DEVIL'S BARGAIN

CHAPTER 3:TheAgreement

Vienna felt restless the whole day, she didn’t even have the right frame of mind to practice her music, something that had most times brought her joy and had been her mechanism to unwind. She sat on the couch with Kiara in their shared apartment thinking.

Damian’s offer echoed in her mind. Marry him for a year, and she would no longer be saddled with debt. She could also ride the waves of his status and popularity and establish herself in this city. He was right. She had more to benefit from this marriage than he did. He couldn’t benefit anything from her, at least not from her current life.

She was no longer Sofia Garcia, heiress to her parents' Fashion Empire. She had left that behind when she moved away from Vienna with the mind to discover and build something for herself. Now she was just a nobody in this place.

But then again, she wasn’t opportunistic, she didn’t feel it right to use him like that. She knew that she could call her parents for help, but that would mean abandoning the path she was trying to carve for herself here in Zurich and returning home to be her parent's little puppet. She didn’t want that at all.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, and she sighed, for the umpteenth time, her hands propped on her chin. She grabbed her phone, staring at it. Contemplating reaching out to her parents, but that was like she was admitting defeat, which she never did. Marriage to Damien is like going into the unknown with no clear description of where she’s heading. She was stuck in a dilemma. Neither of her options looked promising.

“ What are you going to do now?” Kiara said, bringing her into her embrace.

Vienna whined. “I don’t know. I feel so conflicted. My options do not look too good.”

“You know, sometimes we have to make hard decisions. Sometimes all we have to do is take a leap of faith, not overthink things.” Kiara said,“ There might be hidden blessings attached to that risk taken. Should it fail, we learn from our mistakes and grow stronger.”

Vienna nodded, feeling suddenly clear-headed,“ Thanks Kiara, I needed this advice…I think I’ve made my decision.”

“ I am going to marry him,” she said more resolutely.

Kiara’s widened “ That’s a huge step, bae, are you sure about it?” she asked.

Vienna exhaled“ I know, but I think it is the best option I have, and I also believe that this might be a stepping stone for me.” She replied.

“ Okay, if you’ve made your choice, then I’m going to support you in it,” Kiara said.

“Thanks, Ki,” Vienna said, hugging her once more.

With her decision made, Vienna felt strengthened. She went about her day as usual. She taught the music class she usually held for kids and teenagers at the local gym by 4. After that, she went to the store to get groceries and foodstuffs for dinner.

The next day, she woke up at exactly 6 am, did her morning yoga, and prepared to meet up with her appointment. She was dressed in a simple peach gown with black pumps, she had on black pumps and an elegant two-piece necklace.

She headed to Salvatore’s den and had just gotten to his office door when the clock struck 8 a.m. She put on a full confident smile and raised her hand to knock.

“ Come in, please”, She heard Damian say in his deep, commanding voice.

She put on a full confident smile on her face as she stepped into the room, nerves buzzing in her stomach.

“ Right on time, Ms. Stewart, I was beginning to think you weren’t going to knock.” Damian teased her. “ Please have a seat, let’s get down to business.”

“Ms. Stewart, I want to believe that you are here because you’ve made your decision,” Damian said.

She nodded, picking at her necklace pendant. “ Yes, I have made my decision,“ she said.

Damian nodded, looking at her expectantly. She swallowed,“ Yes, I will marry you, but only for a year, “ she said and then peeked at him from under her lashes for a few seconds. She saw the corner of his lips lift in a ghost of a smile before he masked it with his usual expression of indifference.

“Good,” he said,“ In that case, let’s discuss the terms of our marriage. “

“ I would give you the courtesy of listing whatever terms you would like me to respect in this marriage. I assume you have those?” Damian said.

Vienna nodded “ Yes I do, I’ll go ahead and write them down if you don’t mind. Can I have a paper pad and a pen?” She asked.

“ Sure, you can write them down, here,” he said, handing her a paper pad and a pen.

On the paper, Vienna wrote

“ No restricting my movement, I have to attend classes and I have to teach my music class. You also can't stop me from meeting with my friends or restricting my relationship with someone.

You have to let me know of every engagement I have to show up with you a few days prior to the engagement. I can’t have the media following me around. I would love to keep my life private and away from it.

When she was done she handed the paper over to Damian. He glanced through it and gave her a copy of the contract draft. “ This draft outlines our arrangement, marriage for a year in exchange for your debt being cleared, and I’ll be sure to add your terms once we’ve concluded before you should go through the draft. “

Vienna scanned the document. It said that she would have to live with him, which she was fine with, she would have to attend events as his wife, and they would have to stay in the same room too. It also said that she would be given a monthly allowance of 500,000 Euros. It was a generous amount. But one clause caught her eye.

“ This requirement says we have to consummate the marriage? “ She asked.

Damian cleared his throat. “ Yes, that is to prove the validity of our marriage in the eyes of certain people.” He said “ I would also like to add the clause of a date night once a week to build intimacy. If we spend time with each other, people would not doubt the validity of our marriage. “

“ I can have a date night, but I’m not so sure of consummating the marriage,” Vienna said hesitantly.

Damian looked at her with a heated gaze. “ I understand you have reservations about that, but we could move at your pace however but this is a business arrangement and our farce would be exposed if I am discovered to be having an affair while married to you.” He said.

“ Alright, I agree, but it has to be at my pace.” She said after a period of silence.

“As for your terms, they seem feasible, and I would abide by them so far as they don’t jeopardize our contract,” Damian said. “ I would have my lawyer send the revised contract to you, and then we can sign the marriage contract and certificate by Monday.”

“I believe the remainder of the week is enough for you to put yourself in order while I and my lawyer begin the process of registering our marriage.

“Alright, Mr. Salvatore”

Vienna left the club feeling uncertain about what the future holds but with a hope that it would turn out right.