The contract’s hidden clause

Zara 

Elizabeth frowned immediately, setting her fork down. 

“Why do I suddenly feel like I’m not going to like whatever you’re about to say?” 

I rubbed my thumb against the edge of my coffee cup, watching the dark liquid ripple. 

“Because you probably won’t.” 

“Zara.” 

I inhaled slowly. 

“The contract says that I have to live with him for the duration of the contract. That’s six months.” 

Elizabeth doesn’t react immediately. She simply blinked at me once, then twice. I watched her mouth part away slightly as she searched my face, as though she was waiting for me to laugh and admit it was a joke. 

When indeed it was not..

“Say that again.” she carefully said, putting down her hands that were perfectly folded on the table. 

“I have to live with him for six months.” 

“No.” 

“I know how it sounds like Liz—“

“No.” She shook her head this time. 

“No?” 

“You forgot to tell me the punchline,” she says 

“Because there isn’t one.” 

She leaned back on her chair now. “You have to live with him, in the same house and share the same bedroom?” 

“No!” 

“We will most definitely not be sharing the same bedroom.” 

She released a breath. “Thank goodness.” 

Then she frowned again. 

“Actually, no. It doesn’t make it any better because you can’t possibly just live with someone that you have not seen before for six months.”

“It has to look believable and living in different apartments and I think he lives in a private estate of some sort.” 

“Couples spend time together in public. Not live together.” 

I let out a deep sigh. 

Elizabeth has a point.

“What else am I supposed to do?” 

“I don’t know. But all I know is that it’s a terrible idea.” 

She picked up the contract from the table and looked at it again. She closed the file and placed both hands on it. 

“Are you not terrified?” 

I wanted to tell her no. Instead…..

“I’m trying not to think about it too much.” 

She stared at me for a long moment, like she is think of a question to ask me. 

“What if you fall in love with him?” 

A small laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Elizabeth wasn’t amused. 

“I’m serious.” 

“So am I.” 

I leaned forward, staring at her eyes. “I won’t.” 

“You sound very confident.” 

“Of course. Why won’t I sound confident?”

“How are you so sure that you wouldn’t fall in love with him? What if he ticks all the boxes?”

“You are making this thing sound serious when it is not.”

She studied my face carefully. 

“I’ve done this falling in love thing before,”my voice was quieter than I intended. “And look how that ended. I have gone through so much just falling in love with a guy in six months.” 

Elizabeth’s expression softened. 

She had been with me through it all and she knew how it broke me. 

“But you will eventually meet your Mr right some day. Every guy is not the same and you can’t compare every man to him.” 

“I’m not. But I learnt something from that relationship.” 

I traced yhe rim of my cup absentmindedly. 

“When you give someone everything…they eventually discover how to break you.” 

The words settled between us for a moment 

“He made promises and broke every single one of them.” 

Elizabeth reached across the table and squeezed my hand slightly. 

I let her. 

“But I’m not that girl anymore,” I say, trying to sound positive and shaking off whatever I was feeling. 

“People don’t plan to fall in love, Zara.” 

I held her gaze. 

“It just….happens.” 

I smile and this time with more certainty. 

For a while, neither of us spoke. 

I reached into my bag and unlocked my phone. Then I saw a notification. 

Without saying anything, I turned the screen toward her. 

Her eyes widened. 

Five million dollars sitting pretty in my account. 

Elizabeth stared at my phone for several seconds before looking at me with a wide grin. 

“We are rich now.” 

“I can’t back out now.” I replied 

She rubbed her forehead.” What’s the worst that could happen?” 

I laughed. 

“I was hoping you would say that.” 

She pointed at me. “Don’t get too excited now. We have to spend this money wisely.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Then something seemed to occur to her. 

“Wait.” 

I looked at her 

“Did you actually meet him?” 

I frowned. “Meet who?” 

“River.” 

“Ohhh,” I shook my head. “No.” 

“Who did you speak to then?” Her eyebrows shot up. 

“It was his best friend. His name is Oliver. He is the one that gave me the contract.” 

“So if his best friend was the one that gave you the contract, that means….” 

“River doesn’t know.” 

I widened my eyes to the realization. 

“I’ve heard things about River,” Elizabeth says. “They say he’s ugly and that’s why he doesn’t have any social media presence. He hasn’t posted a picture in five years, so no one actually knows what he looks like now. People just know his name.” 

“I don’t know if they are true though.” 

“But the contract says I have to make public appearances with him.” I say 

“That means he is ready to step out of the shadows.” 

A strange feeling settled in my chest. I couldn’t help but think about what Elizabeth just said. 

What if he is disabled that’s why he hid himself? 

This is actually more serious than I thought. 

“You are about to be around billionaires,” Elizabeth said, putting a stop to the thoughts in my head.

“That’s what you are thinking about?” 

“Zara, listen to me. These people are not like us. You are walking into a world where everyone is watching everyone. The way you talk, the way you dress, the way you react to things….everything matters.” 

“Are you telling me I need lessons?” 

“I’m telling you to stop acting like you are just going to be with a random person.” 

“You are going to a different world. People who know him will notice you.” 

That thought hasn’t fully crossed my mind until now. 

“You have to play the part.” 

Her words made me pause. 

“I’m not saying you should pretend to be someone you are not. Never do that. But you have to remember why you are there. You are not beneath them. You signed a deal and you are holding up your end.” 

A small smile appeared on my face.  

Things are about to get serious.