The knock distracted them both and as the door opened the old man with bushy eyebrows appeared.
"Mr Hayden." The lawyer walked into the room. He was much more serious and sour looking than before when Emilia met him at the conference.
"Please, take my desk." Christopher pointed at his chair before he walked around his desk and took a seat beside Emilia.
"I'm not certain that I have understood your question during our call." The lawyer admitted as he took some papers out, including the copy of their marriage certificate and William Hayden's last will.
"I have very recently learnt that Emilia was tricked into signing the marriage contract."
"Tricked?" The lawyer looked at Emilia as if he suspected her to lie about it.
"I was told that it was an employment contract." Emilia was beetroot red in embarrassment.
The lawyer sat down and rested his forehead on his hands as if he had a headache. He probably did. He was in deep thought as he tried to recall everything he knew.
"You thought the marriage contract that you have signed was an employment contract? You do realise that it has 'Matrimonial Agreement' written on the front page? You surely couldn't miss that?" His voice was full of doubt.
"Well, it didn't when I've signed it." Emilia replied sharply.
"Mr Hayden, that can be considered a fraud."
"It wasn't me." Christopher replied with the unexpected level of calmness at the level of accusation in the lawyer's voice. Even Emilia was impressed that he kept the composure.
"Sure." The lawyer said although his voice showed the lack of conviction.
"As far as I'm concerned, Mr Hayden was as unaware as I was." Emilia jumped to defend her supposed husband.
"You didn't realise that you were married for six months?"
"No." Emilia shook her head.
"My question is, is annulment possible for the sake of Emilia?" Christopher asked directly. Emilia noticed his fidgeting so well concealed under the table. He was tapping his fingers on his leg but even then she noticed a nervous shaking. Maybe it was that she saw his humane and vulnerable side before that she caught it so quickly.
"Mr Hayden, you surely must know the answer. Dissolving this marriage will result in you losing all of the assets, including your company."
Emilia looked at Christopher's face trying to decipher his emotions. She realised his motives for the prompt marriage a few months earlier that resulted in him marrying a stranger.
"Is there no exception, considering the circumstances?" Christopher asked, his fingers tapping more quickly, out of the view of the lawyer.
"You're past the period to re-marry to ensure you meet the demands of your father's last will."
Christopher looked down in thought. He was about to lose everything. And Patrick was definitely getting fired.
He wasn't sure if he was ready to lose everything. But it was for Emilia. Emilia who taught him to see the beauty in the smallest of things. Emilia who lay with him in a meadow. Emilia who told him of hammerhead sharks. It was Emilia. He would do everything for her.
"I understand." Christopher nodded. "How long will the annulment process take?"
"What?!" Emilia exclaimed in surprise. "No." She shook her head. She couldn't let him give up everything he ever had because of her.
"Emilia?" Christopher looked at her in surprise, only now realising that her eyes were glued to him. He tried not to see her over the past few minutes as his heart couldn't take it. He couldn't talk of annulment when those brown eyes made him melt on the inside. He couldn't let her go when he wanted to drown in those eyes and explore their depth.
"You didn't tell me that was the reason you have married me. You cannot make this decision so lightly!"
"That's the only way."
"The only way my ass." Emilia grumbled. "What are the terms of the inheritance?" She turned to the lawyer, which startled both of the men in the room. Her tone of voice changed completely. The timidity was gone and replaced by the decisiveness.
"Madam…" the lawyer looked at her in surprise.
"Tell me the terms of the inheritance." She demanded.
"Well, Mr Hayden was to marry within a month of his father's funeral to inherit his family's fortunes. He couldn't be the one filing for the divorce or do anything to drive his wife towards the divorce, I.e. actively asking for her to file for it to get the inheritance or anything else that would jeopardise the marriage."
"How long does he have to stay married for before he can get the divorce?"
"A year."
"Okay." Emilia nodded. Her face was now showing contemplation. "Seeing as he is willing to lose the entire fortune and let me annul this marriage right now, if we were to remain married until the one year mark and I willingly file for the divorce, he will technically meet that requirement, right? And he wasn't the one telling me, you were."
"I suppose."
"Good." Emilia nodded.