Love Contract
Chapter 46 We Don't Owe Each Other Anymore

Clap!

A clear and loud slap suddenly boomed in the restroom.

William could feel his face burning and his ears buzzing.

Mary's eyes were brimming with tears as she shook off William's hand. Sneering, she spat, "William, that was for raping me that night. From now on, we don't owe each other anymore! I won't bother you anymore. Please stay away from me."

She lowered her head, her entire body trembling.

Upon hearing this, William shut his eyes close and exhaled sharply. When he opened them again, he had an indifferent look on his face. "Mary, I'm the one who hurt you. I'll give you anything you want- anything but love and marriage. This time, I owe you. Remember that."

William slowly turned around. "Kevin and Jane will be here soon. Hurry up and fix yourself."

Mary raised her head, tears welled up under her eyes as her vision was blurred.

The door clicked-it was closed. William remained motionless, frozen in spot. He balled his hands into fists, grimacing in pain.

'Mary, I'm sorry.'

Jane and Kevin reached the 32nd floor just before the clock struck eight o'clock.

The atmosphere was thick with tension which did not go unnoticed by Jane.

Everything seemed normal as Mary sat on her desk, seemingly hard at work. The stillness in the air made her chest tighten.

"Kevin..." Jane quietly approached Kevin and asked, "Do you feel that too? There's something off about the atmosphere here."

Kevin frowned. The awkwardness was certainly not lost on him but he knew that there were some things that he shouldn't be prying on." "This is none of your business."

"I..." Jane pouted and said, "I'm just worried about Mary."

"Just mind your own business." Kevin shook his head as he flung a pile of documents towards Jane.

"Sort these out. It's urgent," he instructed. "What?" Jane seemed upset as she shut her mouth close.

That evening signaled the start of summer. The gust of wind that blew against them seemed a little clammy. Still, everyone was in a good mood as they chatted and laughed amongst themselves.

Mary rode her scooter to the convenience store where she worked part-time. She hadn't spoken to William in a while. Even Victor hadn't contacted her to avoid any gossip. Her life seemed to have returned to normal-the life she had before she had gotten married.

However, every time she thought of that night when she lost her virginity to William, she was left in a daze. She wondered if she had been too easy on William with that measly slap.

"Peter, it's you again." Mary pushed the door open and forced a smile.

"Mary!" Peter looked worried. "Are you okay, Mary?"

"I'm fine."

"I saw you trip at the gate of the hospital. It was on TV. I was so worried about you," Peter said in a huff. "Those reporters went too far!"

"Ha-ha!" Mary said, smiling. "I wasn't careful. I don't really care about them."

"Mary, you're too kind to just be bullied by them like that."

Mary didn't say anything. If she was really too kind, she wouldn't have let the security personnel drive the reporters out of the community. "Peter," Mary said. "Tonight's the last time I'm coming to our store for my part-time job. Always remember to take care of yourself in the future."

"What..." As much as Peter wanted her to stay, he sighed and said, "Mary, you should take care of yourself too. Don't forget me..."

"Yes, I won't forget you." Mary smiled as she stroked Peter's hair.

Meanwhile, in the Love Bar, the music boomed across the room as the people danced along to it.

"Stop drinking." Lucas and William were in a private room. Lucas grabbed the glass of wine from William's hand and scolded, "I just came back from a patient's home. I thought you'd welcome me better than this. Why are we drinking here?"

"I am welcoming you." Then William grabbed his glass back from Lucas. "Drink up! It's your welcome drink!"

"Look at yourself, William!" Lucas frowned and said, "When I arrived, you were already drunk and you're still drinking! You haven't even said a word to me."

"What do you want me to say to you?" William stared at the red liquid in his glass as he twirled it around.

"Tell me where you went these past few days and why you drink like this!" "Norway." Taking a sip of his wine, William said, "I went to Norway with Frank." "You..." "What did you do when you went there?" Lucas asked nervously as he grabbed William's arm.

"What are you so worried about anyway? We didn't get married there," William said, slapping Lucas's hand away.

Lucas heaved a sigh of relief.

Then William continued, "But we've already planned everything. We're going to migrate, get our marriage certificate then have the ceremony in a year." "William!" Lucas stood up at once. "I think you really have gone mad!"

"Yeah, I have." William didn't even bother refuting as he downed his wine in one gulp. "It's better to be in Norway than suffer here." "Suffer? What are you talking about?" "I thought you've already dealt with all the issues of your company?" Lucas prodded.

"Yeah." Then William poured another glass of wine. The red wine left a bitterness in his mouth.

"Then what are you talking about?" Seemingly pissed, Lucas asked, "Are you really planning on moving to Norway?" "Yes."

"It's been about what? Seven or eight years? I've been convincing you all this time. If you don't want to listen to me then I can't do anything about it." Lucas sneered. "Then I guess I'll just wish you and Frank a happy life."

"Thank you, man." William raised his glass and downed his wine in one gulp.

"You're welcome!" Lucas had a cold look on his face as he raised his glass to drink up.

They stayed in their private room, drinking and talking.

When Lucas saw that William was getting drunk already, he grabbed his phone, intending to call Mary. Like last time, he wanted to ask Mary to come pick him up so he could create the opportunity for the two. "I'll call Mary and ask her to pick you up. Don't drink anymore!" Lucas warned.

William frowned but didn't refuse.

"Du, du, du..."

Mary picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Mary," Lucas said. "William's drunk again. Could you please pick him up?"

Mary stood in the convenience store and watched as people came in and out of the Love Bar.

"Where are you now?"

"Love Bar. It's the same bar from last time."

'Just right across the street, 'Mary thought.

William was sprawled across the couch, pretending to be drunk. In reality, he was trying to listen in on Lucas and Mary's conversation.

Initially, he didn't expect anything. However, when he heard Mary ask where they were, he was enlivened. He found himself looking forward to seeing Mary.

He couldn't help but grin at the thought of seeing Mary.

"I can't pick him up. I'm busy," Mary said calmly.

"But... But we're both drunk. Neither of us can drive!"

"Then hail a taxi." Mary sounded exasperated. "I'm hanging up now."

"Du, du, du..."

Lucas helplessly put his phone down. When he turned around, he saw the undeniable disappointment in William's eyes.

He had never seen William like this before. "You're the one who left without saying goodbye. "Lucas blamed. "And you left a mess for her to deal with. She will probably be angry for quite a few days." Lucas rubbed him on the shoulder and comforted him. "Come on, let's just drink. Let's drink more. Tonight, we're not going home.

"I raped Mary that day," William blurted out.

Pfft! Lucas spat out a mouthful of wine. He grabbed William by the collar and bellowed, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I had sex with Mary!" William hissed, looking back at him.

"You, you..." Lucas loosened his grip on him. He roared, "No wonder she hates you! You deserve it! And that was her first time?"

"Yeah."

"William, how could you? Are you still a human being? You're a monster!" Lucas cursed.

"That was also my first time!" Upon hearing this sudden outburst from William, Lucas briefly froze before breaking into a fit of laughter. "What did you just say? That was your first time too? That doesn't make a difference!"

"Lucas!" Glaring at him, William gritted his teeth and said, "I'm exhausted. Don't provoke me anymore!"

"Okay, okay." Lucas stopped laughing and composed himself. "Then how did you compensate her?"

"I gave her a check."

"Sure enough, that sounds like you." Lucas sniggered. "Is this what you were talking about when you claimed you were suffering?"

"Yeah."

"Well, why don't you just be with her?"

"I'm not interested in her."

"Bullshit!" Lucas pointed a finger at him. When he spoke, he was infuriated. "Not interested? Then why did you look so excited when you thought she was going to pick you up?"

"Fuck off!" William glowered at him.

"I'm leaving. Let's see who's going to listen to you." Lucas snorted. "I'm the only one who can give you advice."

"Then what do you think I should do?" William asked, taking a sip of his wine.

"Never give up!" Lucas looked him in the eye. "You raped her! Why did you give her a check? You should be thankful she didn't beat you up and report you to the police!"

Visibly nonplussed, William touched his face which was swollen. "You should beg for her forgiveness and you have to be sincere! Besides, your contract hasn't expired yet. Is this your plan for the next few months? Just wait idly? Never speak to her again?"

Upon hearing this, William thought it made sense. After giving it more thought, he asked, "What if she doesn't talk to me?"

"Didn't I tell you to never give up? If you treat her well, she won't be mad at you anymore. You have to make up for what you did to her," Lucas said anxiously.

'Since it has already happened, there's no way out of it. The only thing left to do is beg for her forgiveness and hope she accepts it,' he thought. "Let's go home," William said as he stood up.

Lucas remained in his seat and snickered when William failed to notice that he hadn't moved. 'Bro, there's only so much I can help you with. Since you already slept with her, why don't you just maintain your relationship with her? Maybe she'll fall in love with you and you'll fall in love with her too. Then you won't have to go to Norway anymore.'