Contract And Marriage

Sarina

“Love, I need to go to the office,” said Maximus. It’s Monday morning, and we are currently having breakfast. I was the one who prepared because Lisa was not around. She said she had something important to attend to for her son. It’s okay because I know how to do housework.

“Okay,” was my short reply as I continued eating.

“Are you still angry about what happened a week ago?”

“I have no right to be angry.”

“Love, I have already explained.”

“I’m just saying, since you paid me, you can do whatever you want. Our contract is over just after one year,” I replied before I ate the last spoonful of my rice. Then I drank water.

I ate for a long time because I would feed my husband after I ate mine. There is no problem. I understand his situation and am not a bad person to just leave him alone. So even though I’ve been annoyed with him for a week now and can’t stand him, I can’t let him do things by himself either.

“Don’t remind me about our contract repeatedly. I didn’t force you. After I made an offer to you and you rejected it, I didn’t insist on it anymore.” I can feel the anger in his tone. Maybe I was wrong to show him that. I benefited another way because we did pay what my father owed, and there was still some left over.

“I’m just saying,” I said. “What time do we leave?”

“Just after lunch. I’m meeting someone, and then we’ll go straight to the hospital.” He said it well, so I shrugged my shoulders and continued feeding him. I don’t know why he has the energy to eat now when we only have eggs. It’s not like when Lisa prepares when there are really many options.

Around 11 a. m., we left and ate outside. I was going to cook, but he stopped me and invited me to eat at a restaurant near his company so that we could go straight there afterward. I don’t have a problem with that; at least I don’t have to cook, and I don’t even know what I’m going to cook, either.

He can stand, but I still help him in his wheelchair, which is what his therapist instructed him to do so as not to stress his legs and knees. Just a little more, and he will be able to walk again.

We are already at the restaurant and are sitting while waiting for our order. Maximus and I talk casually, and I enjoy it. He tells me things about him, which helps me because I still get to know him very well. We were sitting in a corner because Maximus didn’t want people to see him; maybe he was ashamed of his condition, especially if sexy women saw him or the former women who passed through his hands.

“Love, what if we leave the country after my eye surgery?”

“I don’t have a passport,” I answered quickly, as I didn’t want him to expect anything from me. It’s enough that we’re like this. As much as possible, I don’t want to know some things about him because I might just miss him when we break up. I avoided falling in love with him, knowing I would be the only one who would end up miserable. So I don’t want to make any memories with him that will happen when we leave the country.

“It’s still a long time; you can still get it. Above all, it’s easy to get a passport,” he also said.

“I don’t want to leave the country.”

“Why?”

“I’m afraid of getting in the airplanes.” I just made excuses rather than telling the truth.

“Have you ever been on a plane?”

“Not yet.”

“How did you get scared when you haven’t experienced riding yet?”

“Do I have to die first before I get afraid to die?” I sounded like a jerk, but leave it at that. “It’s okay that we are like this, Maximus. Let’s not leave or go somewhere like we were a normal couple.”

“While married, let’s do what married couples normally do. Besides, when are you going to call me Love, too?”

I took a deep breath because that endearment is what I don’t want to hear the most. Yes, my ex also calls me that way. We call each other by that endearment. But what happened? We also broke up because of another woman.

“I don’t want endearment Maximus. If you want to call me that, it’s up to you. But please, don’t force me.”

He didn’t say a word. I remembered he included that in our contract, and fortunately, he kept quiet. We started eating when our orders arrived. Just like this morning, he was also eating with gusto. What the hell is going on with this one?

As I ate and fed him, I couldn’t help but frown. It’s like there’s something different about him, I don’t know. He seemed happy, which I couldn’t understand. “Why do you seem happy?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Huh? How happy?”

“I don’t know; you seem in a good mood. Did something happen?”

“I’m with you; I’m imagining we’re dating.”

“Date? We’re just having lunch, Maximus.”

“It’s also a date. We’re at a restaurant having lunch”

“Correction, I’m the only one giving you a bite,”

“Don’t worry; after my surgery, I will be the one who will feed you.” I rolled my eyes because of what he said, but I thought it was crazy, so I just ignored it.

“Yeah, right…”

“You sounded like you don’t believe me. Have you been deceived all your life by the people you met?” he asked, making me stare at him. I couldn’t answer because it was as if he had sprinkled salt on my wound. I know he doesn’t know anything about that. Still, because I remembered an incident that I would like to forget, I felt disgusted with it. “You didn’t answer, don’t tell me”

“Just eat and don’t mind me. Whatever happened in my past is mine alone.” He didn’t say a word and just stared at me. I chuckle when I think of his appearance because the way he looks at me makes me think he could see me.

“Ah” he said, opening his mouth and waiting for me to feed him. I decided to let him eat to shut his mouth.

The food is delicious, and I’m glad that one of the perks of becoming Mrs. Lardizabal is that I can eat at any expensive restaurant, just like now. Maximus even gave me a supplementary credit card so that if I wanted to buy something, I could do so. I don’t need that because he still pays me as his nurse.

We were almost done and having dessert when his cell phone rang. I took it to answer before handing it to him. I didn’t know, but I suddenly got nervous when I saw his grandmother’s name.

“Grandma,” he said while looking at her.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“And what did she say?” he asked. “I am already married; there is nothing you can do about it.” I could see his concern, and I’m sure that the old woman’s words were not good. I was suddenly nervous. My mother is still a fan of TV series, and I know very well how a rich man’s mother or grandmother insults the poor female lead. Should I get ready for her? “When are you coming back?”

I stopped eating the chocolate cheesecake when I heard that because I was nervous, “The day after tomorrow?” he asked. Shit!