was everything he was not, no woman would want to be caught up in his life, none that was sane at the very least, not even his mother. “I don’t want her”. He said. “Son, you’re going to be thirty next month, don’t you think its time you settled down?”. His dad spoke up at last though his eyes barely left the screen of his phone on which he had been tapping. “You know how I feel about such commitments. I will not start what wont end well”. Nathaniel said. It wouldn’t end well, he was sure of it. “Nathan”. His mother said quietly, her tone almost sad and depressed. Of course he knew her well enough to not be deterred by her mild antics and emotional manipulations. “If you truly want to help her then do so on your own, you’d be helping her even more by not pushing through with this”. He said. “Nathan, if you wont do it for her then at least do it for me, please son”. She insisted. He leaned back into his seat, his striking dark gaze held his mother’s hopeful one for a while before he said: “How exactly does………”. He arched a brow questioningly at her for he hadn’t been paying much attention when her name had been said. “Cat”. She supplied. “Catherine Haydens”. “How does Catherine feel about this?”. He watched his parent exchange quick glances before his mother sighed resignedly. “I don’t know son, but what I do know is that she will do about anything to get herself and her mother out of the situation they’re in at the moment”. She explained. He thought carefully for a while. If she was ready to do anything to get some money that meant she wouldn’t care if he had no time to act like the husband he was supposed to be, he could agree to marry her and everyone would get what they needed, his parents; their peace of mind, Catherine’s family; the financial assistance they so desperately needed, and him……. Perhaps if he returned to work with a matrimonial band on his finger he’d finally have some peace and quiet from both staff and students, their flirtatious advances being the least of his concerns but still. Looking up to face his mother again he nodded once. “As you wish”. ~~ Catherine Haydens never did get along with her parents for several reasons, one being because they pushed her too hard. They gave her little and expected so much from her, as a teenager she had been forced to take on part time jobs to earn enough money to support her parents and also pay for college, they were strict and unsupportive of every decision she made, thus, the young student had drifted from them, emotionally and physically. Their relationship had become strained and it stayed that way until she received a call from her mother saying her father had passed away. Of course Catherine had rushed home, and after the burial and all were over her mother disclosed that they had collected a loan from several banks and loan sharks, what little properties they possessed had been signed as collateral for the debt they owed. The time given to pay the money they owed was fast elapsing and soon enough they’d find themselves not only homeless but in serious trouble with the heartless and brutal loan sharks as well. And when her mother’s one time employer learnt of their unfortunate predicament and offered to help them for the exchange of her agreeing to become her daughter in-law she couldn’t decline, true that she may not have been in good terms with her mother but still she couldn’t abandon her like this, thus she agreed. It had never been her plan to get married at twenty , she had wanted to graduate , get a steady job that’d pay enough to take care of her parents and herself, she had wanted to explore what possibilities life had to offer before she finally settled down, but of course she soon found herself saying some vows, it had seemed like a blur as her husband leaned forward and planted a soft kiss at the side of her lips, it had seemed like a blur when she had been lead into a car with the groom seated inside already, what didn’t seem like a blur however was when he slightly inclined his head to face her. “Catherine, is it?”. He said. His voice sounded deep and commanding, the aura he exuded was too much for the young student to bear, thus, she found herself not only intimidated but scared as well. She had been told a thing or two about him, his name; Nathaniel Houston, his age; Thirty, and the fact that he was a very busy man. It had been bad enough that she had to get married at such a young age, marrying a way older man made it even harder to bear. Catherine being a bookworm and all had read countless books in which older men sinfully dominated younger girls like herself for pleasure……twisted pleasure. She nodded timidly.