Chapter 3. The Agreement

Minutes later, they arrived at Dim Sum Palace and booked a VIP room to talk privately.

“Okay, that’s it!” said Keira after she ordered a lot of food from the menu. “What about you?” she asked Ben, who was busy with his cell phone.

Ben shook his head. “No,” he answered shortly without looking up at her. She sneered, then smiled at the waiter. “Just give him some Chinese tea. Thank you,” she said, half-whispering. “So, are we going to talk or what?” said Keira. She was pretty excited that she would soon be debt-free to push the restart button in her life, but after two years of marriage, she would become a widow. Oh God! That didn’t sound good at all.

“What?” asked Ben, who realized the transition on Keira’s face.

“I’ll become a widow in two years! How am I gonna live after that?” she hissed, glaring her eyes.

“I bet ‘dramatic’ is your middle name, huh?” said Ben casually. He put his cell phone on the table and looked at her intensely. “I’m gonna be a widower too, so what? Everything will be fine as long as we have money.”

Keira puffed out her cheeks. “It’s not that simple. The problem is, oh, forget it!” She should stop talking too much. Otherwise, Ben will cancel his offer. “How much do you propose?” she asked at last. That was all she needed to hear.

“For the divorce settlements? Let’s start with ten million,” he said casually as if he was talking about a small amount of money.

Keira tried so hard to hold herself from jumping. “Um, I think that’s too low for someone who earns billions like you,” she said, folding her hands across her chest.

Ben snorted. “How much do you expect? Just don’t say some unreasonable number. I’ll definitely reject that,” he said firmly.

‘Okay, you have to decide carefully, Keira. You don’t want to lose this chance, do you?’ she muttered inaudibly.

“Hold on a minute!” she said as she took out her cell phone and put some numbers on the calculator. “Um, I think 30 million is quite a wise number,” said Keira at last.

Ben looked at her for seconds; then he nodded his head. “Deal,” he decided without asking any questions about why Keira was counting on the calculator.

Keira clapped her hands. “Great! So can I get my 100.000 dollars right now? I need to pay the loan shark; otherwise, they will call my parents,” she put her palms together, begging.

“Sure, but you have to sign an agreement first. Just finish your meal, and I’ll take you to my lawyer’s office when you’re done,” Ben poured his Chinese tea and sipped it slowly.

Keira nodded her head. She took the spoon and shoved the hot porridge into her mouth. Her head was busy wondering how her friends and family would react to her sudden marriage plan.

“I have to take this; I’ll be waiting outside. Just let me know when you’re done,” said Ben when his cell phone rang loudly.

“Okay,” replied Keira with a mouth full of prawn dim sum.

It only took her twenty minutes to move all the food she ordered into her belly. She leaned back, stroking her stomach. It had been quite a long time since the last time she could eat properly because the debt collectors kept haunting her.

“Excuse me, has the bill been settled?” asked Keira to the waiter who cleared the table.

“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Mackey is one of our regulars; don’t worry, he’s waiting for you outside,” replied the waiter politely.

Keira smiled; she was so dumbfounded by how her life could change within a day. A few hours ago, she desperately intended to end her life, but suddenly there she was, Benjamin’s Mackey future wife! Well, it was just a contract, but her life would change drastically after that.

“You’re done? Are you sober enough to sign a legal agreement? Because it would be illegal for you to sign anything when you’re under the effect of d***s or al******c,” muttered Ben while sipping his black coffee.

“I’m totally sober! I can even remember the names of the former presidents!” joked Keira, but Ben didn’t flinch at all. He just nodded his head and got up to his feet. He put 100 dollars on the table as a tip and walked out of the restaurant. Keira followed him behind and was quite surprised by how generous Ben was.

After driving for a few blocks, they finally arrived at a building where Ben’s attorney’s office was. When they entered the lobby, suddenly, someone startled them.

“Keira? Keira Evans, right? Wow! What are you doing here?” exclaimed someone who stood up from the sofa, and he walked over to Keira and Ben, who looked surprised.

“Luke Bracey? It’s been a while!” said Keira. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Luke Bracey’s face. He was her first high school crush back then.

“I know. I didn’t know you were in New York. You look fantastic, by the way!” said Luke, examining Keira from head to toe.

Suddenly Ben cleared his throat loudly and made both Keira and Luke turn to him. “Oh, hi, is he with you?” asked Luke, looking at Keira curiously. “Yeah,” Keira just nodded once. ‘Shit! I have been waiting for this moment my whole life!’ raved Keira inside her head. She felt so sad that her chance to be together with Luke would never become a reality because she was about to marry Ben.

“What are you guys doing here?” asked Luke, looking at Keira and Ben alternately. Keira cleared her throat awkwardly because Ben didn’t say anything. He ignored Luke, who was still waiting for an answer.

“I just accompanied him here to meet his lawyer,” said Keira while glancing at Ben, who had a smug look on his face. “Um, what about you? Why are you here?” she asked back carefully.

Luke smiled. “I work near here. May I know who you’re going to meet?”

Before Keira could answer, someone waved his hand from a distance.

“Ah, Matthew Harolds! So he’s your lawyer! Hi, Matt!” Luke nodded politely at Matthew, who was also his boss’ relative. Matthew smiled briefly at him and quickly turned to his loyal client, Benjamin Mackey. “Ben, sorry I had to make you come here. I’ve been swamped! You’re the only client who is that understanding!” mumbled Matthew with a wink in one eye.

Ben snorted. “You’re bragging, Matt. Come on! I won’t waste your time, ah I forgot, it’s Keira Evans, you know? My future wife!” he said as he looked at Matthew and Keira. Keira gulped. Her plan to date Luke Bracey had utterly failed.

“Babe?” called Ben, bringing Keira to her senses. She hated the call but knew she couldn’t do anything about it.

“Hi, Matt, nice to meet you!” said Keira, shaking Matthew’s hand warmly.

“Um, just give me your number. I’ll call you later,” mumbled Keira to Luke almost in a whisper as Matthew and Ben walked her toward the elevator. Luke handed her his business card and smiled sweetly at her. Keira let out a long sigh. She felt sad that she had lost the opportunity to be close to him.

While she was busy with her thoughts, Ben suddenly pulled her hand away. “Are you going to keep thinking about that guy, or are you going to focus on settling your debts?” he whispered in her ear. Keira sneered, she looked up at him, but she didn’t say anything. It sucks! She couldn’t imagine living two days with him, let alone two years. Even a year would feel like hell.

After exiting from the elevator, they entered the largest room in that office, of course, because Matthew Harold was the owner of the law firm. “Come in! Do you want something to drink?” Matthew asked, looking at Ben and Keira in turn.

“Coffee, please? I really need a shot of caffeine. My head hurts from hearing paranormal voices in my ears,” mumbled Keira sarcastically.

Ben rolled his eyes, “You’re so cheesy!”

Matthew, who already knew from Ben that their relationship was just a business, laughed at the two of them in turn.

“Don’t act like this in public if you don’t want to be caught in a contract marriage,” he mumbled as he picked up the intercom and asked for three cups of coffee for them.

“So, Ms. Evans...”

“Just call me Keira, please,” said Keira with a smile. She blew Luke Bracey’s face away and focused on her purpose, to pay off all her debts. “Okay, Keira, so I’ve collected all the data on your debts, and the total is more or less...” Matthew was busy looking down at his laptop. “Eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, including interest and fines,” he said and then looked up and peered through his rectangular glasses.

“All the debts? You’re going to pay all my debts right now?” exclaimed Keira, looking at Ben in disbelief. Ben just shrugged his shoulder indifferently.

“And according to Ben’s request, I’ve taken care of everything, and in the next hour, all your debts will be paid off,” Matthew said proudly as if he had paid the debts.

“Oh my goodness, that’s great!” exclaimed Keira, unable to contain her relief.

Across from her, Ben just stared at her in silence.

“And I’ve already prepared the contracts for you guys to sign. They’re all completely legal. Nothing’s flawed. So according to the contract, your marriage must be done by the end of this month at the latest!”

Keira almost jumped out of her seat, glaring in surprise. “What? Isn’t that too soon?”