Strictly Business: Signing the Marriage Deed

“I don’t love you; I could never love you. All you will ever be to me is a stepping stone to achieving my goals and a way to give two middle fingers to my father.” He looked condescendingly at her, hoping to see the look of pain and hurt in her eyes. Looking at him with a smug smile, “It seems we are completely on the same page, and I do not have to stress about keeping you at arm’s length. A look of confusion flitted across his face for a split second, but he gritted it away. “I would sooner shave my head and join the monastery than develop any form of romantic feelings towards you. All you will ever be to me is a business partner. You do not matter to me and you never will”. 

Feeling slighted, he exploded, “ I am truly delighted that we have come to an understanding.” Hoping to hurt her in any way possible, he continued, “You are free to date and be with anyone; you can bring them home if you so choose, just keep them on your own wing of the mansion. And oh, do try to keep it discreet, as I do not intend to deal with any form of scandal involving my wife and her lovers. I, too, am free to date other people. Let us not complicate each other's lives.” Walking away with a feeling of satisfaction at having won the non-existent argument, he made his way to his quarters, only to be stopped in his tracks when he heard her light chuckle… “I must say, this is the best contract I’ve ever signed. The benefits outweigh the burdens. In addition to those, please do not refer to me as you know me unless you absolutely have to. If you require my presence at an event, please do let me know by providing at least a week’s notice, and I will do the same. I do not require any form of financial aid from you; I will only accept financial provision when it concerns affairs of your publicity, and I will do the same. Now if you don't mind, do have a blissful night's rest.”

She turns and walks away, leaving him quite flustered and seething. She stops in her tracks, turns around and faces him… “And oh, if you don't mind, I’d really appreciate it if you refer to me as Miss De Beaufort, and I will refer to you as Mr Hastings. Goodnight.”

…

A sleepy head of very dark, wavy hair stirs in the bed. Stretching lazily like a cat, she sits up, yawns, and gets out of bed. Opening her windows, she's greeted by the most beautiful sunrise she's seen in a while. Spring is on its way, she surmises. She makes her way to her bathroom to take a much-needed warm shower to get started for the day. 

Today’s the launch of her new fashion collection, and she mustn't be late. After finally falling asleep at 2 a.m., only to wake up at 6 a.m. to get ready for the day, running on four hours of sleep isn't going to be cute.

She steps in front of the mirror to inspect how tired she looks. Piercing green eyes stare back at her; her skin is pale, and no matter how much she tans, she stays as white as a vampire. Her friend always teases her that she could be an ancient witch reincarnated or a vampire in hiding. Her face is graced by tiny brown freckles. Her nose is high, with pouty lips. She also has a perpetual resting-bitch-face. 

Sighing, she notes the dark circles forming on her eyes. “Well, nothing a good concealer can't hide”. She jumps into the shower, feeling the hot water glide from her head down to her body, slowly relaxing her tensed muscles. “It's going to be a long day,” she sighs again.

Fifteen minutes later, she's out of the shower. She sits on her dresser, both admiring and inspecting her features. If there's anything her mother taught her, it's the importance of looking after your appearance. “It makes people respect you more and opens doors for you,” her mother had chirped. Now she wonders if a pretty face and clear skin could get the old-timers off her back and take her seriously. “Oh well, you can't fix everything with a concealer or facials, I guess. "

After applying skincare and light makeup, she puts on a pair of mum jeans; they are quite baggy, but snug around the waist. She adds a black tank top that's a bit cropped. Since the weather is still quite chilly, she puts on a black chunky wooly sweater. She puts her hair up into a messy bun. She inspects herself in her full-length mirror and is very pleased with what she sees. Picking up her car keys, she inspects her room one more time to ensure everything is tidy and nothing is out of place. Even though the house gets tidied by servants, she still likes to keep her place tidy.

She jumps into her Brabus G-Wagon and speeds off. This Jeep was a gift to her from her father on her twenty-fifth birthday. Although her mother wasn't too pleased with the car, she let her daughter have her way. Being a woman who doesn't like to interfere in the lives of her children, she still preferred if her daughter was just like her… ultra feminine, soft, very relaxed, and a lover of all things good. 

Not to say that Eline De Beaufort was a tomboy; neither was she masculine-leaning; rather, she had quite the adventurous soul. She used to sneak into her father’s office at five to read the heavy books in his study. She had a fierce eye for business and financial management. She was also really good at fashion. She used to spend hours in her mother's wardrobe styling her clothes.

At only fifteen, she started a clothing business in school, styling girls, shopping for pieces for them, and providing fashion advice. She even owned a blog, but she had to leave all that behind when she entered college to pursue a degree in business and finance. However, after she was done with college, she launched her fashion brand, which is proving to be quite a success.

Eline is a twenty-seven-year-old heiress from the Netherlands. Daughter of Hendrik De Beaufort and Ingrid De Beaufort, she comes from a long line of wealthy elites who have their hands in power and various businesses around Europe and abroad. She is a stark contrast to her brother Luuk De Beaufort, who’s thirty-one but a big softie. You could call him a mama's boy. But he's quite the hard worker and doesn't joke around when it concerns the family and their business.

Despite being quite capable and very intelligent, Eline is faced with obstacles posed by her unmarried status. Apparently, you're not fit to hold power as a woman if you're not under a man’s rule, notably, a husband. Thinking on this, Eline couldn't help but sigh. Not like she was really keen on being married off. I mean, she has no issues with men or marriage. She loves how lovey-dovey her parents are that it's sickening, and their marriage is so solid that even the children don't matter when it comes to the affairs of their love.

It's just that she hasn't really been in many relationships or gone on a lot of dates. Her last relationship was a year ago, and she had to break it off when he proposed, not because she hated him, but because she felt he was weak and not very ambitious. I mean, if she must be with a man, he must be manly, intelligent, and someone she can rely on and look up to. In her circle, you get one or the other: an obnoxious and power-hungry tyrant who wants her for the connections, or a man too soft and unable to stand up to his family. You rarely got anything other than that, and she just couldn't take that.

She was at her business in no time, and she was really impressed to see how much her team put in. Everything was practically ready for the launch; even her assistant was ready with a hot cup of coffee, and she was grateful. She wasn't really a coffee girl, but she was excited to let the caffeine wake her up. They had been planning the launch for months and couldn't afford to disappoint her customers around the world.

She gathered the team briefly to discuss a few points, and everyone got right to business. Having a degree and knowledge of business, she paid more attention to the marketing team, and at exactly 12 pm, they launched, and in no time the orders started flooding in. Seeing the numbers rise, she was very delighted and noted the bonuses she would spoil her team with.

At 5 pm, she said goodbye to her team to head to Pilates to meet up with her friend, whom she hadn't seen in weeks, partly because of the launch and partly because her friend had travelled. Driving to the Pilates place, she couldn't help but wonder aloud, “I'm pretty successful, and I have great parents who would support me no matter what. It wouldn't be too bad to leave the heiress life behind and focus on my fashion brand; I mean, we're doing huge numbers, and we're a six-figure monthly business. Not like a man would fall right into my lap, and we get married in thirty days; I could leave all this to my brother, and he'll do just great,” she sighed wistfully… “ It really is going to be a long day”