I couldn't sleep a wink last night,
everytime I closed my eyes all i could see and hear was him.
"Will You Marry Me ,Ms.Sapphire?"
That question kept resonating in my mind and no matter how many times I come up with the answer NO, my mind just forces me to think otherwise.
Maybe it's not so bad of a deal and all I would have to do for a life full of food and electricity was give him an heir
But the idea just sounded preposterous,
a child out of love and a child out of contract would be two extremely different cases , I don't even know if I can look after myself let alone a child
But you don't have to ,he will do it for you
The idea of giving birth scares me and it's so weird to think that just yesterday I thought I would never do something like a marriage and today I'm contemplating having a child with a stranger.
Getting up from my bed , my body felt sore all over ,guess that's what happens after a whole night of tossing and turning.
Irritated, annoyed plus emotions all over the place, my mind and body were a complete wreck.
My brain was gonna explode into smithereens any second now.
Even the milk from the milk carton spilled over the bowl , flooding my cereal as well as the table.
Great another thing to clean !
After my breakfast and a very irked cleaning session later ,I received a text from Avery aka best friend/sister.
Avery:
Hey what happened?, I called you yeaterday why didn't you call me back.
Me:
Sorry didn't check my phone ,just had a lot on my mind.
Avery:
It's k , did something happen?
Me:
Nothing really , so why did you call?
Avery:
Ya........ you promised to grab lunch with me, glad to know you completely forgot
.😪
Me:
My bad😣. How can I make it up ?
Avery:
Hmm I like how that sounds , so you can't say no k?
Me:
☹that depends what you ask me to do though but mostly yes👍
Avery:
Let's go to a club tomorrow ?
My work is so hectic and I desperately need to unwind😇
Me:
NO
Avery:
Duuuuude you have to make up for leaving me hanging and just this once please?😊
Me:
You do know how I become when I get drunk, don't you?😒
Avery:
I know but you dont have to drink if you dont want to , pls for me?
Me:
FINE😑
Avery:
Yay!! Oh also try not to look like a homeless psycho😅
Me:
Pls shut up before I change my mind.
Avery:
I was only stating facts. Pick you up at 9 then?
Me:
👍
I hate going to clubs ,
Clubs=Embarrassment
, the last time ended in me getting kicked out of the club for puking all over the bartender
and the one before that, I tried climbing onto a guy thinking he was a horse, the guy was taken by surprise and fell to the ground and I sat on the fallen soldier all while screaming 'giddy up horsie , run like the wind' .
Embarrassing times never leave my side.
But Avery somehow talked me into it, I felt guilty which led me to say ok to plan.
Now to the task at hand
Research about the stranger.
I googled Carter and co and I failed to find anything relevant except his name and qualifications but one little fact surprised me,
He wasn't a man born with a silver spoon but was someone who built the whole billon dollar empire on his own, from the ground up.
I just assumed ,he got it from his dad and
the arrogance probably emerged from getting his way all the time.
Apparently, I was way off.
That made me see him in a different light, working under him would be the most prestigious opportunity but alas ,I need to marry this guy for the job.
I felt a little prodding start in my head again.
Not again!!!!
I tried my best not to think about the marriage, deciding I'll tell him no immediately ,which would result in alot less headaching but just then there was a knock on the door.
Who would come at noon and I rarely had visitors over except Avery.
*knock
*knock
I opened the door only to see Mrs.Johnson standing before me trying her best to plaster a smile on her face but I could easily see she felt otherwise.
"Ivy, you're rent is due way over two weeks, I take it you were quite busy and the matter might have slipped you're mind but you see I have to make my living too dear, so if you could just pay right now?"
Right Rent!
Definitely slipped my mind but the bigger problem is, I do not have a single penny in my worn out pocket
"I'm sorry, Mrs.Johnson please just give me time till Tuesday, I promise you can kick me out after that if I fail to pay"
"Excuses dear, I don't like those but this is the last time i will be considering it" she said her face looking sour which made her look more older than she actually was.
She left without another word and I heaved a sigh of relief having bought a few days time or I would have been on the road by now.
Wait how would I pay by Tuesday?!?!
I had no source of money and no job.
Unless, you could just say yes
Noooooo
I can't throw myself to some guy but did I have another choice?
For the rest of the day I just lazed around in my bed trying to catch the sleep ,I missed last night but sleep seemed anywhere but near and just to make matters worse the fan stopped spinning , I walked myself to the switch board and tried turning it on but it wouldn't work.
Noòoooo
Please not this
Not Now
I tried all the other switchs but none of the lights turned on.
Just when you think it can't get any worse , it definitely does
I now had no electricity and being on the verge of getting kicked out made my head hurt a hundred times more.
I'm gonna die
I'm gonna die
I probably will die in the streets while noone even bothers to drop a penny to an ugly beggar like me!!!
No choice
No choice
I have to say yes or my future looks as dark as the night outside . It was already night and I was cold and hungry with only a few pieces of bread remaining.
Fishing out his card from my purse , I take a torch and squinted at the tiny digits and saved them into my phone.
Now to call him.
Just press the button ,you can do it
Press it
Tap it
Just a slight tap
My heart was beating faster than it ever did in almost five years and the last time was when I ran a marathon which Avery pulled me into against my will.
Taking a deep breath I tapped the button lightly and closed my eyes shut.
But it didn't ring , opening my eyes I realized I tapped a little too lightly.
This time taking a deep breath , I pressed the button with a good amount of force.
*ring
Don't pick up , don't pick up
*ring
Don't , don't ,don't
"Hello"
His voice sounded deeper like dark chocolate ice cream, dark and cold.
If I thought my heart was beating fast before, right now it reached a whole new octave and I could hear each beat in my ears.
I wonder if he can hear it too..
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mr.Carter , It's Ivy"
"Ivy...? ..Miss.Sapphire"
Him saying my name sent a new wave of tingles all over my body.
"I see , you have decided already then?"
"Umm... ya... I ..I....I...It's a y.yes"
I barely managed to say it.
"I'm happy to hear it's an affirmative "
"
well...ah... I ..."
"Yes, you?"
"I have a favor to ask you , I was wondering if you could transfer two thousand dollars to my account..."
"You do know that once I do ,the deal is sealed and you cannot back out?"
"......y..yes.."
"Alright, It'll be done in two minutes"
"Wait, you know my bank account number??"
"Of course ,I do Miss.Sapphire, you don't suppose I wouldn't do a background check on my future wife?"
He said it with so much certainity like he knew I would say yes all along.
Wife.. surely sounded good when he said it
"Oh, I suppose"
" I will send the contract to your mail and you may let me know if you wish to change any clauses"
"What contract?!"
"Marriage contract , don't tell me you thought I would marry you without proper evidence stating that you have agreed to the contract with your own will"
"Rig...gghhhtt,umm .. I will be sure to check then"
"Alright Miss.Sapphire, Goodnight"
"Bye Mr.Carter"
As promised I received the money in less than two minutes ,I paid my electricity bill via the internet and in no time my room was well lit again.
Oh how I have missed my bright bulbs!!
*Ping
A new mail
I clicked the pop up notification which led me to the email titled 'contract' , I pressed on it and it opened a folder of almost 30 pages.
What have i gotten myself into?!?!
I scanned the contents slowly.
This agreement is made on the date 27th of March 2019 between Ivy Sapphire (the bride) and leonal Carter (the groom)
.....
I swiped turning the pages and jumping directly to the different clauses.
Clause 2 :section (b) caught my eye,
(i)
The wife must stay loyal to the husband physically and must not engage in sexual relations with outside parties
(ii)
The husband may choose to stay loyal at his own discretion and it will not be held against him.
what the actual hell?
Why doesn't that apply to him??
Am i supposed to stay all wife like and he gets to enjoy his days in the arms of other woman?!?
This was soo going to change.
Then the next clause also wasn't very appealing.
Clause 3: section (b)
(i) The wife will be charged a million dollars during the breach of contract and will be paying an interest rate of 15% at non payment every month.
Wow just great , what was I supposed to do sell my kidneys?
The other clauses weren't very interesting so i skipped to the next page.
Clause 6: Section (a)
(i) The wife may also resort to artificial insemination incase of not wanting to engage into physical relations with the husband.
(ii)During pregnancy the wife will not be working professionally and will reside at the home of the husband.
Ewww, I so do not want a doctor down there
Clause 7: Section (e)
(i)The wife must cooperate and accompany the husband at all events at his demand . The wife must accept appropriate gestures such as kissing, holding hands etc , if the husband deems it to be required.
I feel like a puppet at the hands of a monster , so stupid and so vulnerable.
Clause 10: section(a)
(i) During the course of the contract the wife must not develop any sort of romantic feelings for the other party so as to not complicate the relationship.
Suurreee like that would ever happen
Probably the easiest clause of all
Clause 11: section (a)
(i)The confidentiality of the contract must be maintained by both the parties even in different circumstancial situations.
Yup like I'd wanna parade across the city announcing our beautiful betrothal.
The last clause
Clause 12: section (d)
(i)After the end of the twelve months , divorce will take place immediately and the custody of the child will be written over to the husband.
(ii)If the wife is still pregnant at the end of twelve months , the contract may be extended to another four months.
It was too much to take in so I just switched off my phone and threw it on the bed or so I thought I did , after a series of summersaults it ended up on the floor, on the other side of the bed.
Completely mentally worn out ,I snuck under my blanket hoping it would shield me from all the problems in the world.
"Miss.Sapphire are you there?"
WHAT THE HECK ?!!!?
Author's Note
I'm hoping this chapter was interesting and enjoyable.
I honestly tried my best but there's always room for improvement and I'll work harder next time.;)