Bargain Wedding

Three Months After Two Months

Obasaan knocked on the door and Jona invited her in. "Why are you eating alone?" She asked as she entered with something in her hands and looked at Jona, thinking he and Axel had fought again.

"Sit with me, Obasaan... Please," Jona patted the space on the bed and the old lady sat. "What is this?"

"These came in the mail for Axel," the lady handed two envelopes to Jona, who looked at them by tilting his head and a somewhat tentative smile.

"Thank you for bringing these. How are you? Did you eat? Tell me everything in detail."

The lady shook her head and chuckled. "Old age is my only complaint, son."

"That was not very detailed," Jona raised his brows with faux dejection.

Obasaan stroked his hair. "I have nothing to complain about. I have you as my family, and you take care of your family really well. And I have eaten," she smiled fondly while Jona kept eating slowly. "Can I ask you a question if you don't mind?" She further asked.

"Not at all, Obasaan, please... Ask away." Jona stopped eating and paid attention to her.

"How are things with Axel?" The question was simple, yet the potential answers were not. Jona didn't know how to curate an apprehensive response to a comprehensive question that would satisfy Obasaan.

"I think Axel is really kind," Jona replied after taking a moment and nodding.

"You are smart, Jona. But my strength is my age and the life I have seen through the years. I can see that you two are not really... husband and wife." She hesitated.

Jona smiled at Obasaan's hesitation as he found it cute. He held her chin."You are adorable, Obasaan." He jested as he didn't know what to tell his motherly figure.

The old lady got flustered, turning red in embarrassment.

☘

Axel looked lovely with her round eyes frittering wider in excitement and nervousness. "Phase one is really simple, you start liking someone and you don't know why you like them. The reason could be as simple as you like their smile or the way they think. At this point, you make a folder in your brain and rename it 'special.' You put that person into the special folder, and everything they do tickles you."

Axel thought about what she liked about Jona, and she had many things. From his masculine pulchritude to his bee-stung lips, and his name, everything tickled Axel's insides. He was special. "What's the next phase?" She asked.

Tetsuo turned around to ask the steward for ice cream and continued. "You want to know if that person feels the same way about you and you do things to impress them. You dress up, you want to talk to them, you try not to say anything that would hurt their feelings or you touch them like they are the most delicate thing on the planet."

Axel recollected every time Jona touched her, it was indeed as if she was made of fragile quicksand, and she loved those touches. But what about her? She hardly ever dared to initiate anything, but she did love the warm embrace or sweet kisses. "What's third?"

"Axel, eat," Tetsuo chuckled.

The girl was so curious that her hands had stopped altogether.

"I am eating. You keep talking," she ordered her older cousin with a threatening glare.

Tetsuo shook his head. "It's like teaching a school student a theorem."

"Please Tetsuo-San~" the girl mewled.

"You get into a phase of flirting, you push and pull, tease, play around, and long for each other. You want to see them, you steal glances and this is the most vivid phase. When you are in this phase, you curiously want to get into the next one and what you don't realize is that this phase will never come back."

The steward came back with an ice cream bowl that Tetsuo had him put on the table. "What's next, right?" He asked the obvious and Axel grinned. The older made a face of being so done with the younger. Just as Axel's mouth puckered to speak, Tetsuo continued. "Let me eat, you little s**t!"

Axel pouted in indignation, drawing her brows together in frown. As Tetsuo attacked the food, she took some time to let everything sink in. The things that Tetsuo had mentioned were self-explanatory, but the realization of the obvious was happening right now. She knew she was getting addicted to Jona on a daily. She waited for him to come back like crazy, she wanted to look at him. The only way for her to look at Jona was to steal glances without making it obvious, and she also shied away when Jona looked back.

Tetsuo stuffed a dumpling in Axel's parted mouth and the girl choked a little. "I don't want Jona to think that I didn't feed his little wife."

Axel's glare made Tetsuo guffaw out loud.

"Okay, okay... Hold on to your seat belt, because the next phase aces all others."

Tetsuo held his drink in front of his face and examined the effervescence, hiding his smirk behind.

"Now that we have established our fondness, it is time to delve deep. It's time to express it, to quench that fire burning deep into our souls. Time to become one," Axel looked at her hands and her ears turned red. She dreamed about being with Jona just last night and she didn't know yet how to feel about it. "Here, have some ice cream," Tetsuo slid the bowl towards Axel as if he knew the girl would need it.

Axel shook her head slightly, but Tetsuo persistently held the bowl under her chin. She slowly accepted the bowl from her cousin's hand and had one little scoop. "Once you are one, you should be able to exchange respect, trust, care, and love for each other. You cry when he cries, you dance with joy when he is happy, you take care of him when he is sick, you help him achieve his dreams, and you both dream together. When life gives you a million reasons to abandon each other, you fight them together. This is where your love is completed and your happily ever after awaits."

Axel's eyes formed a thin sheen at the last sentence, but she kept the tears at bay. How she wanted to hate Jona and now she fell in love with him. She now wanted every phase of love with her Jona. "Thanks," She nodded her head slowly while looking down and Tetsuo reached out for her hand.

"Tell him," he soberly said, dropping the tease from his voice after noticing Axel's eyes tearing up.

"I want to... How can I just accept him?"

"Why not?"

"His father and he forced me into this relationship. Am I supposed to forget all that? Isn't this toxic?"

Tetsuo sighed deeply and averted his gaze at the girl. "I am not supporting the reasons for your marriage. But I do know Jona and what kind of man he is. If you truly feel something for him, you shouldn't let it all slide from your hands. He is one in a million, Axel. Besides, that man is loaded."

Axel cackled out through her tears, softly wiping her nose.

"Follow your heart if it tells you that it feels something for him."

"But, I am afraid, brother. I am afraid I will mess it all up. I want to be with him but... I don't know him... I don't know anything except that he is an angel and I am everything but not like him," Axel looked at Tetsuo with her crestfallen face.

"You are afraid, doesn't mean you quit before even trying. Take baby steps, get to know him, go out together, and talk. It's that simple. I know it's hard for you to express your emotions since childhood, but trust me, he is waiting for you to say it." Tetsuo gave a little nudge to Axel's hand with an affirming nod.

"How do you know he is waiting for me?"

"If anyone cannot see the love in his eyes for you, I will personally pay for their treatment of blindness," Tetsuo shrugged and retreated his hand.

Axel sniffled and smiled at the same time at the remark when her phone rang. She immediately beamed, looking at Jona's name flashing on her phone's screen. Tetsuo silently looked at her with a proud smile, recollecting the first thing she said to him on the next day of marriage when he asked her to give Jona a chance. "That's never gonna happen."

"I have to go now, brother. Jona says he has got something. I have to go and see," Axel hurriedly wiped her mouth with a napkin.

Tetsuo stood with her. "Let me see you out."

"It's fine... Please eat." Axel tried, but the man was adamant.

They both walked out of the restaurant and Tetsuo made sure Axel sat safely inside the car. "I will come to visit Jona later," he leaned down to the back passenger window after Axel settled in. She smiled. He pinched her nose and ruffled her hair before standing straight. He saw the window roll halfway up as the car started moving.

But then, Axel rolled the window back down and yelled, "AND BROTHER! I AM NOT A LITTLE HUMAN. YOU ARE!"

The car sped away and Tetsuo poked his tongue into his inner left cheek.

☘

Coco was sitting in a hotel room in Osaka. He had come to stay overnight for business. As he lay down on his bed, he debated if he should talk to Jona to ask him a few things or make a decision on his own. After a lot of self-coaxing, he did dial Jona's number.

"Hello!"

"How are you, Jona?"

"I am better. I just finished eating. Where are you?"

"I am at the hotel, finished early today. How is Axel?" Coco asked.

"She is well and actually went out for lunch with Tetsuo."

Coco stammered at the mention of Tetsuo and also doubted if Axel really was with him. He thought of telling Jona about the night when he picked her up from her friend, Botan's place, but then he remembered that he had promised her that he wouldn't say anything. This was a dilemma. He never hid anything from Jona, but now he had to. Nonetheless, he was determined to find out more about this Botan. "Okay. I actually called to let you know that I have set up a press conference for the hospital inauguration announcement. I still need the date. Could you check Axel's availability as well and let me know?

"She will not be present in any media gathering. I don't want her at the inauguration at all," Jona stated.

Coco was taken aback. They were using Axel's shares for the hospital project after all. "But Jona, these are her shares we are utilizing. Her name and signature are all over the documents. What's the matter?"

"We essentially don't have to expose her to the media. We will use generic terms to describe the situation, so we won't have to face any legal trouble later. Do not mention Axel's name anywhere, even in contracts. It should be a generalized name like Suzuki's. Once the construction starts, I will transfer it all in my name," Jona positively noted.

Coco sighed. "I will see what can be done. I will have to go to the legal and compliance team for the solution."

"Don't fret now. You can talk to them once you are in the office. Legal and compliance teams are in training these days anyway."

"Okay, feel better. I will see you tomorrow."

☘

"Jona, are you in there?" Axel knocked at the bathroom door when she couldn't find him in the room. She wondered where he could have gone, but no one replied to her call.

She turned to Cloudy and crouched down to ruffle his head. "Did you see Jona?" She asked, and the dog shook his head. Axel giggled before she pressed a kiss on the furry ball and stood up. She pushed the bathroom door open to see the empty walls.

"Where did he go and that too, after calling me?" She was frowning when she spotted Jona walking into the room in an amethyst broad-collar shirt with white pants.

Her frown intensified. "Where did you go? You are supposed to be resting." She lurked towards her man and put her hand over his forearm to walk him back to bed.

"I know, I am sorry. I needed to do something urgent. I wouldn't have gone outside otherwise. Have you checked it, yet?" He pointed at the two envelopes on the bed.

Axel shook her head while her eyebrows remained furrowed. When Jona told her that there was something, she assumed that it must have been something from him, but as she recognized the university stamp on the envelopes, she knew what it was. She leaned down to pick up the white envelope first. "It must be the final exam schedule," she sighed and started to open it. "Just what I thought."

"When do they start?" Jona asked as he placed a pillow behind his back and leaned against it.

"In three weeks. I have plenty of time," Axel replied, walking towards him to stuff the pillows for him.

Jona smiled, but the girl was looking straight ahead. She then averted her gaze back to the paper in her hand. "I have pretty much everything covered, I am not worried about the exams."

"Good, so you can afford to rest completely for one week," Jona stated and Axel nodded. "Aren't you going to open that one?" Asked Jona while pointing his eyes toward the other envelope.

Axel reached out to it and hastily opened it. This one was red-colored with black borders and the address was printed in silver font. She had no idea what it could be.

As she tore open the red envelope, her eyes glided through the initial lines before her face beamed. "Jona!" She gasped. "I got an offer from an entertainment agency. They want me to enroll in acting." She chirped as she stopped to extend the news.

Jona proudly smiled at her. "Congratulations, Axel. Go on, read more," he jutted his chin and motioned excitedly, so the girl began to read on and her smile slowly dropped. "What stole Axel's smile? Hm?" Jona gently took the paper from her hand and started to read himself.

Dear Ms. Aoki,

This is on behalf of Green Dot Entertainment Company Pvt. Ltd. In alignment with your university performance, we are glad to announce that you have been finalized as the only candidate from Sophia University, Tokyo, to train with us. The offer is yours to accept if you comply with the below-mentioned terms and conditions.

1. You need to train for acting, action stunts, singing, and dancing. The training batch will begin after two months. We will send an intimation to all the acceptees as the date is finalized.

2. You will have to complete acting training in Las Vegas for three months before you can debut as an actor.

3. During the training/probation period, you will not be allowed to drink.

4. Any kind of public appearance to the media shall not be made and everything about your personal life, including and not limited to dating, s****l preference, etc shall not be disclosed.

5. Once you have debuted, it will be your choice whether you want to keep your private things private or disclose them to the public. The company will completely support you in your decision and will do what is necessary accordingly.

6. You will be provided with accommodation and a pick-and-drop facility from the set. If you want to arrange your own residential space, you will have to find a house in the areas that are attached in Appendix A of this letter.

7. In case you are found to not abide by any of the aforementioned conditions, the contract shall be terminated, and you will have to take complete responsibility for your behavior, as we do not want any bad publicity for the company.

You will have to sign this document and send it back to us in seven days as an acknowledgment. In case of failure to do so, the offer shall be deemed obsolete.

Sincerely

Green Dot Entertainment Company Pvt. Ltd.

Jona sighed and looked back at Axel. "You are not a drinker anyway." He said jokingly, but he knew that leaving Axel for three months would be difficult. He assumed the same thing was bothering her as well.

"It's not that," Axel said slowly and looked away at the gray rug on the floor.

"Are you worried about staying there for three months?" Jona sat straight and bent down to peek at the face of the desolate girl that was hung low. The younger was troubled, to say the very least. Just as she was determined to take her first baby step, the thought of leaving Jona hurled a turbulent tumult inside her stomach and mind. Axel only nodded.

"Don't think much about that. I will arrange for your place and I will have a driver for you if you want. I will also come to meet you every weekend, I promise," Jona smiled and Axel looked up, her lips pressed together into a thin line and tied shut with her teeth. She still didn't say anything. "Okay, how about we forget this for now and watch Avengers : End Game? You still have seven days to decide, and you can talk to mom and dad for advice."

"Mom and Dad won't be of any help. They want me to get into business. They think actors and singers are pretentious. I will become one too, they presume," Axel complained.

"If you really want to do this, and you see a future and a career in this, I say it is a great opportunity. Green Dots... It is an eminent and well-reputed company. I have not heard any hoaxes or controversies about it." Jona informed Axel after curating his words carefully.

"You are right," Axel shook her head and got up with the torn-up envelopes in her hand. She placed them on the nightstand. "I will think about this later. Let's watch a movie now. Do you want to change or shower first? Can I help with that?" She asked and realized it perhaps came out wrong. She suddenly averted her gaze away. "I-I mean I can get your clothes or anything else you would require." She held her right hand's finger with her left while stepping back a little.

"Thanks, Axel. I am proper for now." Jona assured, and got up to take a shower first.