CHAPTER 10

　SEEMS I HAVE NO CHOICE

TIARA

I was suffering from a severe hangover when I woke up the following morning and was sitting in a lawyer’s office. Ok, or maybe I was still drunk.?

Those wine glasses may have disappeared faster than the coast would have been flooded, but I really needed them.

Following my confrontation with Baker and my following embarrassing display in his elevator, I wasted my time rummaging through my small apartment, feeling confused and worthless.

I started reading the contract again and again just after Mara left, and it took me about ten minutes before I poured myself another glass of wine to go with it. I had lost count of them. My father had left me like twelve voicemails on my phone during my meeting with Vincent Baker, all of which I deleted.?

Hearing his voice dreaded me because I knew what question he would ask. Did I take Baker up on his offer? Was there any chance that I might get him off the shit he was in? Of course, for mom’s sake. It was because he never stopped using her to manipulate me. He didn’t care about her.

I had a glimmer of optimism that there could be a way out because I had taken the contract to a potentially impartial lawyer who Baker had not bought with his pitiful bribe. I couldn’t bear the thought of signing this document. But it seemed I had no damn choice. I have already sold my life to the highest bidder.?

And that a person with professional training could have a heart so hardened as to prepare a paper that Baker had dictated disgustingly that would sin against the life of another human being made my stomach turn.

I moved positions in my chair, trying not to think about the contract that was lying on my lap as I stared at it. It could not possibly be lawful. If I didn’t perform the submissive wife for at least half of our sexual rendezvous, he couldn’t truly take me to court. Could he now??

Once I realized the lawyer was a woman, I breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps we would click in some way, and she would support me.

Another blow to my heart was learning that my mother would go another 24 hours without receiving medical attention. I had to stop wasting time right now. She had a limited amount of it.

“Miss Glare? Ms. Anderson can see you now!”

I hurriedly got up while holding the contract like a shield and throwing my purse over my shoulder. I staggered through her door on my shaky feet.?

The presence of attorneys has never made me feel at ease. Instead, my father gathered them close to him while they were feeding from his palm.

So it was with some hesitation that I entered Ms. Anderson’s office. When the sweet old woman in a cardigan business suit got up from her desk and came over to shake my hand, I had to force a grin on my face despite my head screaming at me. It’s a trap! Don’ t do it!

“Hello, Miss Glare. Nice to meet you! How are you today?” She said in a cheerful tone. Maybe too happy for my taste considering the reason I was here.

“I had better days, but I am hanging in there, thank you!”?

And I was sincere when I said it. No reason for me to hide my feelings.?

“Based on your response, I assume you were much worse.”

“You can say that… definitely yes!”??

“Then you’re in the right place. How can I help you?”?

Her calm voice gave me some confidence. I held out the contract silently.?

“Please check this over for me. I think it is an agreement. Or a prenuptial contract. I’m actually not sure.”?

“I see. You don’t know?” she asked, a little puzzled.

“No, that is why I came to you!” I answered her in a harsh tone.?

Maybe my nerves were getting the better of me as time went on.

“I presume your fiancé didn’t explain the situation to you?” She made another attempt to get me to explain the reason I was here.

“He is the man who wants to marry me, not my fiancé”?

She arched her eyebrows, continuing to stare at the contract.?

“And would you like to wed him?”?

“Not really,” I replied, defeated. “However, if I did, many issues would be fixed”?

She gave me a long look. Her thoughts were so clear to me I could almost hear them, which was not unexpected given that I had many of the same thoughts.

When she finally motioned for me to sit down, I gratefully sank into one of the soft chairs in front of her desk. She took a seat across from me and scanned the contract carefully. It was all silence, only the flipping pages echoed in my ears.

I was staring at her, listening to her clearing her throat, and observing the hands that seemed to move endlessly across the contract. Another kind of torture.?

She finally laid the contract aside and positioned her hands in front of her. She seemed to try to find the right words to speak. My stomach squeezed as I tried to squish into my clothing since it was still recovering from the punishment, I had inflicted on it the previous evening. I forced a hard swallow and kept her stare firmly.

“I’ve never quite seen a contract like this, Miss Glare,” she finally remarked. “I can only assume that you are considering it for good reasons, but in my judgment, this contract is not enforceable.”

“So, you say that’s a flaw? Is it possible for me to sign it, wed him, and then get rid of him?” I asked with a glimmer of hope there in the corners of my mind. Somehow, I smiled to myself.?

Her lips twitched, and I realized that her response wouldn’t be as straightforward as I would have expected.

“It’s not that easy, Miss Glare, as you can see. Unfortunately, if you decide to divorce Mr. Baker for whatever reason, you will receive nothing. Maybe just regrets. Prenuptial agreements that include sexual clauses cannot be imposed because if one spouse refuses, the sexual encounter would mean rape rather than consensual sex. Should Mr. Baker decide to sue you because you didn’t honor that part of you as his wife, a court would find this clause to be unlawful.” I felt as though I was losing the battle for justice. If I had signed, I would have been effectively dead.

“But wouldn’t that render the entire contract void?” I asked with another glimpse of hope.

Ms. Anderson exhaled.

?“I’m sorry, but no. A specific legal clause is present. The contract will remain in effect even if you declared a clause invalid”?

And that was like a punch in my gut.?

“So, I can’t invalidate this contract no matter what I do, right? What is coming from him, then? You seem to suggest that I am the only one who has obligations.”

“You will receive funding for both personal expenses and the different tasks you decide to take on. I’m afraid you would get very little if Mr. Baker passed away. Additionally, he seems to have stipulated that you won’t get anything if his death would be a suspect one.”?

“As in if I kill him? Unbelievable how his twisted mind works. This man thought of everything,” I almost screamed in reaction to the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

It blew my mind how meticulous he was about every detail. I had no choice but to save my mother’s life. I didn’t give a damn about my father’s money.

“Miss Glare, the deal is not at all in your favor. I have no power to make you sign it or not.”?

“Thank you, Ms. Anderson, but it seems I have no choice”?