CONTRACT MARRIAGE

Ivy stared at Daniel as she asked “What would you like me to help u with?”

Daniel was just about to tell her when Doctor Hardy came into the house and said “Wow!! u guys started eating without me?”

He rushed to the dining and said “I feel so hungry.” He called out to the maid to serve his own food.

As he took a morsel into his mouth, he said to Daniel “I need to tell you something important.”

“What is it?” Daniel asked.

He smiled and said, “When you are done eating.”

While Daniel was still eating, however, Doc sent him a text which read “I have found someone for you, so your problems are about to be solved.”

Daniel's phone beeped and he opened it to see the text message Doc had sent him, he stared at Doc in surprise and turned off his phone.

When they were done eating Ivy asked Daniel again, “What was it you wanted me to help you with?”

He smiled, “I will tell you about it later, okay? There is something Doc and I need to do. Come with me, let me show you to your room.”

He took her upstairs and gave her a room he had agreed with Doc that she would stay in. He said, “This will be your room for now. Just rest here, I will be back later in the day for us to talk.”

Ivy said “Thank you very much, "what about the job you said you had for me?”

“I will tell you about it when I come later,” he said. “Meanwhile, hold on.”

Daniel turned toward Doc and asked, “What about the maid I asked to be assigned to her?”

“I will call her right away,” Doc said. He called for one of his maids and when she came, he said “This is Gertrude, Ivy. She is going to be attending to you, whatever you need or whatever you want just let her know.

You know the house is big and it's easy for you to get lost in it, so just ask her and she will be at your beck and call.”

Ivy shook her head, “No, how can you go through the trouble of giving me a maid? There is no need for all this.”

Daniel smiled, “in that case, you can consider her your friend. She is a very nice person, just tell her if you need anything.”

Ivy nodded, “thank you very much.”

As Daniel and Doc left, Daniel said to the maid, “Please take good care of her.”

The maid smiled, “of course, I will do that.”

After they left, the maid said to Ivy, “I will be downstairs, if you need anything, just call me.”

“Thank you very much,” Ivy said.

As the maid left, she looked around the room and said, “Wow! This is definitely a palace.”

She sat on the king-sized bed and sighed, "I wonder what Job I would be doing, but if this is where I'm going to be living, I don't think I will want anything else in this life.”

As Daniel left with Doc, he stood outside his house and said, “Go ahead and tell me, where is she? Who is she? Is she aware of the contract?”

“calm down!” Doc said. “You already met her, she is the girl who greeted you at the hospital. Her name is Ella and she is the best friend of my girlfriend.”

Daniel said, “Oh! I remember her.”

“Yeah,” Doc said “She studied abroad and she is from a good family. She was even at the palace among the girls that were selected for you to choose your wife from. Just meet with her, tell her about the contract, tell her your terms and you guys will come to an agreement.”

Daniel thought about it and said “Is it really okay? I mean....if she was there at the palace...”

“Come on, don't be so negative.” Doc said, “Meet with her.”

“Alright, where am I supposed to meet with her?” Daniel asked.

“Get into your car, I will take you there, they are already waiting for us.”

“They?” Daniel asked.

Doc smiled “I just told you she is the best friend of my girlfriend, they are together.”

Daniel nodded. As Ella and Anna waited for Doc and Daniel to arrive, Ella smiled, “I feel so relieved. I was so worried about nothing. I mean, after hearing the story of that Ivy girl...she is quite pitiful, she doesn't stand a chance so I know for a fact that the prince will be mine. I mean how lucky could I get? It's a good thing we are friends isn't it?”

“Of course,” Anna said, “you know I will always help you get the best. When you were so worried about Ivy, I told you she is nothing compared to you...So, Doc said they are on their way.

Once Daniel arrives, you both can sit and talk. Make sure you impress him, okay? I heard he is not very comfortable around women.”

“Really?” Ella asked. “He did seem comfortable around that Ivy girl.”

“Maybe because he was taking pity on her. Didn't he run away from the palace?” Anna asked.

“But you told me that he ran to do

something, isn't it? Ella asked.

“Yea, that's true,” Anna replied. “Anyway, they are here already, comport yourself.”

when Daniel arrived, he and Ella went to a different table to sit down. Ella was smiling at him and when he looked at her, he was like, “Wow! You are good-looking.”

“Thank you.” She replied.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Daniel said

Ella smiled, “Well just like you, I schooled in London.”

“Really?” Daniel asked.

“Yes,” Anna replied.

“That's very impressive.” Daniel said, “It's a shame I never met you.”

She smiled, “Well, I did meet you but I don't think you will remember. I saw you so many times because we actually went to the same university. I studied business administration since my parents wanted me to manage the family business as I am the only child.”

“Wow! You are really impressive.” Daniel said, feeling uncomfortable already.

"Thank you, my prince” Ella replied with a smile, “ I have never had a boyfriend in my life so I don't have any exes."

“Really? That's surprising, I mean considering how beautiful you look but, why? Why didn't you have a boyfriend?” Daniel asked.

“Well, it's because of you,” Ella replied

“Me?” Daniel was surprised, “How can it be because of me when I met you for the first time today?”

Ella hesitated for a while and finally said, “Well, I have loved you since birth...actually since the first time I saw you. It was in high school. We actually went to the same high school but you never noticed me.

Since then, I have always loved you, and I have always hoped that one day I will end up as your bride. Meeting you like this is a dream come true for me.”

The moment he heard her confession, the smile on Daniel's face disappeared and he began to think, “If she loves me this much, she won't let go of me when the time comes. No, I don't need that. I do not want someone clinging to me. If I'm unable to kick her away when the time comes, I will be stuck in the marriage.”

He smiled, “Wow! Ella, you are so beautiful and so amazing as well but you are not really what I want, I'm very sorry.”

Ella stared at him in surprise, “What do you mean by that, my prince? What is wrong? What don't you like about me? I will change it.”

“No...no... no, it's not about you. There is nothing wrong with you. You are perfect, trust me, Ella. You are amazing but there is a certain kind of girl I'm looking for and it's not you.”

Ella's eyes became misty, “Please, don't say that, my prince. It is me, I can become the girl you are looking for.”

“I'm truly sorry,” Daniel replied “Listen, meet someone better, someone who will appreciate you for who you are, it's not me.”

After speaking, Daniel got up, walked over to Doc's table, and said “I want to leave, I am done.”

Doc said, “Oh, really?”

He looked back at where Ella was sitting and realized that the meeting didn't go well. He stared at Anna and said, “Okay, let's all go together.”

But Daniel said, “No, you can stay with your girl, I have something I need to do alone, so, I do not want to interrupt your date.”

Doc told Anna to excuse him, pulled Daniel by the side, and said, “What happened?”

Daniel sighed, “Well, that girl is crazy about me and you know I want something temporary. I cannot marry someone who loves me that much, it will be too troublesome.”

“Okay, I understand,” Doc said.

Daniel replied, “So, I'm going to meet with Ivy and talk about the contract with her, hopefully, she will accept my terms.”

Doc nodded and said, “Alright, goodbye, see you later.”

As Daniel left, Ella came to their table and wiped her eyes.

“What happened?” Anna asked.

She told them everything Daniel had said and asked Doc, “What really is the problem? Why doesn't Prince Daniel want me?”

Doc sighed, “Well, I guess the prince choose Ivy because she fits the description of what he wants”

Both Ella and Anna were shocked, “What!”

Ella asked him, “Are you saying that Prince Daniel choose that used goods over me?”

Daniel quickly drove to Doc's house. When he got there, he met the maid that was assigned to Ivy and asked, “Where is Ivy? Is she upstairs?”

“Yes, my prince.” The maid replied.

“Okay, has she had dinner?”

“Not yet, she hasn't asked for her dinner.”

Daniel nodded, “Okay, bring her dinner up to the room. We will eat together."

"Yes, my prince." The maid replied.

When Daniel went up to meet Ivy, she had just woken up from sleep. She smiled at him and said, “Oh you are back, welcome.”

He asked, “Why did you stay for so long without having dinner?”

Ivy smiled, “it hasn't been that long since I ate.”

Daniel shook his head, “No worries, I have ordered dinner to be served here, let's just eat together."

“I'm kinda feeling hungry,” Daniel said.

When the maid brought the meal, they both ate together. Once again Daniel barely ate much, he kept staring at Ivy.

When she was done eating, he said, “Okay, now, to what I wanted to tell you about, I will just go straight to the point, Ivy.

I want us to sign a one-year marriage contract.”

Ivy stared at him in surprise, “What?”

She shook her head, “I can't do that. Listen, I just want a simple job, besides I'm barren and not good enough to be anyone's wife.

Whatever your motive or pay is, I'm not interested in getting into a contract marriage with you or anyone else. I am very sorry, Daniel.”