Chapter 6 : Marriage Contract

“Here’s the contract. Are you feeling better now?” Brian asked as he handed the contract to Lalita.

“Yeah, I’m good now.”

Lalita read through the contract while sipping her iced coffee. They had chosen a cafe in the Senopati area, not far from where Brian had his meeting.

As she read, Lalita became increasingly bothered by the fact that Brian kept staring at her.

“Why?”

“Is there something weird about how I look?” Lalita grabbed her phone and turned on the camera to check on her face.

“Nothing,” Brian replied casually.

The two of them had already discussed the points they wanted to include in the contract through the text. Lalita should have only needed to skim through it and review it before signing.

“Brian Wiguna will assist Lalita in obtaining her inheritance rights to the company...”

“Lalita Ivana Adibyo will fulfill her obligations as a wife, with no sexual relationship between the two parties...”

“The marriage will end within two years...”

“Neither party will interfere with the other’s privacy...”

“If Lalita Ivana Adibyo fails to obtain her inheritance rights to the company by the time their divorce takes place, Brian Wiguna will provide fifteen percent of his total net worth as marital property...”

Wait... What is this clause?

Lalita didn’t remember ever mentioning it.

“Hmm... Is this an additional clause you added?” Lalita asked, furrowing her brows.

“Yeah.”

“Why? Why would you do that, Brian? You don’t have to. I’m not expecting anything from you. Getting the company is more than enough, and I’m pretty sure I can do it.”

Lalita is annoyed. Fort Consulting, the company owned by Hadi, was rightfully hers to inherit, and she is confident she would get it.

“I don’t like this clause. I... I feel like some greedy woman who’s taking advantage of you. Cross this out.”

“Lita...”

“What? What? You help me get my inheritance, and I pretend to be your wife. It’s enough. Deal done. There’s no need for weird extras like this.”

Brian immediately pushed her iced coffee closer to her, silently telling her to take a drink.

“Calm down first, Lita. Just hear me out...”

Lalita said nothing. She simply stared at Brian.

Her gaze was practically that of a lion ready to pounce on its prey.

“Think of it as working part-time. That’s your pay.”

At that, Lalita was ready to explode.

Brian immediately raised his hands defensively.

“Whoa... whoa... calm down... calm down... I’m not finished yet. Hear me out until the end. Once I’m done, then you can comment, okay?”

Lalita huffed in annoyance. She decided to stay quiet and listen.

“You’re still using Uncle Hadi’s money and facilities, right?” Brian asked cautiously.

Lalita nodded.

“I was just thinking... What if you fail? It’d be great if you succeed, but what if you don’t? How are you going to live afterward? I’m not even sure Uncle Hadi would keep paying you after you marry me. He might think, ‘Why should I pay her? She doesn’t need the money anymore because her husband is rich.’ If he does keep paying you, great. I’m just trying to think about the possibilities. Besides, do you have any other source of income?”

Lalita’s face turned red with embarrassment.

Everything Brian said makes sense. She suddenly wanted to cover her face and run away from him because she was so embarrassed.

“Because you said that, I just realized how messed up my life is. I don’t have any other income. I really just spend Dad’s money on courses, live in an apartment that belongs to Dad, and even my car was bought by Dad.”

Lalita lowered her head, holding back tears.

She realized that what Hadi had said was true. All she knew how to do was spend money.

“After we get married, I’ll transfer some money to you for you to save. Think of it as your part-time salary. Once you start getting paid for working at Fort, I’ll stop transferring it. And if you manage to secure your inheritance rights to Fort, I won’t give you that fifteen percent. So if you really don’t want fifteen percent of my assets, you’d better fight like hell to get Fort.”

Brian isn’t finished with what he wanted to say.

But he seemed hesitant, almost afraid to bring up the next part.

“What? Just say it,” Lalita said after noticing that Brian had been silent for quite some time.

“If you don’t get your inheritance rights to Fort, Uncle Hadi might turn against you. You... still need to be prepared for that, right?”

Lalita fell silent.

“T-That’s all from me,” Brian said, finally wrapping up his explanation.

Lalita let out a heavy sigh.

Yet somehow, she felt relieved at the same time.

“I suddenly feel like I’ve got a side job as a theater actress. My role is your wife, and I get paid for it. Pfft... Hahahaha...”

Lalita’s sudden laughter made Brian laugh as well.

The tension between them finally melted away.

“It feels like my pride is on the line. Annoying...”

Brian merely shrugged with a smile.

“Our relationship is transactional, right? And I don’t think the clause I proposed is a bad thing.”

Lalita then signed the contract in front of her.

“Yeah. I hope we can work well together for the next two years.”

***

[Is Uncle Hadi at home alone today?]

[Yeah. Aunt Wita went out like usual and won’t be back until tonight. Those two lovebirds also said they were going out until tonight.]

Lalita received no further reply from Brian.

Still, she found it strange that Brian had asked several times to make sure Hadi was really home alone.

[I’m in front of your house right now. I’m going to ask Uncle Hadi for permission to marry you.]

Lalita, who had been lying on her bed, immediately jolted upright and ran to the front of the house.

Sure enough, Brian was already standing there, dressed neatly in front of her house.