Chapter Four - The deal

Anthony's point of view

She would sit at the back of her class and listen to whatever the teacher had to say without missing anything. She would ace any exam she had. And she would argue with me all day long and one time, she even smacked my head because I wouldn't listen to her reason.

And it was a tacky reason.

I was not going to have a marriage of convenience or whatever it was my parents call it with Vanessa Ives. I was done with her. I had been done with her a long time ago.

She had sent some other texts after I received the first one. Deleted them without even reading. I had no inclination whatsoever to know what she wanted to tell me.

Was that why I was drinking myself silly on a Monday evening?

"Marriage is not such a bad thing Anthony, if you don't love your wife, you could always get mistresses" Ronald said after I told him what happened.

He wasn't drinking as he had promised to stay sober for an entire year but that doesn't mean he wasn't going to get off on some other social vices. Luckily he got off them far away from me.

"I don't want to get married and not to someone I once knew when I was younger or even have a child" I scoffed at the word "Child"

I drank the entire glass of alcohol and asked for another. This situation was giving me a headache that I hadn't bargained for.

Ronald gave me one of those smirks of his. He took a sip from his glass of water before he spoke up.

"The marriage is for two years yes?"He asked.

I nodded.

"You have a child, you get a divorce and no one is on your case to continue the family line. You can do anything you want and no one cares about it anymore"

"And the other thing? The girl in question is my ex"

Try to put a happy ending to that Ronald.

He raised his head and nodded in an ahhhhh I understand kind of situation.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" He asked.

"No I don't"

"Then I don't see what the issue is"

It was so like Ronald not to see what the issue was but I still felt like I couldn't do it. My phone vibrated indicating I just received another text. Probably from Vanessa who I should probably stop ignoring at this point in time.

"I know my messages are being delivered, would you please just take a minute from your busy schedule and meet me" The message read.

I took in a deep breath and from my periphery, I could see Ronald watching me but choosing to remain silent, he was waiting for me to spill the beans myself.

"Meet me at the old restaurant in the next thirty minutes, do not be late" I replied. I turned to Ronald who just nodded without me saying a word.

He understood.

With my shades and face cap on, I placed my head down so no one would recognize me and entered my car. Most of the girls I slept with would think I was so down to earth and humble because I had no driver, I just hated the idea of having a driver do something I could do for myself quite easily.

Plus if they thought that, it made them quite easy to sleep with and sometimes I needed no challenge.

I did everything in my power not to think about the lady I was about to meet but eventually I had nothing to think about again. Her name, her face, her voice was all I could think about.

For five years, I resisted the urge to check her socials and know how far she had grown. I resisted asking my mother questions about them because of what use would that be. She wanted me to ask though.

The old restaurant was at the outskirts of town, far away from my mother and her scrutinizing eyes. Far away from what anyone would have to say about us.

It still looked the same after all this years, the peeling green paint and the signboard that still had the flickering lights. Some trucks were parked at the front, the owners blue deadbeat truck at the edge of it. Luckily, there was still one parking spot available.

My legs felt like lead and I had to swallow twice to remove the lump from my throat. I waited for a few minutes to allow the palpitations calm down a bit.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I fished it out from my pockets.

"Are you still coming?" A text read.

I should get this over with. This time, I removed the cap and kept my shades in my pocket. No one who frequented this restaurant knew my family.

The interior of the restaurant hit me with a sense of nostalgia, the place looked exactly as I remembered it all those years ago and if memory served me right, Vanessa would be in the kitchen trying to get the wife of the owner of this place to give her some fried chicken.

She wasn't. She was at a booth at the end waving her hands around like a child trying to get the parent's attention.

She had changed in her physical appearance, that was quite obvious. She was prettier now, I guess. But I stayed away from staring.

"You called" I said as my mode of greeting.

She nodded "And you answered" She replied. She pointed to a seat across from her as an indication for me to sit there.

"I don't want to bore you by ...."

"Ehem" Someone coughed by the side. A waitress dressed like someone from the 90's "Would you like to order now?" She asked Vanessa.

Vanessa looked quite uncomfortable,her eyes wandering around but not coming to the waitress. I saved her the stress by ordering for the both of us, something light and would save us a lot of stress.

"You were saying" I reminded her once the waitress was gone.

Vanessa nodded "I don't want to bore you but I'll go straight to the point, I need us to get married"

My ears perked up "You want us to what?" I screeched.

"Not want, I need us to get married because of the offer your mom gave me. I can't let it go"

"If it's money, tell me the amount she promised you and I'll double it. I don't plan on getting married at all and getting a child. Nope" I shook my head at the end of my sentence.

Vanessa pursed her lips, she was watching me with her eyebrows raised and her eyes filled with questions she wanted answered but she did not know how to ask probably.

I sighed "It's not because of you okay, I just don't want to have a family and this matchmaking thing my mother is doing is exhausting"

I expected her to try and argue or agree with what I said and then we'll go our separate ways. Instead, she started laughing and when Vanessa laughs for no reason, she laughs for so long. I felt quite uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry but your mom never wanted us to have anything with each other, I was the daughter of a mad man as she liked to call my father and even though she and my mom were friends, she never much liked us after my mom ran away" She said.

I massaged my forehead with my index finger while trying so hard to hold back my laugh. To her, I probably look annoyed. I spoke up when I was done calming myself down.

"So what did my mom offer you?" I asked.

She looked at her fingers but was stopped from answering the question because the waitress was back with our food. She balanced the tray so perfectly in her hands that it looked like she was born to do such things.

She gave me a little smile when she was leaving and I returned it to her with a thumbs up.

"You never did know the effect you have on people" Vanessa mused, her lips pressed against her finger. Her eyes shone brightly now.

I shrugged "I know the effect I have on people now and I know how to use it" I said to her. She looked taken aback but recovered quickly "So please enlighten me about what my mother promised to give you if this marriage plan goes through"

"Some money to go for my business school learning and my sister and she'll take my dad to rehab" She rushed out the words like they were poison. She took a sip from the glass of water at her side and placed a hand on her chest.

Anxiety?

"Those are hardly a concern, I'll pay for everything. Just wait let me sign a check or something...."

"No" She interrupted. Her hand was still on her chest and while she wasn't breathing heavily or something, I was scared she was going to cry. She had always been a cry baby when we were younger.

"No no no, I would have accepted your offer and never marry you but your mother, your mother offered me something you can never offer me" She said after a while.

I knew the answer deep down but I asked just to make sure I was accurate.

"Your mother offered me my brother"

Off course. That was the only tool she had in her bag to pull such a task. Neither of us would agree to it if someone dear to both of us was not involved.

Victor was the bargaining chip.

"How is he...."

"He misses you dear....."

We stopped at the same time. I answered first.

"He is fine, quite intelligent. I'm pretty sure you got my monthly progress report" I said.

Her head moved up and down slowly in a nod "I got them but it's different when I'm asking in person, I love the pictures I got though"

I could not believe I was starting to consider the possibility of going through with this plan. What would happen if it actually came to fruition.

I pressed my hand to my forehead and leaned into my seat, I was pretty sure the waitress was wondering why I had not taken a bite from my food.

"Okay, you need to find a way to get Victor from my mother. Meet her again and tell her to transfer his custody back to your family, that's the only condition you have to set before you'll marry me"

She nodded, her intelligent self probably already decoding what I wasn't saying.

"I would have this marriage and my lawyer would send you a contract, a two years old marriage with a child at the end of it. I have some terms and conditions I would like to apply" I said.

"No falling in love is at the top"

The way her eyes flared up showed how ready she was to start dropping some words about falling in love but I silenced her.

"Everything that happened to us in the past would continue to remain in the past and once the child comes, we'll leave each other's life permanently"

Vanessa just nodded this time, unconsciously putting her fingers in her mouth to chew on her nails. Her comfort. She continued to think about the conditions probably.

And few seconds before I was ready to give up and call it a day, she spoke up.

"And what if rule number one is broken?" She asked, whispered the question like she was afraid.

Without glancing away or batting an eyelid I stared into her eyes as I answered the question.

"Then the person would shove the feelings down their throats and keep it to themselves"