Love Contract

Chapter 28 Trying To Avoid Him

"The studio said they wanted to use our photos as sample pictures in their leaflets." Mary stood in front of the car and asked William, "That okay? They said we'd get a discount."

"Don't they have their own people for that? Photographers, models, what-have-you?" William said, after thinking it over.

"Yeah," said Mary, her face turning red. "Maybe we did an awesome job."

"Tell them they can show other clients our photos," said William after a pause. "But they don't need to print them in the leaflets."

"Okay, I'll tell them." Mary nodded, turned around and was about to leave, but William put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Wait a minute."

"What's wrong?"

Looking into her eyes for a bit, William asked, "What do you think of my idea?"

This made Mary a bit skittish. She answered hesitantly. "I think....I like it."

"Okay, go ahead. See you soon." There seemed to be a smile at the corners of his mouth when William spoke.

Mary hurried back to the studio.

'Why did he ask my opinion? He's the boss, after all. It's nice of him to do that. And why that mysterious smile? Is that because of my idea, or some other reason? I could get real used to this.' And yes, she could. It was a good feeling to be valued and included.

When she got into the car, Mary still insisted on sitting in the back seat. She had no time to care about William's dark face. She had to stay away from a dangerous creature like him.

The two kept their silence the whole way to the family house. Timothy sat in the living room, like he was waiting for them.

''Father!''

"Hi Father, we're back."

"So you are. Why so late?" Timothy sat up from the sofa and looked at Mary with a smile. "Are you tired? How did the shoot go?"

"Not too tired to talk. And we got some great photos." "We took two sets of indoor pics," Mary said.

"No outside shots? Why not?"

"It was noon, so we had to come back. Outdoor shots take some more doing. The weather, the wildlife, the lighting... Inside is easier."

"You're right about that." Timothy nodded, "Let's get something to eat and quit for today."

"Thank you, Father." As Mary nodded, she stole a glance at William.

Since they entered the house, the two men hadn't said a word or even made eye contact with each other. It seemed the chasm between father and son was still too wide to cross.

Biting her lip, Mary remembered what she heard last night. 'It was like they were arguing about responsibility. But what exactly did they argue about? Was this about the company?'

"By the way, I need to head back this afternoon." At the table, Timothy suddenly opened his mouth. Mary was so surprised and even William didn't believe it.

"That soon? How come?" Mary asked with a frown.

"I'm worried about your Auntie Amy staying out there alone. It's a foreign country, after all," continued Timothy. "It's a good idea for me to go back early. Forward those wedding pics to me, please. I need to look them over."

"You are ready to go, then?" asked William. Timothy replied casually, "Yeah."

He didn't even look at him when he said that. The rest of the meal was a little awkward. After lunch, William drove Timothy to the airport in person, while Mary stayed home to relax. William didn't really want her along anyway.

William's dad really liked her. Or seemed to, at any rate. Was it just because she was his daughter- in-law? But what would the old man think if he knew that she had connived with William to cheat him? Would he be disappointed? Melancholy, maybe?

However, she didn't know that Timothy was pretty smart and capable. How could he be deceived so easily?

"William," Timothy started, "Do you know why I asked you to drive me today?" He didn't want anyone else in the car, so he figured this might be easier if he only had to deal with his son.

"I don't know, Dad. You have something to say?" William said, biting his lips.

"Very good," Timothy said slowly. He continued, "I know everything about you and Mary."

Hearing that, the hand holding the steering wheel paused. Although William felt he already knew the answer, he still asked with a trace of doubt, "What do you know?"

"Do you still want to lie to me?" Timothy smiled with disdain, "You pretended to marry her and you two both tried to deceive me."

Hearing that, William squinted his eyes and felt relieved. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he needed to come clean. "I should have guessed I couldn't hide it from you for too long."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You tried your best."

"But you weren't the only one I wanted to fool. It was everyone."

"So, what? You promised her riches beyond belief if she married you?"

"We just took what we needed."

"Okay, okay," said Timothy angrily, "I really thought you were better than this. Who on earth did you do this for? Sansa or Frank?"

He paused, too angry to continue. Frowning, William still said nothing.

"Sansa's been gone for five years. I know you feel guilty and you miss her," said Timothy with a pained expression on his face. "But are you really going to spend your whole life doing this? Do you really have no one else in your heart except her? Are you willing to stoop so low for her?"

"Low? Come on, Dad" All of a sudden, a sarcastic smile appeared on William's face. "Just because Frank likes me, you think I've stooped low? Is that it? Is it really that bad?"

"Yes! Of course it's that bad! Tell me, are you in love with Frank?" "So what if I am?" "Really? That's all you have to say?

You... You're impossible!" Timothy was furious. "If you don't care what I think, then think of your reputation! This family's reputation! You can't forget Sansa so you want to stay with her brother? What a joke!" "A joke?" William replied.

"You think this is funny?" he continued. William flashed an evil, ironic smile. "As long as I like it, it doesn't matter if other people are laughing at me!"

"You ingrate! How did I raise such an asshole son!" Timothy shouted, trembling with anger. If it weren't for the fact his son was driving, he would have already lunged at William. But that might kill them both. "You stubborn ass! If you don't know what you did wrong, I'd rather kill you than let you ruin this family!"

"Well, we're at the airport." William just braked the car gently without saying another word. After the car rolled to a stop, a bodyguard came to greet Timothy.

Timothy was so angry that he left the car and slammed the door. "I'm an old man, so I've seen a lot. Mary's really good to you. And don't worry: I won't expose you. Since you're married, it's fate. You take care of yourself!"

Seeing that Timothy had passed the security checkpoint, William decided he didn't need to stay any longer and headed back to the family house. Mary had just left the house, a handbag over her shoulder. When she saw William's car, she asked, "That didn't take long! Did Father already get on the plane?"

"Yes." With no expression on his face, William didn't intend to say anything about the conversation he had with his father. "Going out?"

"Yeah, Mom's in the hospital, remember? I have nothing else to do, so why not?"

"Let me drive you there."

"What?" Startled, Mary refused instinctively, "No, I'm good. I can get there myself."

"What's wrong with you?" said William, staring at her with his deep eyes. "You are avoiding me the whole day."

"No, no," Mary shook her head with a guilty conscience. "You... You're wrong."

"Then get in the car," said William domineeringly. "Dad's gone. We don't have to come back here."

"You should pack your stuff. I'm taking off."

"Wow! Seriously? Leave now, and won't get paid! Think about that!" William shouted at her.

"You... Okay, fine." 'You're so mean, ' Mary said in her heart.

When she was about to open the back door, she was frightened by another roar from William. "Mary Lu! Are you really going to sit in the back seat?"

Looking at the murderous light shining in the William's eyes, Mary decided maybe she should listen to him, at least this once. She climbed into the passenger seat.

The car arrived at the hospital in a flash. When William was about to leave, he was stopped by Mary.

"William Lan!"

"What's wrong?"

"I..." Mary hesitated whether she should tell him that she wasn't coming back tonight. Would she make a mountain out of a molehill? Maybe he didn't care about it at all...

"I asked, what's wrong? You're acting weird." William frowned.

"I... I'll be back late tonight," Mary said with her eyes closed.

"What time you think you'll be back?"

"Three o'clock."

"Three o'clock in the morning?" "Why would you be out at that hour?" asked William with confusion.

"For the part time job." All of a sudden, it dawned on William that he had forgotten that Mary still had several part time jobs. "Where are you going?"

"The convenience store."

"The convenience store?" All of a sudden, something occurred to William and he asked, "The one beside the Love Bar, huh?"

"Well..." she hesitated. "And just how would you know that?" Mary asked in surprise.

"I didn't. I guessed. Do you want me to pick you up?" William asked with a careless expression.

'Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!'

Mary felt that her heart was about to jump out of her chest, but such an ordinary sentence stirred up thousands of waves in her heart. 'You don't have to be so nice to me, Mr. Lan.'

"You don't have to," said Mary. "I need to go to work tomorrow. I can go by myself."

"You're such a stupid woman. Aren't you afraid of running into thugs?"

"I'm not considered hot, and I have no money. I'll be fine. By the way, you can leave now. I'm going in." Mary smiled casually.

As soon as she said that, she ran to the inpatient department at breakneck speed. She didn't wait for William to say anything more. "You..." William was speechless and watched her run away. He pounded his fist hard on the steering wheel. Why did she make him feel like this?

When Mary ran into the chemotherapy room, she was surprised to find that her mother had just woken up.

After changing into the antimicrobial clothing, Mary couldn't wait to enter the chemotherapy room.

"Mom, I miss you so much."

"Mary." Mary's mother touched her head lovingly. "I miss you too."

"How are you? Doing okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"That's good." "Mom, I can't come visit you much. You have to be fine." Mary lay her head on her mother's chest.

"Silly girl," Mary's mother smiled, but she looked haggard. "Where's William? Why didn't he come with you? You two guys okay?"

"He... He's too busy," said Mary. "We're both good."

"Then I'm happy," said Mary's mother with a smile. "That's a guy who's going places. Mary, just stick with him and don't lose your temper." "I won't. Why don't you trust your own daughter?" Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Ha ha." Mary's mother was amused and smiled, "By the way, tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Mary with a sweet smile. "Aww, Mommy, you still remember my birthday."

"Of course I remember my daughter's birthday. It's on Children's Day."

"Ha ha, that's right," said Mary with a smile. "Every one of my birthdays can be celebrated with all children, but I'm getting old every time."

"In my eyes, you're always my little girl."