Two Contrasting Lives

"I knew he was a fraud. It doesn't make sense for someone that rich to have gotten all his wealth honestly. He must have fooled a lot of people to be that rich!"

Vivi grumbled as she looked at the box of chocolates on her desk. It hurt her to remember that she had to spend more than 8000 dollars just for that box of chocolates, whereas if she followed her simple lifestyle, she could live on that money for a few months.

Even though she had clearly been cheated, Vivi could not help but take responsibility for the chocolate she had eaten and the $8,433 for the box of chocolates. After all, even though Darren had offered to pay for it, she would not be crazy enough to get back into a contract marriage when she had just been divorced from her contract marriage to Lucas.

"I was so sad that I cried," Vivi murmured as she looked at the box containing her wedding photo with Lucas that had made her cry earlier. "But that guy really screwed things up, so I'm not in the mood to feel sad anymore!"

***

"Should I get a passport and go abroad? I still have a lot of money even though I take 8000 dollars."

Just like the night before, Vivi couldn't sleep tonight because she had too many worries that made her unable to fall asleep.

Vivi remembers that when she was in her early 20s, she worried about her future because she had no money, while now, at 25, she worries because she has too much money without knowing what to do with it.

"Then I just have to survive with the money. Eat well and sleep in a luxurious apartment like this. It's a perfect life, so why should I worry about anything else? I'm rich now. There should be nothing else to worry about."

Vivi closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep when she finally found a thought to calm her down. But only for a few seconds, she immediately opened her eyes again because what she saw in her head when she closed her eyes was Darren Hart, staring at her with a dangerous grin that adorned the man's handsome face.

"Why do I suddenly think of that fraud? I should be asleep by now, but why do I remember him like this at 2 in the morning?"

Vivi was annoyed at herself for being so bored that she was thinking about Darren at this hour. But still, because she didn't know what else to do while her eyes weren't tired, Vivi ended up surfing the Internet to find information about Darren. Even though it was just a whim, she found herself immersed in the man's perfect life, which she thought was like heaven and earth compared to hers.

"No wonder he goes out of his way to ask a woman to marry him and squanders money like that. He doesn't have any parents anymore," Vivi thought as she read the news of Darren's father's death five years ago, leaving the man to inherit all his wealth and position as the number one person in his family's business kingdom.

Thinking about that made Vivi think about Lucas again. Before marrying him a year and a half ago, Lucas had taken her to his mother's house–the only family Lucas had since he was an only child and his father had died a few years before.

Before meeting Lucas, Vivi had never dealt with a respectable rich man like Lucas. That's why she was very apprehensive when Lucas brought her to meet his future mother-in-law.

Despite her age, the woman still looked beautiful and graceful. Her aura, which made others respect her, radiated strongly, even as she gave Vivi a warm smile when she introduced herself as Lucas' future wife.

Vivi realizes that Lucas' mother doesn't hate her, but she doesn't like her either. She approves of her marriage to Lucas because, as far as she is concerned, her son can marry anyone but Freya–which makes Vivi wonder how she can hate a woman who looks as perfect as Freya.

During her marriage to Lucas, Vivi had only met her mother-in-law a few times, and she realized that although she had never been mistreated, Lucas' mother had never really thought of her as a daughter-in-law.

Still, Vivi cried more than Lucas when she heard the news of her mother-in-law's death. She realized that her marriage to Lucas would soon be over with her death. And indeed, two months after his mother's death, Lucas divorced her.

"But Darren has no parents or family. Who would he spend all that money with if he didn't have anyone to share it with?" Vivi's mind returned to Darren, whom she subconsciously worried about, as her eyes stared at Darren's photo on her phone screen. A picture of Darren wearing a black tuxedo with a bow tie. For some reason, it seemed to be Vivi's favorite photo because every time she opened her phone to look for information about Darren, she always ended up looking at this photo for a long time. A picture with an appearance that made Darren's handsomeness look many times more handsome than his usual appearance.

"Does he feel the same way I do?" Vivi thought. "Is he also lonely every night, thinking about what to do with his life because he has a lot of money but no one at his side to accompany him to spend it?"

***

"Aaaahhhh~ Yeah, that's right. You were always so great, honey."

Inside her room, while looking at Darren's picture with a sad gaze, Vivi was still busy thinking about the man with the accompanying feeling of sympathy, while elsewhere, in a luxurious hotel room illuminated only by the light from the table lamp, Darren was sitting on a sofa holding a woman on his lap without a single thread on both of their bodies.

"Honey, are you really going to buy that car for me?" The woman asked Luas as her fingers danced sensuously across Darren's chest.

"Yes, of course. Car, diamond ring, new bag. Just tell my secretary what you want, honey. Everything will be at your house tomorrow." Darren said before kissing the woman again with his hot lips.

Darren and Vivi are probably both people who live alone in this world without a family. But unlike Vivi, who is suffering and lonely, Darren knows exactly what he wants and how to get it with his money.

Just like his other desires that need to be fulfilled, Darren needs to fulfill his desire for a contract marriage with Vivi. With his money, he will get her to fulfill his wish no matter what.

***

Dingdong!

Vivi was enjoying her late breakfast while watching TV when her doorbell rang. And she felt a bad feeling when she saw a courier come with lunch that she didn't order.

"This food was ordered by Mr.–"

"Darren Hart?" Vivi asked, cutting the courier off. The woman let out a long sigh as the courier confirmed her guess. "Then you have the wrong house. I don't know anyone named Darren Hart, and I don't want to receive anything in his name. Does he think I'm stupid enough to be tricked twice?"

"But this isn't a scam, miss. Mr. Hart has already paid, and all you have to do is accept it."

"He paid?" asked Vivi with a raised eyebrow. But at the thought that the cunning man might be playing another trick, Vivi quickly shook her head. "I still can't accept it. You can pick it up and take it home if it's already paid for."

"I'll get fired if I do. This is the most expensive food in our restaurant, and I need to make sure you accept it, miss."

"How expensive is it? It can't be more expensive than yesterday's chocolate, can it?" asked Vivi, causing the courier to check the receipt.

Vivi's eyes bulged in disbelief when she heard the amount the courier mentioned. "The total is $20,580. That includes the delivery fee of $80."

"How much did you say?" asked Vivi.

"$20,580, miss."

"Twenty thousand... Five hundred... That's..." Vivi held her head in her hands, getting dizzy thinking about the price of the food that she couldn't even name the price properly because of the many numbers. "What kind of food is this? Does it contain gold bars? Or a motorcycle? Is there a land certificate? How can food be so expensive?"

"It is a special dish prepared by our chef with the finest ingredients, miss. Mr. Hart ordered it especially for your lunch, miss. So can you accept it now?"

"No! No!" Vivi shook her head, refusing the lunch package presented to her. "I don't want to pay that much just for food!"

"But you don't have to, miss. Mr. Hart has paid for everything, and all you have to do is accept it and enjoy it for free."

The courier's explanation made Vivi blink her eyes before staring curiously at the food sent for her. Even though she had a lot of money now, Vivi swore she would never spend that much on food. Therefore, if she missed this food now, she would never taste such an expensive food again in her life.

"It's really been paid for, right?" Vivi asked to make sure, to which the courier nodded.

"You can keep the receipt, miss."

Vivi accepted the receipt the courier gave her. She examined it carefully, leafed through it, and then looked at it to make sure there were no hidden conditions to this expensive meal that Darren had given her.

"Mr. Hart said he sincerely gave this meal as an apology, with no hidden intentions, Miss. Therefore, I hope you can accept Mr. Hart's good intentions through this meal."

"Ah, so it's to apologize," Vivi said, which relieved the courier that the woman was finally willing to accept the food he offered."It makes sense why it costs more than yesterday's chocolate. I'll take it if it's to apologize."

Vivi took the food into her apartment. But after a few moments, she regretted her decision to accept the food so easily. "He tricked me twice, what if he wants to trick me again? Why am I so stupid to accept his gift so easily?" Vivi thought with regret.

But when she opened the food and saw a variety of expensive and delicious seafood, Vivi immediately forgot all her regrets.

"Woah... No wonder everyone always wants to be rich," Vivi thought after tasting the food, which tasted just as amazing as the price. "Do rich people always eat food like this? It makes sense why rich people always look handsome, beautiful, and smart. It must all come from delicious, expensive food like this."

Vivi picked up a giant lobster and was about to break the shell when the sound of her doorbell stopped her.

Dingdong!

Dingdong!

Dingdong!

Vivi froze in her place as the bell continued to be pressed impatiently by the person behind the door. And immediately, Vivi regretted her decision to accept Darren's food, which she had already partially enjoyed.

"It's true that the most dangerous thing for a human is their mouth!" Vivi grumbled as she roughly cleaned her hands and mouth with a tissue. "Do I have to pay more than 20.000 dollars for all this food?"