Love Contract

Jenna was awake. However, the presence of someone there shocked me, and I couldn't believe that the feeling was still there. That man was once someone I was so attached to until the incident ten years ago happened.

Jenna should have hated me back then, but she didn't. She distanced herself from her boyfriend, and I didn't know how he was doing. Now he was here.

How was I going to deal with him? This was so embarrassing.

"Clara, come here! You remember Blake, right?"

Remembered? Of course, I did. I had ruined his and Jenna's relationship. He loved Jenna very much, but I liked him. He wanted to date Jenna, but I didn't like that.

Don't get me wrong. There were two things I liked for a long time: Jenna and Blake. I wanted to have them both just for me. But Jenna took Blake, Blake took Jenna, and...

"Clara, what happened? Why do you look so weird?" Jenna asked again because she hadn't received an answer from me. I looked awkwardly at Blake, who... oh, if I had told you I liked him until now, you wouldn't believe me.

Look at that tall, well-built posture with his gorgeous tan. Without too much effort, he would have already managed to charm many girls into taking turns sleeping in his bed. Jenna was probably one of them.

I didn't say hello to Blake, but the bass-voiced man forced me to answer when a greeting came out of his mouth.

"Hey, Clara. How are you doing?" A faint smile played across his lips, leaving me unsure what to do before answering. Should I smile back?

"G-good," I stammered. Damn it! Couldn't my brain think before it acted? I looked stupid with that answer, and Jenna just chuckled on the bed. "What about you?"

"Fine. I was coming home from taking care of business in South Korea when I heard Jenna was hospitalised," he said, turning his head and looking at Jenna with a look that... I hope I was looking at him wrong and that it wasn't what I thought it was. "She's so stubborn. Why not eat well while I'm gone? Do you want all our plans to be canceled?"

Plans? What plans? Why didn't I know Jenna and this guy's relationship continued? I thought Blake was gone and would never come back. But now he was right before me with that sickening attitude he was showing for Jenna.

Why was I still jealous? It happened ten years ago. Just puppy love, right? Why did I still expect Blake to look at me like that and not Jenna?

"Wait! I don't understand. Are you guys..." I turned to Jenna, then Blake, and back to Jenna. Jenna's face was flushed, and Blake looked awkward. How did they meet? Were they dating?

What about the doctor? Wasn't Jenna dating him? Just yesterday, she was eager to set me up with Doctor Armando because he was her boyfriend's handsome doctor friend. Why now...

"We're getting married, Clara." Jenna turned to Blake and looked at him lovingly. "Blake and I are getting married in Venice. I hope you can come as my bridesmaid and witness our bond of love."

She smiled, Blake smiled broadly, while I was... stunned like a clueless fucking fool.

Why did this news sound so cruel to me? I liked Blake, God. But why did Jenna get him? Why wasn't there someone who loved me for once and came to me not just for sex?

I wanted someone to love me fabulously, too, just like Jenna.

***

For a few days, I avoided Jenna, even after she was healthy and back in college. I skipped class more often, spending time at home and nightclubs to get rid of the shadows of Blake and Jenna, who would both be...

No, no! You had to learn not to think dirty, Cla! If they were having sex after marriage, wasn't it natural? Or did they already do it before? Was that why these two were back together? And what about that doctor?

"One more shot," I said to the bartender, who had already made the drinks and filled another glass with vodka for me to chug. However, one sturdy hand immediately grabbed the glass and pulled it away from me. "Hey! Give me back my drink!"

"You're already drunk, Ms. Smith. Stop it." The man sat down next to me, who was already a bit drifted, but not to the point of being high. I could still clearly see that perfectly chiseled face and those charming hazel eyes as if they were speaking. Was he asking me to sleep with him? "Come, I'll take you home."

"No, Doc. Thank you. I'll go home alone and... thank you for your concern," I replied, snatching the glass back from him and downing the entire contents immediately. "Everyone comes to me just for sex. Are you like that too? Are you coming to me now to sleep with you and repeat that night?"

He chuckled as if my words were a joke. "I'm not that kind of guy. I can feel love, Miss Smith."

"Oh? Then you're a different man, and what a lucky woman who loved you. She must be delighted. While I..." I smiled bitterly. "He's getting married to Jenna."

The man didn't look surprised. Instead, he gave me a warm smile, saying he understood the feeling and the situation if I could translate it. Had he ever been left out of a marriage?

"Come with me," he said, which made me frown. I'm here to find you and have something to tell you—an offer of cooperation."

I frowned, trying to analyze his words because alcohol had managed to make me a little stupid.

I obeyed as he got off the chair and extended his hand. I quickly grabbed it, and he helped me get to his car. "I won't say it here but at my house. I'll ask someone to bring your car to your home while you come with me."

I nodded, letting him focus on the deserted road before him. I leaned my head against the window and stared out as if enjoying the ride when I wasn't at all.

We arrived at his residence and sat opposite him with a paper and pen in front of us.

"I've been looking into you for the past few days, and there's a lot of relation between us that makes me confident to do this with you," he said, which I still couldn't understand.

Where was this man really going with this? Was he going to offer me to be his mistress?

"Jenna is getting married to the man you love, while the woman I love is also getting married to my best friend. Same situation, right?"

Oh, I got it. Was this why he only smiled warmly at the club earlier? Because he was going through the same thing with me?

"It's even been over five years. We're still in a relationship even though she's married."

What? So, he had an affair with a married woman? Did he want to show me how to have an affair with Blake without Jenna knowing, as he did with his woman?

"Then what does your story have to do with me being here?" I asked, not understanding. He then thrust a paper at me and asked me to read it. "You want our contract marriage to separate your woman and the man I love from their partners? How can our marriage work to separate? The opposite is true."

"Well, Hellen would be jealous if I got married, and she would definitely take the extreme decision of leaving her husband while you and Blake ... please do it your way. What's certain is that our goal here is to get Ryan and Jenna together so that I can have Hellen, and you can be with Blake but still be good friends with Jenna—I know you're very attached to her and don't like her being close to anyone. So... how about it?"

Ryan Karl? Jenna's handsome doctor lover, Ryan Karl, was married? His wife was the woman Doctor Armando loved. What the fuck? Why was this romance so complicated?

"What if I refuse?" I asked, and he just grinned, making my hair stand on end.

"You wouldn't want this video to get out, would you?" he said, showing me the screen where a sex tape between me and someone I didn't know was playing.

I'd always had one-night stands, but I didn't think I'd ever had one with that guy. But was it real? Or was it me who had forgotten all the guys I'd had sex with? I knew now why Jenna never let me have sex with just any guy in the hotel.

Damn it! John Armando was a fucking old fart!

"How'd it go? Sign or be prepared for this video to reach your mom and dad."