A young, good-looking man came down from the car, it was Luca, Martin's best friend. He hugged Martin, Martin was surprised to see him that early at his place, he asked;
" Dude, what are you doing, here? It's been a while though."
" I came to see you; Helen told me about the new development; why would your dad do such a thing? Hasn't he realised that you're no longer a kid? You're a grown man for God's sake." Luca said.
" Helen told you this? When did you both… … … … …"
" Hey Luca, how are you? You're here so early." Helen interrupted Martin.
" Yeah, I'm here. How are you faring now? Hope you're taking your medications?" Luca asked her.
" What is going on here? You also know that she was sick. When did you both speak that I'm not aware of?" Martin asked, looking confused.
" I called her yesterday when I couldn't reach you and she told me everything," Luca replied.
" Just like that? Helen, why didn't you tell me that Luca called?" Martin asked Helen, still looking confused.
" It slipped my mind, I'm sorry." Helen apologised.
" Really? You forgot, ok? So, Luca, what are you doing here so early?" Martin asked, looking at Luca.
" Yeah, I came to see you nigga." Luca said with a smile.
" As you can see, we were on our way out before you crossed our path," Martin said.
" Going to see a lawyer right? Don't worry, I got you covered, bro; I already made arrangements with my lawyer; he'll be here shortly." Luca said, still smiling.
" You did what? Helen, did you know about this?" Martin asked, looking pissed.
" No, I don't, I'm as surprised as you," Helen said, looking uncomfortable.
" Yo bro, it's nothing. Helen told me you've already gotten a lady to act as your wife and I decided to make it easier for you. So, I decided to get you a lawyer because I know that your dad is well-connected and known in this city. You might fall into the hands of a lawyer who knows him, and you know what that means, right?" Luca explained.
" Wow! So you both talk at midnight too? Because the last time I checked, Evelyn came here in the middle of the night, so how did you get to know so early?" Martin asked, looking surprised.
" Martin, what are you insinuating? Helen is my girl; we've been friends before you met her; I introduced her to you, so we chat often." Luca said.
" You know what? I'm not doing this with the both of you, I'm out of here." Martin said and left them, he went back into his house.
" Why didn't you tell me you were bringing a lawyer?" Helen asked angrily.
" I wanted to surprise you, I didn't know you already made arrangements for it," Luca explained.
" Next time, you ask questions before taking action, gosh!" Helen said angrily and walked out on him, she also went back into the house.
" I was trying to help, gosh!" Luca yelled.
He parked his car properly and joined them inside. Soon, his lawyer was around, and Helen called Evelyn on the phone to come over to the house to sign the papers.
Shortly, there was a knock on the door;
" I'll get the door," Helen said excitedly as she walked hurriedly to get the door.
" Hi Evelyn, come on in." She said as ushered her in.
" Hi everyone." Evelyn greeted.
" Hi!" Luca and his lawyer chorus.
" So guys, meet Evelyn; she will be acting as Martin's wife for the next three years," Helen said with a broad smile.
" Three years?" Evelyn asked with her eyes wide open.
" Yes, three years. Do you have a problem with that?" Helen asked her, looking confused.
" I thought it was just for a year or a maximum of two years; I never knew it was going to be for three years," Evelyn explained.
" Two and three what's the difference? See, we're dealing with a very intelligent person here, so we have to make everything look real to him, or else we'll be shooting ourselves in the leg, do you get it? Though you still have a lot of practice to do with Martin, you both need to know each other better so that his father doesn't suspect anything." Helen explained calmly.
" Ok, it's fine. Where are the papers?" Evelyn asked, looking around.
" Calm down, why are you in haste? You have to go through the papers thoroughly before signing them or do you want to sign what you're going to regret later in the future, so please take your time to go through the document and let us know if the rules are what you can abide by or not." Helen said softly.
" Ok," Evelyn answered.
" Miss Evelyn, please have a seat as I hand over the document to you, please go through it and let us know if you are ok with the stated agreement." The lawyer, Mr. Augustine said to Evelyn as he handed the documents to her.
Evelyn went through the document thoroughly and said;
" It's fine by me."
" Are you sure you went through the document thoroughly? No strings attached, I'm still his girlfriend, so I'll be spending the night sometimes in this house because I can't be seen here often during the daytime, else his dad might find out someday, and you'll file for a divorce after three years, and I'll get married to him." Helen explained.
" Yes, I understand everything written in the papers. Can I sign now?" Evelyn asked.
" Yes, you can, but before then, I hope you saw the consequences that come with you revealing this to anyone. Not even your mum must know about this, ok? Because she might end up telling someone, and that's how news spreads, so take note. also, no matter what happens, there is no going back; you must fulfil your side of the agreement, remember it will last for three years." Helen said.
" Ok," Evelyn replied, nodding her head.
Evelyn signed the papers and gave the document back to Augustine who passed the document to Martin. Martin also signed his part of the agreement. Helen was so happy, according to her she brought up an excellent idea. Martin transferred the upfront payment to Evelyn's account and she left hurriedly for the hospital to go pay for her mum's surgery.
Augustine left Martin's house, so it was just Luca, Martin and Helen left. Martin wasn't happy about the whole situation so he left Luca and Helen in the living room and went into his room to meditate.
Luca and Helen chatted and played games; a few hours later, Luca also left for his house. After he left, Helen arranged the living room and joined Martin in the bedroom, he was already fast asleep. She joined him, too, and they both had a nap.
Two days later, Helen and Martin were watching TV when Helen's phone kept buzzing;
" Ain't you going to pick that?" Martin asked, concentrating on the TV.
" I'm enjoying the movie. Don't want anything to distract from it; I'll call whosoever is calling later," Helen replied.
" It might be important or an emergency, we can't tell. You won't know why the caller is calling unless you answer, so answer the call." Martin advised.
" Fine!" Helen said and answered the call reluctantly.
" What!" She exclaimed loudly.
" What's the problem? Who called you?" Martin asked, looking shocked.
Helen couldn't say a word, she kept staring at Martin till her phone dropped off her hand.