Love Contract

Chapter 21 Get Angry Again

William pushed away Mary's hand from his sleeve.

"Don't touch me," he said coldly, and began walking away from her. He passed by Victor, and said curtly to the actor, "You're going too far. Stop provoking me or you'll regret it."

Victor met his eyes, but didn't say anything. William sneered and kept walking.

Mary rushed after him. When she passed Victor, she stopped briefly to apologize. "I'm sorry about all this. I didn't know he would react in this way."

"It's all right," Victor said calmly. "I was the one who suggested having dinner together."

"I'm really, really sorry," Mary said again. Her face was flushed. She looked embarrassed and anxious.

"Mary!" snapped a harsh voice. Down the hall, William had stopped and turned to glare furiously at them. "Get over here now!" Mary pressed her lips together and hurried towards him.

As soon as she approached him, she began speaking earnestly, trying to defuse his anger. "I was just having dinner with him. I was so hungry and I ate a lot, that's why it took so long." He didn't answer. They reached the elevators, and he pressed the button while Mary kept talking. "There were no members of the paparazzi following us, I'm sure of it. There won't be any repercussions for the company, if that's what you're worried about. It won't affect the company at all."

Finally he looked at her. "It will affect me, Mary." Without warning, William grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the side of the elevator. He placed both hands on the wall beside her head, trapping her, and glared down at her with burning eyes.

Mary was stunned. She lifted her head to look up at her husband's face, thoughts tumbling through her mind.

'What is he going to do? Is he going to hit me? Or kiss me?'

But Mary was wrong. William contented himself with glowering at her, and saying loudly, "Our contract was very clear, Mary! It states that you can't be in a relationship with any man for the next year. Did you forget that? Or were you deliberately violating the terms of the contract?" he demanded. Mary swallowed, and William went on, "If you're thinking of breaking our agreement, just say so, instead of doing it this way!"

With a soft chime, they reached their floor, and the elevator doors opened. William walked out abruptly, his body tight with anger.

Mary took a deep breath, then went after him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Mary said. She had to almost run to keep up with his long strides. "You've been very generous, and I hope you'll let this incident slide. I don't want to break the contract."

William snorted. They reached the door of their room, and he pulled out his card key to tap it against the lock. He pushed open the door and entered.

"I need the money to pay off the upcoming hospital bills and the loans I got before," she said, trailing after him as he walked through the room. "I'll stick to the contract in the future, okay?" She waited for him to respond, tapping her foot anxiously.

"Mary," said William sharply. "What?" she asked.

He stared at her, but she didn't get the point. After a moment he snapped, "I need to go to the bathroom!"

"Oh!" Mary said, flustered, realizing that she had followed him into the bathroom. She turned red. "I'm sorry, I'll go."

She went out and closed the bathroom door firmly behind her.

William looked after his wife with a combination of irritation and unwilling humor.

Mary sat down on the sofa. But she felt restless. Glancing around her, she noticed a bunch of stuff on the table in the center of the room. NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

She came over for a closer look, and saw a bowl of cold porridge. There were also packets of medicine. She picked one up, then another. Anti-vomiting pills, anti-carsickness pills, antinausea pills...

Her eyes widened. Had William bought all these for her? 'Was this supposed to be for me?' she thought.

She heard the sound of a door opening and turned to see William emerge from the bathroom.

His eyes drifted to the packet of pills in her hands.

"You bought these?" she asked. She gazed at him, but he didn't answer. "For me?" she prompted hesitantly.

He shrugged. "Supposedly. I think they're unnecessary now."

"I'm sorry," said Mary for what felt like the thousandth time this evening. To her surprise, her throat tightened, and she felt tears coming to her eyes. Since her mother had become ill, it had always been Mary who had to take care of her and buy her medicine for her and do everything to make her comfortable. Mary hadn't realized until now how much she missed being fussed over when she was the one feeling sick. It was so unexpected to receive that kind of attention from William, of all people. "I'll pick you up before the opening ceremony tomorrow," said William coolly, beginning to leave the room. It was clear he had no intention of coming back tonight.

Mary considered asking him to stay, but something stopped her.

'I'm not a real wife, ' she thought despondently. 'It's not my place to persuade him to stay here with me.

The only thing I can say is sorry, but I've already apologized so many times.'

She watched without moving as William left her alone inside the room.

The night sky outside the window was bright with vivid neon lights.

Mary sighed and sat down on the sofa. She looked at the bowl of porridge. She was already full, but she felt a sudden urge to eat it.

She picked up a spoon and began digging into the porridge, swallowing one mouthful after another. When she had finished the bowl, she let out an unladylike burp. 'There, William, I'm accepting your kindness and now I'm so full I could burst. Since I'm still on the job, as per our contract, will this be counted as an occupational injury?' she thought to herself, grinning.

The next morning, William arrived to pick up Mary. He was silent and distant, and she didn't push him. Mary was taken to the dressing room, where the actors were also getting styled. A make-up artist started to dab powder on Mary's face.

After a few minutes, a group of leaders entered the dressing room to inspect the activity. William was with them, talking in a low voice to the other men.

"Who is this actress? I haven't met her before," said a greasy-faced man, stopping to study Mary's face. "She's pretty, very pretty," he mused, his eyes moving down to her cleavage.

Mary's temper rose immediately, but she tried to stay calm. To herself she thought, 'What a dirty old man. If he'd looked at me with those obscene eyes before, I would have slapped him.'

Everyone working in the dressing room knew, of course, that Mary was the CEO's wife. They were silent and embarrassed.

William stepped forward to stand beside Mary. "This is my wife," he announced, and the man turned red. The displeasure in William's tone was obvious, but he said calmly enough, "Mary, this is Director Wang. Say hello."

Mary stood up obediently, smiling blandly at the greasy-faced man. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Director Wang forced an awkward laugh. "Ah, Mr. Lan, I see your taste is still impeccable. I see now why this beautiful woman is here. Glad to meet you, Mrs. Lan!" "Thank you," said William. He turned to the makeup artist. "Finish what you're doing, so Mrs. Lan can come with us to show Director Wang around." Immediately the makeup artist put a last dab of blush on Mary's cheeks and patted down her hair, then Mary stood up and went to William.

"Let's go," he said, holding out his arm. She placed a hand on his sleeve.

For the rest of the day, William made it a point to take Mary wherever he went.

Many onlookers thought it was all very romantic, and that it was sweet for the CEO to show such concern for his wife. But Mary knew the truth — she was being kept on a leash, like a child who had been grounded for misbehavior.

She sighed inwardly, feeling bored and wishing she could slip off and do something on her own.

The opening ceremony was dull and monotonous. When it was William's turn to speak, Mary leaned forward in her seat, and she caught sight of Victor looking in her direction. Their eyes met, and she started to smile, but then she noticed her husband watching her from the stage.

Mary immediately leaned back in her seat, her heartbeat quickening. William was watching her every move like a hawk, and she had to be as careful as possible not to provoke him.

As soon as the opening ceremony was over, everyone applauded. Now it was time for the real work to begin. The actors were soon busy with the demands of shooting the first episode.

"Do you want to watch the shoot?" asked William.

Mary shook her head. "I'm a bit tired. I would prefer to leave now," she said.

"Fine. We'll leave together," said William.

Mary hadn't expected that answer. "Why, do you also want to escape?" she blurted out without thinking.

"Yes," said William without hesitation. Her use of the word 'escape' hadn't slipped his notice, but he didn't remark on it.

"Then let's go," said Mary, sounding marginally more cheerful. "I'm sick of these high heels."

She began walking away from the set, so quickly that William had to speed up to catch up with her.

He felt vaguely bemused. Hadn't she just claimed to be feeling tired? Why was she suddenly so energetic?

When they were together inside the car, she suddenly spoke. "Hey, are you still angry about what happened yesterday?"

William snorted. "I don't care that much. Do you think I'm as petty and narrow-minded as that?" he snapped.

Mary wore a supercilious look. "Well, based on your expression right now I'd say you're still angry."

William scowled. "If I am, so what? Are you saying I shouldn't be angry about what you did?" Mary made a face at him. "Okay, okay, I've already admitted I was wrong and said that I'm sorry.

Come on, what can I do to get you to stop being mad at me?" He mulled over the question. "Be a good husband and tell me what you want," she teased.