Azrael glanced at it and hummed.
"Hmm? Hmm?!"
He raised a brow. "What would you like me to say?"
She pointed at the line, flustered. "Read this! 'Party A cannot demand the fulfillment of… sexual intercourse unless Party B explicitly requests it', which Party B will never!"
Completely unfazed, he smirked.
Was she this naive or just a really great actor?
"See this!" she glared. "And you were getting all touchy-feely with me!"
Touchy-feely?
He chuckled, turning the wheel. "Do you know what sexual intercourse is?"
Valerie's mouth almost dropped. Her face flushed even deeper. "Of course I do! I'm not a kid!"
He glanced at her briefly. "What is it?"
She turned as red as a tomato. "It's… it's intimacy." She sheepishly whispered, avoiding his eyes.
The corner of Azrael's lips twitched at her struggle. "Penetrative sex by a penis or object."
Valerie's brain short-circuited. "I-I know that!" she snapped, mortified. "You didn't have to say it like that!"
She had been single since the day she was born. Even her puppy love with Marco didn't get past ice cream dates.
He hummed, unconcerned. "Then what's the problem?"
"The problem is—!" she waved the contract. "You're making eyes at me, acting all chummy, and you have a very dirty mind!"
His smirk deepened. "Did I ask you to have sex with me?"
She froze before her eyes widened slowly. "You…!"
"Exactly. I'm still following the contract," he said lazily. "For sex, you will need to come to me."
She gasped. Her face burned like she swallowed lava. "You are so shameless—!"
"Language."
Valerie was at a loss for words, like she had just been struck by lightning.
"Let's sign a new contract!" she blurted out immediately. "This one doesn't count! It's unfair!"
"That's all you get from me," he chuckled under his breath. "Take it or leave it."
"I trusted you!" She almost felt like crying. He was so polite and nice to her that she blindly trusted him like a fool. "You took advantage of my desperation! Who even writes contracts like this—"
"You didn't push me away."
That shut her up.
He hit the brake at the red light and peered into her eyes. "I'll back away when you do."
Valerie's face flushed instantly. She turned away, stubbornly avoiding his gaze.
She was caught off-guard. How could she push him away?!
"…Let me see what else you changed." She buried her head in the contract, flipping the pages quickly.
The car stopped again. She looked up and suddenly felt short of breath.
This time, the car stopped in front of her house.
Valerie's fingers tightened around the contract.
No….
Before she could even process it, Azrael unbuckled his seatbelt. He was about to step out—
"Wait!" She grabbed his arm instinctively.
Slowly, he turned to look at her, a hint of disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Valerie swallowed, her grip tightening. "You don't need to go."
Her voice came out lower this time.
"Let's not tell them today," she said quickly, her words tumbling over each other. "Once you have dealt with the media and I warm them up to the idea, it won't be late then. Right now, they— they're all inside, and Roe must have already told them, and if you just walk in like that after yesterday—"
She stopped, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes.
Azrael looked at her quietly for a second.
"Stay here."
"…What?"
"I'll get our son."
He said it like it was the most obvious solution. Valerie huffed incredulously.
This man…!
"I'm not trying to break things off with them!" she snapped, frustration bubbling up again. "You can't just go in and say whatever you want! I need to explain things properly, and that's gonna take time—"
But he had already opened the door.
"…Are you even listening to me?!" she hissed, scrambling out after him.
He wasn't. Of course, he wasn't!
He was already walking up the driveway like he owned the place.
"Azrael!" Quickly, she stuffed the contract in her bag and hurried after him. "Let's talk about this—!"
He rang the bell, and it opened like they were already waiting at the door. Valerie froze for half a second.
Panic shot through her as she rushed in right behind him to see the blank face of Auntie Eleanor—
"Mama! Daddy!"
A small figure came charging at full speed.
Looking away, Valerie instinctively bent down, her arms opening without thinking.
"Roe—!"
But he didn't reach her. Little Roe flew straight into Azrael's arms.
Valerie felt a pang in her chest.
Azrael caught him effortlessly, one arm steadying the small body as Roe clung to his neck like a koala.
"Daddy!" Little Roe beamed, practically glowing. "You came! You really came!"
Azrael's hand came up to pat his head, his expression softening just a fraction.
Valerie stayed there, still half-bent. She was ready to snatch her baby from him when her aunt grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Valerie!"
Her aunt's voice snapped her out of it.
She looked up just in time to see Aunt Eleanor rushing toward her, eyes wide with a mix of shock.
"Come here," her aunt said quickly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her aside before she could react.
"Auntie—"
"What is going on?" she whispered urgently, glancing toward Azrael and Little Roe before dragging Valerie a little further away. "Why were you with him? And why is Roe saying he's going to his place to see a big bounce house—"
She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening slightly.
Valerie's throat went dry.
Aunt Eleanor gasped. "Don't tell me you— oh my God! Did you agree to marry him?"
"…I didn't agree to marry him."
Aunt Eleanor sighed in relief. "Yes, you need to be careful when it comes to such marriages. Let your uncle and brother—"
"I married him!"
She blurted, and for a second Eleanor forgot to breathe.
"…For real?"
Valerie covered her face with both hands.
"I-I didn't mean for this to happen…" she muttered, her voice muffled, crouching slightly like she could disappear into the floor.
Her aunt flopped down on a kitchen stool.
"I just went to ask him to clear up the scandal," Valerie rushed out. "I thought if I talked to him, he would help clear things up, and we could come to an agreement—" She made a helpless gesture. "I made a mistake, didn't I?" she finished weakly.
Aunt Eleanor's brows knit slightly, holding back the urge to give her a good smack. "It depends. What did he say? Why does he want to marry?"
"He says Roe was being… neglected and that he would suffer."
Eleanor pursed her lips. It made no sense why he would want to marry her for this. Perhaps what happened between them five years ago wasn't that simple.
Her fingers curled into her dress. "I didn't even know about the trunk thing," she added quietly.
Eleanor quickly held her hand. "Was there a prenup? Did you sign anything?"
"Yes, this." She took out the contract to show her. "It's just a marriage of convenience," she said quickly.
Eleanor bobbed her head. They didn't realize how much they had sheltered her.
Despite great exposure, Valerie was private and very naive. Even in art college, her 'friends' had her footing the bills for their outings and shopping.
She sighed before quickly going through it.
Valerie winced, crouching lower in embarrassment. "He's such an evil man! I mean, there's nothing like decency or law for him…"
Valerie went on rambling to hide her embarrassment while Eleanor read through the documents before putting them down on the counter.
She pulled her up, making her sit on the stool opposite her. Aunt Eleanor narrowed her eyes into slits.
"Did you sign the contract without reading it again?"
Valerie froze. "No…"
Her aunt smacked the back of her head. "Liar!"
"Ow! I went through the main things—inheritance, custody, assets and stuff! There were like a hundred pages. I just thought, why would he even steal from me? He's Azrael Hawthorn!"
Valerie looked pitiful, but Eleanor rolled her eyes at her.
"And how did that work out?"
Valerie turned away, avoiding eye contact.
How could she tell her aunt it didn't even occur to her he would ever be interested in that kind of thing with her?
The limited knowledge she had about romance came from novels and movies. Then there were all the rumors she heard about men wanting to sleep with anybody but their wives!
Aunt Eleanor sighed. "It's still good."
Her aunt was the conservative type, and though she wasn't saying anything, the slight lift at the corner of her lips said enough.
Valerie's face burned.
Her aunt didn't respond, glancing toward the living room.
Valerie followed her gaze.
Uncle William and Victor were both sitting with their scowls, glaring at Azrael.
And Azrael acted like they didn't exist, listening to Little Roe on his lap, animatedly telling him about the game he played at his friend's birthday on the big bounce house.
"—and then I ran and hid with Felix!" Roe demonstrated, nearly slipping before Azrael steadied him with one hand.
"I was on team red. Mama was on team blue, and we had paint guns!" he continued, eyes shining. "And the bounce house was sooo big, Daddy! When I jumped, I went this high!"
He stretched his arms dramatically.
"I would jump, bounce high, and shoot! Then I would hide… I missed, and then I fell, and it was squishy, so it didn't hurt, and then—!"
She couldn't hear him properly from there. Her eyes flickered to Azrael.
Azrael listened attentively with a gentle, genuine smile, occasionally nodding, one hand steady on his back.
"…And then we won!" Roe declared proudly.
A small smile unconsciously tugged at Valerie's lips.
Aunt Eleanor, who was about to go serve them coffee, paused, looking at her.
She kept the tray in front of her.
"Go. I'll get the refreshments."