With a casual step, wearing only gray hotpants and bare-chested, Hunter re-entered the room and saw Isabella, who immediately greeted him and stood before him. The man frowned, noticing the nervousness on his wife's face.
"Um..." Isabella seemed unable to speak, repeatedly trying to divert her eyes from Hunter's gaze.
"What's wrong?" Hunter asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Hunter... I... I..." Isabella grew more anxious, especially with Hunter looking at her so intently. "Don't you find me attractive right now?" She asked quickly, then looked down at herself.
"I'm wearing one of the dresses by your grandmother..." She suddenly spun around as if trying to see herself. "Isn't it nice? Doesn't it make you interested in me?" She asked with a forced smile.
Hunter was silent for a moment but then sneered.
"Am I not pretty?" Isabella's smile faded, and she slowly backed away. "Oh my God... I should have..." She immediately turned to walk toward the bed.
Hunter quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her back so that they were face to face again, very close. The man wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, looking deep into her eyes until he could feel her tension.
"What if I'm tempted? Can you take responsibility?" He asked.
Isabella immediately looked down.
"Can you take responsibility?"
"I... I..."
Hunter held Isabella's chin, lifting it until she was forced to look up at him. He paused for a moment, seeing the perfect beauty of his wife.
"You did it," he whispered.
"What?" Isabella whispered, her heart pounding. 'Oh God, those eyes... Those eyes are so wild. Is he going to...'
"You're tempting me, and it worked," Hunter whispered as he stroked Isabella's lips. "But... I don't want you to feel responsible... I want you to serve me because you like me, not because of your duty as a wife," he continued, then released her chin from his hand.
Isabella was stunned, frowning.
"I know you're very grateful to me for freeing you from your debt, and you're also disappointed in your lover," Hunter said again, then walked toward the sofa.
Isabella was silent in confusion, not knowing what to do, even her mind filled with questions about how to know her disappointment with Joe. Instead of being curious, she immediately approached her husband and sat beside him.
"How... How do you know?" she asked while her husband focused on the TV, which was playing a movie.
"Hunter..."
Hunter immediately turned, making Isabella stunned.
"Tell me," Isabella whispered.
"I know you're not okay with him," Hunter replied with an intense gaze. "But I don't know if it's because he's jealous of what you did, or maybe he's just a jerk who can't make you happy," he continued before turning back to the TV.
Isabella sighed, moving slightly away from Hunter, recalling what happened between her and Joe last night.
"I won't interfere, but I just want to tell you that you are precious... Consider yourself precious and don't let anyone take advantage of you," Hunter said with a flat expression. "Don't do anything that you're forced to do anything... Do it if it makes you happy... Including in our relationship... I won't accept you until you consider this a real marriage, not a contract," he continued.
Isabella glanced back at Hunter. 'Why is he saying that? Why does he want me to consider our marriage as a real marriage, not based on a contract? How could that happen? Does that mean we won't get divorced? Does he want to abolish all the agreements? But... But why? Does he love me?'
"A marriage should be based on love and trust..." Hunter turned back to Isabella. "Comfort... And sincerity... Those are things we need to start building."
"But... But we have an agreement," Isabella whispered nervously.
"Then does that agreement still apply if we can love each other?" Hunter asked calmly. "Will you still expect to go back to your lover if you're already comfortable with me?" he continued, raising his eyebrows.
Isabella remained silent, her eyes filled with shock.
"I want us to start," Hunter whispered as he gently took Isabella's hand.
She swallowed, her heart pounding as she felt the tenderness of his strong hand.
"I know you still have thoughts of going back to your boyfriend... It's okay. But while we're together, I want you to forget him... And learn to love me, then consider me your husband forever... As if the contract never existed... Don't ever talk about it... I won't disappoint you," Hunter whispered gently, realizing the fear in Isabella's eyes. "Don't worry... I won't play with you. If you can't love me... You can go back to him after the contract is over," he continued.
"But..." Isabella swallowed. "But... But what if I manage to love you, and you don't love me?" She asked nervously.
Hunter just smiled.
"That would be very bad if I fell in love and you didn't..." Isabella pulled her hand away. "That would hurt me!" She asserted.
"Isabella Quinn..." Hunter shook his head. "You have no choice..."
She was silent.
"You have to learn to love me, whether you want to or not, without knowing my feelings for you... Because I won't accept service from you as a wife if it's only because you feel bound by the contract. It must be based on a desire to be with me," Hunter explained again.
Isabella exhaled harshly, then turned her face away.
"You're weird... How can I love you if you're annoying?" She asked irritably. "You know, love also comes from admiration, comfort... But you... So far, you've only made me calm because you paid the debt, but otherwise, I feel pressured... So how can I fall in love? How can I fall in love with a man who's not even sure if he loves me?"
"But you did it with your boyfriend... You loved him without knowing if he loved you," Hunter added, making Isabella immediately turn to him.
"He loves me..."
"How do you know?" Hunter asked, raising his eyebrows while Isabella immediately turned her face away. "You should have known that his willingness to let you marry me is already a sign that he doesn't truly love you. He should have helped you pay off the debt, which is only one hundred fifty thousand dollars... He may have that money since he's been working all this time..."
Isabella just sat quietly, looking down.
"I'm sure he has enough money to help you, but he didn't want to because he's lazy or maybe stingy..." Hunter sneered, shaking his head. "A man like that doesn't deserve your love... You're precious, you deserve to be treated well... Don't be a love beggar, let the man love you... Give you whatever you need, no matter what!" He emphasized.
Isabella sighed, then turned back to Hunter. "Then you're going to say that you can give me whatever I need... You'll say I'm more deserving of loving you than him... I know you're superior in every way compared to him... But this is about feelings... I'm sure he didn't mean to be stingy or lazy to help me... But he didn't have the money," she said, seemingly not wanting Hunter to belittle Joe.
Hunter was stunned, seemingly not expecting Isabella to still defend Joe.
"Please... Don't speak bad of him..." She pleaded.
"Okay..." Hunter sighed. "I won't talk about him anymore, there will be no more talk about him between us. But I will give you what I can because I want you to love me... And you said you wouldn't be able to love me if I behaved annoyingly... And I won't do that. I want you to love me unconditionally." He said with a disappointed look before immediately standing up.
Isabella looked up, watching Hunter walk out of the room.
'Now what should I do? Why did he leave? And... And now what should I do? Shouldn't I try to tempt him? But could he be the one who tempts me?'
...
Seattle, 6 pm
Loraine was busy packing some clothes into a black suitcase, ignoring the beautiful girl sitting on the edge of the bed behind her.
"How long will you be in New York?" The girl asked as she stood up.
"Until I make sure my sister will be with that man forever," Loraine replied while closing the zipper of the suitcase.
"Why do you want your sister to be with that man forever when you know she's still in a relationship with Joe..."
"Joe hasn't brought any change in her life; he's useless to her!" Loraine turned to look at the girl. "I can't improve our lives, so I think I'll help her through that man... I'll make sure she doesn't go back to Joe... I'll make her more focused on that man..."
"But she loves Joe..."
"No, she'll love Hunter... He's her husband... So... They'll always be together, and love will grow, especially since he has everything, he can give her what Joe couldn't!" Loraine asserted, then approached the girl and cupped her face, looking at her intensely. "Kate... I'll often come here to visit you... Don't worry. Besides, this house will still be my home, I'll come back here." he smiled reassuringly.
Kate instead rested her head on Loraine's chest, her face reflecting sadness.
"It's okay... I'll make sure to come back here as soon as my mission is accomplished," Loraine said, gently stroking Kate's brown hair. "You know, I can't stay away from you either..."
"Then you shouldn't leave me just to take care of your sister's business..." Kate pulled her head away from Loraine's chest. "You shouldn't try to bring your sister together with that man just because he's richer than Joe... Haven't you thought about Joe's feelings? He's been with your sister for so long... Even seeing your sister marry that man must be painful for him..."
"Even a long time isn't enough to convince you that my sister is his true love..." Loraine distanced herself from Kate and then walked toward the black sofa.
Kate remained silent, watching as Loraine quickly put on her shoes.
"If he truly loved my sister, he would never let her sell herself just to pay off debts... He would do whatever it takes to help us. But what do you see now... He's even willing to end their relationship temporarily so that my sister can focus on that contract marriage. It's insane... If I were him and you were in my sister's position, I would sell anything I had to pay off your debts!" Loraine exclaimed in frustration while putting on her shoes. "Even if I had nothing left to sell, I might become a stunt double in action movies, risking my life... Whatever it takes... I would do anything for the woman I love," she continued, occasionally glancing at Kate.
Kate sighed, then approached Loraine and sat beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder while looking at her with a smile.
"Every day, I feel more and more that Joe is just playing with my sister... Now I see that man is so good and has the potential to be a better husband for my sister. It would be better to get rid of Joe and focus on him," Loraine added.
"So, you're doing all this purely for your sister's happiness?" Kate asked.
Loraine gave a thin smile as she turned to Kate. "Of course... And if that man becomes my brother-in-law forever, I'll benefit too. Maybe I'll get a good job from him, then I can buy a nice apartment... And then I'll bring you there!" she said enthusiastically.
Kate only responded with a slight smile.
"Isn't that great? My sister will be happy, then I'll be happy, and you'll be happy too!" Loraine reiterated, then returned to focusing on tying her shoelaces. "Love is important, but so is money. In today's world, relying on love alone isn't enough to make a happy family... money is necessary too. Everything will be perfect with money."
Kate remained silent, listening to Loraine's ambitions with resignation, but her faint smile seemed to hide a certain cunning.