Marrying A Snapping Turtle

Contract

On the other side of town, Kensley was lounging on a black leather sofa with his long legs spread, sipping a cup of freshly squeezed fruit juice.

Harry and the two Jacques brothers reclined on the sofas around him.

“Are you positive you want to get married?” John asked for the tenth time.

Kensley nodded.

Harry, who had just arrived, gave his brother a double thumbs up. “Thank you for your sacrifice, my brother! I owe you for life.”

Jason cast Harry a dirty look. “Watch it! She’s still our sister.”

Harry raised his hands in surrender and remarked in a subdued voice, “Sorry! That came out wrong but we all know Ida is so headstrong. Any man who marries her will get chopped down to her eye level if not shorter…”

Jason choked on his drink.

Ida’s height was a running joke between the men. Each stood above six feet; towering over Ida was an understatement. While Harry and Kensley haven’t seen her over the years, they hear about Ida from her brothers. What she lacked in height she made up with sass. To outsiders she was demure, but behind closed doors, she was as explosive as a firecracker.

The three men bantered lively while Kensely watched idly.

Kensley was quiet by nature and rarely offered more than a few words in conversation. The only times he was truly willing to talk was with Ida.

His eyes curled into crescents as he thought back to her blushing face.

‘My adorable little puppy. I’ll take you home soon.’

His phone hummed with an incoming text. Kensley glanced down and he sat up unlocking his phone to read the text. His movements did not evade the others' detection. They clambered over to read over his shoulder.

“Who are you texting?” Jason murmured.

Kensley held his phone to his chest and glared at the three curious men hanging off his shoulder. “It’s none of your business.”

He stood, shaking free from the three clingy men, and walked to his room.

“See yourselves out,” he spoke over his shoulder before slamming his bedroom door. The ruckus in the living room was immediately shut out, plunging Kensley into complete silence. Kensley had specifically soundproofed the master bedroom for his future wife. He was a jealous man and didn’t want anyone to hear his wife’s sultry voice when they embraced.

He looked down at his cell and reread the message.

Let’s meet on Friday and sign the contract.

Kensley scrolled down his contacts, found the lawyer on his payroll, and called to instruct him to draft an agreement with specific terms.

“Are you sure you want—”

“Yes. Write it exactly as I say,” Kensley interjected.

His lawyer didn’t bother advising Kensley and took notes as Kensley continued. His lawyer trusted that Kensley knew what he was doing; although the conditions were ludicrous, they must serve a deeper purpose. After all, Kensley is a shrewd man.

Kensley studied law back in college and even passed the bar exam but he didn’t do anything with it and instead went into acting. With his looks, skills, and old money backing him, success was effortless.

After he had hashed out the details, Kensley hung up on the call and rubbed his chin. His little puppy was sharp as always; a verbal contract wasn’t binding and she needed to ensure there was an exit clause to this union. If he wanted to capture her, he had to lull her into a false sense of security. After all, there is no escape; he’ll make sure of that.

***

Come Friday, Ida hurried to Kensley’s villa on the outskirts of town. To escape the scrutiny of her family, she mentioned that she wanted to take a breather and find inspiration for her art. At first, Charles held onto her hands, his old eyes becoming large and brimmed with tears and distrust and only let her go after she swore on her grandmother’s grave that she would not run away. The old man and her parents stood at the front of the house until her car was out of sight.

Ida sighed heavily.

‘Am I someone that can’t be trusted?!’

She thought for a second and then nodded decisively. Yes…without a doubt, she was untrustworthy. Given her history of escaping, her grandfather and parents had every right to be terrified of her fleeing before the marriage. If the terms Kensley drafted in the agreement were questionable, she was ready to take off with just the clothes on her back. They could seal the ports and ban her at the airports but they would never be able to trap her.

Ida pursed her lips and continued driving in silence until the scenery changed before her. For a while she was lost in her thoughts and had tunnel visioned on the road but when the lush scenery bloomed into a cascade of pink, did she slow down to marvel at the canopy above her. Cherry blossoms rained down onto the windshield of her car, carried by the spring wind. She rolled down her windows and inhaled the light floral scent.

She drove a mile on the private road that led up to Kensley’s villa and couldn’t help but gape at the dreamy scenery. For once, she was glad she arrived early and took a few minutes to look around her after she had parked in front of the villa. A butler opened the double doors but waited patiently as he saw the look of awe on Ida’s face as she looked at the expansive grounds.

Ida finally walked up the stone steps and nodded to the butler politely.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” The butler remarked.

Ida nodded again and followed behind the older man as he led her into the parlor.

“The master designed this whole place himself over fifteen years ago. Before Mr. James Hendrick’s passing, he willed this place to the master and the master took it upon himself to redo the whole landscape. There’s a touching story behind the private road you took to get here.”

Ida smiled politely, waiting for the butler to continue but he left off on a cliffhanger and opened the glass doors leading into a sunny parlor.

“May I serve you some tea or water?”

Ida shook her head. “No thank you. I don’t intend to stay for long.”

“Very well then. The master will be with you shortly.”

With that, the butler bowed and dismissed himself leaving Ida alone in the large room. Ida eyed the three-tier tray laden with finger sandwiches and various mouth-watering pastries. She pursed her lips, regretting declining the offer for tea, and decided to look out the window to avoid temptation.

Ida didn’t have to wait long before the doors opened again and Kensley walked in wearing a chestnut flannel vest and suit pants. His body language exuded confidence and Ida had to grasp her two hands tightly to avoid digging into her purse for a notepad to sketch him.

Ida felt disgusted with her weak will.

Kensley frowned when he saw the empty spot in front of Ida on the coffee table. “Did Seb not offer you tea?”

Ida caught the gleam in Kensley’s eyes and hurried to the butler’s defense. “Oh! I told him I didn’t want anything. I am just here to look at the contract and won’t be staying for tea.”

Ida could make out a shadow of a muscle twitch on Kensley’s face before it smoothed to a perfect calm.

He placed a copy of the file on the table before sitting across from her.

“Take a look at the terms. If they are agreeable I can have it notarized right now.”

He nodded towards the entrance of the room and Ida looked over to see a bespeckled man smiling at her, probably the notary.

Ida couldn’t help but smile. She appreciated Kensley’s thoughtfulness and flipped through the agreement. As she read her brows furrowed and she took a pen out to tick various paragraphs. Meanwhile, the butler returned and poured a cup of tea for Kensley. By the time she finished, she looked up at Kensley with concern.

“Are you sound of mind?” she asked tentatively.

“I am,” he replied, sipping his tea.

“Did you read this document?”

“I did.”

Ida felt frustrated and just got to the point. “You ought to fire your lawyer. These terms are too one-sided. Look at this! When we divorce, all of my assets both premarital and joint will belong to me AND half of yours will go to me.”

Ida looked up expecting to see Kensley enraged but he just hummed and took a cookie from the tray.

Ida opened her eyes wide but when he said nothing she went back to the agreement and jabbed at another section with a red face.

“And here!! It says that if we have a child, I would have the final say on custody and would not have to pay child support in the event that I leave the child with you.”

Ida looked up again and was greeted with the same calm face, except for a crumb on his lip which wiggled every time he chewed.

Ida’s eyes fixated on the aggravating particle and when she couldn’t take it anymore she leaned over the table and moved to brush it off.

Unfortunately, she misjudged the distance and her arms came short, a few inches from his face.

Kensley’s eyes flicked between her outstretched hand and her eyes; he blinked, confusion written across his face.

“I’m sorry, did you want that cookie?” He looked at the tray, took another one, and held it in front of her frozen fingers.

“Here.” He gently tapped the cookie on her fingertip twice in a bid for her to hold it.

Ida, a virgin to sexy men, could only let out a short self-deprecating laugh and take the cookie. She tried to ignore it but her eyes were drawn in by the asymmetrical bit next to his lips.

That annoying little morsel.

Ida clenched her hands and chewed on the cookie, willing for the crumb to fall off but it was a survivor, clinging to Kensley’s sexy face.

‘Sexy my ass! Get yourself together woman! Mind on the matter!’ Ida berated herself.

Clearing her throat and forcing her attention back to the contract she spoke candidly, “The terms are favorable to me but I can’t help but feel guilty if I sign this. I don’t think it would hold up in court.”

Kensley blinked lazily. “I can assure you it is legally binding. As for guilt, you have no need for that. Our families have been friends for ages and I cannot, in good conscience, let you suffer post-divorce.”

Ida gritted her teeth. ‘Family! It’s always our damn families. I thought he maybe liked me but… it’s only because I am a Jacques.’

Without further hesitation, Ida flipped to the last page, signed her name, and tossed the contract to Kensley for signature.

Kensley signed his name and motioned for the notary who hurried forward and started notarizing the document and when he was finished, left.

Ida stood up and Kensley, as a gentleman, followed suit.

“Since this concludes our business, I’m going home.”

Kensley smiled, the crumb twitched but clung on. “Let me see you out.”

Ida, finally at the end of her rope, took two steps and reached to brush off the crumb.

Her eyes gleamed triumphantly as her fingers neared their goal but Kensley was faster.

Chomp