Love Contract

Chapter 30 Fall In Love With You

Mary didn't sleep very deeply. She felt buoyant, like a small boat floating in the sea. The swells moved her body up and down, and there was a lovely sun warming her. Eyes closed, she tried to hold on to that warm place, feeling extremely comfortable.

"Wake up, Mary." It was William's voice. She really didn't want to be up.

"Get up! If you don't get up, I might decide not to pay you," William said in a very strict voice.

Pay me? Oh no!

Although Mary's mind was still on, she suddenly stood up and howled, "Don't do that! I need that to live on."

"Ha ha." Standing in front of the bed, William smiled. He knew how to push her buttons. "If you eat the noodles I made, then I might not withhold the money."

"Hmm?" It was not until she rubbed her eyes that she saw everything clearly.

William was wearing an apron, but how could he smile like that? Bitch! She looked beyond him, and saw that it was already morning! "Oh my God! What time is it now?" Mary stood up and asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth at light speed.

"It's seven o'clock already."

"Seven o'clock in the morning?" Mary asked with her eyes wide open. William nodded. "Why...why didn't you wake me up last night?"

"You looked so peaceful," William said, mockingly. Mary grabbed her hair, trying to recall what happened last night. "I remember I was in the car. Then..."

"Cut the crap. Go brush your teeth and get some breakfast." Then William walked out in slippers.

"You... You're wearing the apron? Tell me what happened," Mary asked as she was chasing after him.

"Nuh uh. Breakfast first!" William glared at her and walked into the kitchen.

Pursing her lips, Mary dashed into the bathroom and noticed that she was still wearing the clothes she wore yesterday.

Oh my God... So William carried her upstairs? Mary frowned as the memory came to her, brushing her teeth and washing her face in a hurry. Then she ran down to the living room as fast as she could.

In the living room, William placed a bowl of noodles on the table. When he heard the sound of Mary coming in, he turned and gave a fresh, clean smile to her. It was like the spring wind.

He looked like a good husband dutifully waiting for his wife.

Unfortunately, that was not who he was at all.

"You... Did you carry me upstairs yesterday?" She didn't like the idea, but she had to ask.

"Yeah."

"Thank you anyway." Mary wasn't sure whether she should be shy or upset. She chose the latter.

"Come and have some noodles."

"You made this?" Mary sat down with a frown. Those noodles didn't look appetizing at all.

"Yeah. Happy birthday, Mary," William sat down and said.

All of a sudden, Mary raised her head and stared at him. She was surprised he would remember her birthday and cook noodles for her. She felt a little bit sour in her nose and tears welled up in her eyes. Mary wanted to cry.

"How...How did you know?"

"Easy, I'm smart. I know everything." A smile appeared at the corners of William's mouth. Although he was talking nonsense, he looked so childish. "Eat quickly. You'll live a long time if you eat it."

"Wi..." Mary choked with sobs and suppressed the emotions surging through her heart. "Thank you, boss... But you don't have to do this kind of thing for me."

"It's what I owe you."

"Seriously, you don't have to do this. Everything I do is what I should do. I should be paying you back."

"Cut the crap!" William was a little impatient. Why was she acting so weird? Shouldn't she be moved to tears when she saw he was so good to her?

"Boss..."

"Stop calling me that!" All of a sudden, William threw his chopsticks, which startled Mary. "What's wrong with you, Mary? It's too early to piss me off, and you've done a great job of it!"

"I..." Biting her lips, Mary stood and said, "It's getting late. I need to go to work."

Then she pulled out the chair in a hurry and was about to run out.

"Stop!" William shouted at her, but Mary didn't listen to him at all. She just wanted to go out.

"Mary!" William was so angry that he stood up in a hurry and grabbed Mary's arm. "What's the matter?" "No... Nothing..." Mary lowered her head and said in a quiet voice.

"Really? Really?" William laughed and said angrily, "You've been too full of yourself recently! Why were you avoiding me? Why?"

"I wasn't..." She struggled for an answer, but it didn't work.

"You don't want to get in my car. You don't want to be too close to me. And you don't want to talk to me! You won't even taste the noodles I cooked for you!" William clenched Mary's slender arm more tightly and said, "Say it! What the hell do you want?"

"I... Nothing," said Mary, shaking her head. "I don't want anything."

"Is it another guy?" William was shouting. Like he usually did when he was upset. He felt like thousands of cat's claws were scratching the walls of his heart. "Am I right? You're having an affair. I got up early this morning to make noodles for you and celebrate your birthday. You know I'm busy, right?"

"What... What are you doing?" Listening to his bullshit, Mary raised her head and scolded him angrily. "Look, there's no guy, no affair, nothing!

Let go of me!" "No? Then why were you avoiding me? Answer me!"

"Because! This is pointless. I'm going to be late. "Tell me, or—" And with that, William turned her around and made her face him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Or you won't be able to leave!"

"You want to know? Fine! Because I don't want to fall in love with you when you don't love me!"

Her words were sonorous and powerful. Hearing that, William's hand that was holding her suddenly loosened. After a long while, he said in a daze, "Ha ha, funny joke! Tell me you're kidding."

"I'm not kidding. It's no joke." Mary lowered her shoulder and said in a powerless voice, "William, why did you kiss me when we were taking the wedding photos that day?"

"Because..." William didn't expect her to ask him such a question. He didn't know why he kissed her. It was just an urge that came over him. One that he couldn't resist.

"I thought so," said Mary with a self-mocking smile. "Don't tick me off again. Don't get too close to me. And don't be too kind to me... Or, I'll fall in love with you!"

"Mary, are you crazy?" William's face darkened. "Have you forgotten the contract? You're crazy!"

"Yeah. Maybe I am!" Mary raised her head, trying to hold her tears back. "So I have to avoid you! Can you just let me go back to where I was before?"

"Okay! Good! Go fuck off back to where you came from!" William roared, kicking away the chair in front of him. He strode forward and left without looking back.

The door slammed shut loudly, and it almost seemed the whole building trembled when he shut it.

All of a sudden, all her strength seemed to have been taken away. Mary knelt down and burst into tears.

'Damn it! Why did life have to be so hard! Why did I sign this damned contract? Why do I have to fall in love with you?'

Tears streaming down her face, Mary fumbled for a chair and sat down.

The noodles on the table were already cold and looked ugly.

However, she picked up the chopsticks on the table and put a mouthful of noodles into her mouth while she cried.

'God these are bad, William. Some are burnt, some aren't even cooked. And the salt...ugh! What were you thinking?'

Smiling through her pain, Mary wiped her tears and gulped down the noodles. Eating them that way didn't make them taste any better.

She looked at the door that William had slammed shut behind him, wondering what was going through his mind. William was behind the wheel, and felt better as the engine screamed to life. He was more and more confused about himself. Why did he leave and why was he so angry? Running away? No, it wasn't that! He sped up to one hundred and twenty km/hr and drove all the way. He could only vent the shock in his heart like this.

'What did Mary say? Did she say she'd fallen for me?' He felt bad. 'Damn it! How could she fall in love with me?' This complicated everything. 'What a stupid woman! You couldn't fall in love with her, and you won't fall in love with her!'

Beep!

A second before eight o'clock, Mary rushed to the lobby and clocked in. "Lucky I'm not late. Otherwise I would lose my full-attendance bonus."

Mary lowered her head all the way and tried not to greet anyone, fearing her red, swollen eyes would give her away.

The elevator stopped quietly on the 32nd floor. Mary took a deep breath, paused a few seconds, and stepped out.

"Mary!"

As soon as Mary stepped out, she was startled. A young girl with a ponytail suddenly came out and greeted her.

"You... Who are you?" asked Mary. "I'm Kevin's assistant. My name is Jane Song. Nice to meet you, Mary."

"Oh," said Mary with a smile, "Hello, how are you? You like working here?"

"It's not bad," Jane suddenly leaned close to Mary's face. "It's just that the CEO is a little harsh. When he came in just now, he acted like he was going to kill someone. It kinda freaked me out..."

When she heard this, Mary looked up at the CEO's office. William was going over some documents, with no expression on his face.

"That's how he is. Just get used to it." Mary looked away and asked, "Where's Kevin?"

"Oh, he went to inspect the construction site."

"Okay, you should get back to work. Fighting." Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"Okay." Jane smiled sweetly and asked, "By the way, do you often work overtime?"

"Sometimes. What's wrong?"

"Oh, your eyes are swollen," Jane said innocently. "Women should be good to themselves. You can't stay up late every night."

"Ha ha," Mary was amused by her words. "You seem to know what you're talking about."

"Haha, I did it all the time in school." "Well, thank you, Jane."

Sitting at her desk and watching Jane Song printing a document, jumping up and down, Mary sighed that it was good to be young. When she was young, she feared nothing. Unlike nowadays. Life had left her overcautious and she worried a lot.

How could she be so brave back then?

For the whole morning, Mary focused on her work. If there was any document, she asked Jane Song to hand it to William, who had never left his office.

The two of them knew everything was over since this morning.

Mary gave herself a self-mocking smile, 'Well, it's over before it's begun.'