Emmanuel was curious as he approached Mackenzie.
Mackenzie was a cold and mighty CEO. She never answered such
questions like the one Emmanuel had asked. Instead, she crossed her
arms and leaned against the couch.
Emmanuel picked up the papers from the table and noticed that it was
two copies of the same agreement.
Not only that, Mackenzie had signed them beforehand and even stamped
them with her personal stamp.
Jeez! As expected of an executive of a big business! What a cultured
person! She's making such a big deal out of this!
The contents of the agreement were straightforward, with only three
conditions listed.
One, both parties were not to engage in sexual intercourse. If Emmanuel
were to touch Mackenzie in an inappropriate manner, it would be
considered marital rape.
Two, both parties were not to share their assets. Emmanuel would not
need to give Mackenzie five thousand every month. Mackenzie would not
ask Emmanuel for rent either. All expenditures would be split between
both parties, and they would only buy what was necessary.
Three, both parties would agree to a divorce in half a year. There would
not be a split of assets. Mackenzie could leave the house for Emmanuel.
Both Mackenzie and Terence had previously agreed to the deadline of half
a year. Besides, Mackenzie had already thought of a reason for her and
Emmanuel's divorce: They could not get pregnant, so staying married was
useless.
Emmanuel knew the agreement was advantageous to him. However, he
could not help but feel that Mackenzie was trying to guard herself against
him.
I've already clarified that I only agreed to this marriage because of my
mother. Why does it seem that she thinks I married her for her money and
good looks?
Noticing the frown on his face, Mackenzie said coldly, "Don't worry. I won't ask for the money that you borrowed from me. You can consider it my gift
to you after we get divorced. In any case, you shouldn't harbor
inappropriate thoughts toward me. Don't treat me as your real wife, either.
More importantly, you should stop thinking about Grandpa's money. You
and l'are not fated to be together!"
Nothing seemed more appropriate than hearing those heartless words
from someone like Mackenzie.
Emmanuel was not angry. After all, the conditions of the agreement were
not overboard. Before they got married, they had already agreed to the
marriage being fake.
Today was the first time he had brought Mackenzie home, which caused
him to imagine an unrealistic fantasy. Yet now, he felt somewhat upset
because Mackenzie had squashed what little bit of hope he had.
"Ms. Quillen, I've never once thought about your money or covet your
grandfather's money. It's up to you whether you want to believe me or not.
Since you think we're not a real couple, I won't give you five thousand a
month if that's what you want. But I will definitely return the money I
borrowed from you regardless of whether we get a divorce. Also, I won't
ask for this house from you!" Emmanuel spoke with determination.
Oddly, Mackenzie felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She had no idea why
she felt that way.
She had expected Emmanuel to get angry or even explode with rage, but
he did not.
"Ms. Quillen, you're indeed beautiful and have an air of elegance around
you. You're the most perfect woman I've encountered, but not every man
will fall in love with you or covet you! I'm a gynecologist, so I sometimes
wonder if I have erectile dysfunction because I never had any intentions to
take advantage of you. Hence, I'll sign this agreement!"
With that, Emmanuel reached forward to grab the pen.
Mackenzie was stunned momentarily. She wanted to snatch the pen
away but ended up not doing it.
After Emmanuel signed his name on the papers, his lips curved into a grin.
"Ms. Quillen, I don't have a personal stamp. Is it all right if I stamp the
contract with my thumbprint?"
Mackenzie was in a daze as she nodded slowly.
Emmanuel bit his thumb before stamping both contracts.
Mackenzie felt uncomfortable as the faint smell of blood wafted to her
nose. She felt her heart sink as she watched Emmanuel.
"I'm done, Ms. Quillen! Oh, I've prepared dinner. Do you want to eat
together?"
Emmanuel handed Mackenzie one copy of the agreement before inviting
her to dinner with him.
"No. I'm heading out." Mackenzie took the contract and got up from the
couch. "No need to wait up for me tonight. Just don't lock the door from
the inside."
Emmanuel smiled. "Sorry, but I've never waited for you to come home."
Pfft!
Mackenzie felt as if an arrow had just shot through her heart.
How dare he talk to me like that? Damn it!
Mackenzie called Beatrix to have dinner together that night.
To put it more accurately, it was for a drink rather than dinner.
The establishment they were at was one of the Quillen family's
businesses. They used to frequent the place for dinner, but it was their first
since Mackenzie had gotten married.
"Is there something on your mind, Mackenzie? Why are you drinking so
much?"
Beatrix didn't notice something was going on with Mackenzie at first
because the latter was good at hiding her feelings and thoughts.
In other words, Mackenzie never let anything bother her.
After she gulped down the eighth glass of alcohol that night, Beatrix finally
realized something was wrong and that Mackenzie was trying to get
herself drunk.
"I'm fine. It's just the cold weather. I'm having some alcohol to fend off the
chills," Mackenzie explained.
This is a problem and a big one at that!
Beatrix knew Mackenzie never cared to explain anything. Thus when
Mackenzie intentionally found an excuse to have alcohol, it simply proved
she was instinctively trying to play it off.
"Mackenzie, did Emmanuel do something bad again?"
Beatrix didn't dare to imply that Emmanuel could bully Mackenzie. After all,
no living creature on the planet could harass her cousin.
"Hmph! When has he ever done anything good?" Mackenzie spat coldly.
The Emmanuel she knew was an idiot. He would be troubled over a bit of
money and never realized who was the one on his side helping him. He
didn't even know who she was and kept talking back to her.
"Now, that's where you're wrong, Mackenzie."
Beatrix objected, "He dealt with the thugs at the project site and settled the logo issue. He even saved you once. I think he's pretty awesome!"
Mackenzie was stunned as Beatrix listed down everything Emmanuel had
done.
Actually, she didn't know why she had a stuffy feeling in her chest for the
whole night. Comprehension finally dawned upon her when Beatrix
pointed it out.
Am I feeling like this because of that idiot's words? No way! How is that
possible? I'm Mackenzie Quillen! I don't get upset over some man's words.
"Whatever! Let's not talk about that idiot anymore! Drink!"
Mackenzie forced Beatrix to down another glass of liquor.
Being the sharp-witted person she was, Beatrix secretly emptied the
contents onto the floor after clinking glasses.
Mackenzie noticed Beatrix's action but didn't expose her. She didn't care
whether Beatrix actually drank with her. She just wanted some company
that night.
Beatrix finally helped a drunken Mackenzie leave the building around ten
at night.
Unlike before, they ended up in different vehicles.
Mackenzie had a thing for controlling everything around her ever since
she was young, but her marriage with Emmanuel was out of her hands.
She couldn't return to the Quillen residence, and if she didn't want to head
back to Yociam Residence, she would need to find a place to crash that
night.
"Where should we head to, Ms. Quillen?" the driver asked.
A car with eight professional bodyguards trailed after them.
Mackenzie reclined against the backseat as if she had fallen asleep. After
a long silence, she finally uttered, "Go home."
"Yes, Ms. Quillen."
The driver drove her back to Yociam Residence.
Mackenzie's lips curved into a bitter smile at the sight. This is my home
now. A place that restrains me.
"Do you need me to help you up, Ms. Quillen?"
The driver offered his help when he noted Mackenzie couldn't walk in a
straight line, but he didn't dare to touch her without her permission.
"No, I'm fine. You guys can leave for the night."
"Yes, Ms. Quillen."
Once the driver and bodyguards left, she pressed the elevator call button
and staggered into it when the doors slid open.
A stabbing pain struck her belly when the elevator reached the
seventeenth floor. The world spun when she lowered her head, and she
nearly didn't make it out of the elevator.
At long last, she reached the front door of her unit with much difficulty but
couldn't get her keys into the lock.
"D*mn it!"
Mackenzie held her belly as another wave of pain hit her. She knew it was
because of the overwhelming amount of alcohol she consumed that
night.
She wanted to call for Emmanuel but felt it was too humiliating.
After all, she had never done something like that.