Love Contract

They stepped through the entrance of the hotel. Even though they were safe and out of harm's way now, Mary's body was still trembling like a dry leaf. She clutched at her chest to stop her erratic heartbeat as she desperately fought to stop the dizzying feeling that overwhelmed her.

"Ew, ew..." Bile rose in Mary's throat and she began to vomit uncontrollably.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Victor was the first to speak, much to everyone's surprise. He rushed towards Mary and held her up because she was too weak to stand straight.

Mary somehow staggered to her feet and smiled. "Thanks, but I'll be fine. I am okay... I think I was just a little overwhelmed."

"Useless," William grunted under his breath. He grabbed Mary's hand as fast as he could and dragged her away, completely disregarding Victor's presence as if he never existed.

"What are you doing?" Mary struggled, but she had no choice other than to let the man drag her away like a rag doll. After all, she didn't want to attract more attention because she was already too embarrassed of herself for retching in the lobby like that. William strode ahead, completely disregarding all the baffled eyes that stared at him in fear and confusion.

By the time, the two of them entered a room, Mary's arm was already numb from the pain.

'We have slept in the same room before. It's not such a big deal. Not a big deal, at all, right?' Mary kept comforting herself, or at least, tried to.

"What are you doing?" Staring at her absent-minded face, William asked, "What's wrong with you? If you're still feeling uncomfortable, you should just go to bed !" "Huh? It's nothing. I'm sorry..." Mary unslung the bag from her shoulder and shook her head.

"Go and lie down," said William, with a frown on his face. "You have to attend the opening ceremony tomorrow, remember? You won't be able to go if you're sick!"

"Okay, fine." "You are such a self-centered man, William! I'm sick, but all you can think about is yourself and your stupid ceremony!' Mary's face crinkled as she walked away in disgust.

She looked around and found that there was only one bed. Mary's eyes lit up with surprise.

'Since there's only one bed, I'm taking the bed! Besides, you're the one who wants me to rest up. I would be stupid to turn down that offer!' Mary jumped into bed without a word and shut her eyes to sleep. "Ahem..." William coughed deliberately to get her attention. "Do you want me to get you some medicine?"

'Why is he being so nice?" "No, thanks. I'll be fine after some sleep," Mary replied from

underneath the quilt.

She waited and quietly listened until she couldn't hear any movements from the man before she came out of hiding.

By then, William had already pulled out his laptop and started to work.

After a while, Mary overheard William speaking to someone over the phone.

"Hello?" William put the phone to his ears and said, "You are in Shanghai? Where? Okay, okay, okay..."

Mary couldn't tell why she had such good hearing that she could sense even the affection in William's words.

After a rustling sound, Mary heard the door being pushed open from the inside, followed by William's footsteps fading out in the distance.

Mary's eyes shot open and she cautiously whipped her head from left to right.

It was already quite late in the night. Mary put her hand on her forehead to check her body temperature and got out of bed.

'What could be so important that William had to go out at this hour?'

Mary wondered for a moment and then felt guilty for prying into someone else's private life.

'Anyway, forget it! I shouldn't be thinking about it so much! In fact, I need to comfort my stomach for having gone empty for so long.'

After tidying up, Mary put on her shoes, ready to head out.

As soon as she opened the door, someone from the room across also opened the door from the inside.

Mary felt annoyed because she was shocked. 'This hotel's design needs a serious do-over! Why would anyone put doors on both sides facing each other? May be I need to have a word with the authorities!' When she looked up, she found that it was Victor!

He was dressed very casually with a cap on his head and a pair of sunglasses, which was what one would wear to hide themselves from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. His surprised eyes swept over Mary. "Well... What a coincidence!" Mary smiled at him and continued, "Where are you going at this hour?"

"I couldn't sleep. I guess I was just bored so I thought to go out for a walk," said Victor with a faint smile.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Mary nodded and continued, "I just woke up too. I needed to stretch my legs." "Together?" Victor raised his eyebrows.

"Ah... Sure." After hesitating for a while, Mary agreed.

"About what happened on the plane... Thank you," said Mary. She looked at him with sincerity and continued, "I haven't formally thanked you."

"Oh, don't worry about that. How about buying me dinner?"

Suddenly, a playful smile appeared on Victor's face, revealing his straight, pearly white teeth. Mary almost lost herself in his smile as his words took her by surprise.

Snapping out of her reverie, Mary quickly smiled and said, "Okay, no problem with me. What do you want to eat?"

"How about we go to one of those sidewalk snack booths?"

Shortly after, the two were sitting in the corner of a sidewalk snack booth, beer in the left hand and a stick of barbecue in the right. Mary had a big grin on her face and she felt unrestrained, which was an alien feeling to her. She raised her bottle of beer and said, "I am so glad you wanted to eat here. I'm not a big fan of western food. It's too bland for my taste. But this I can eat forever... Come on, cheers!"

Victor chuckled and happily raised his bottle as well. "Cheers!"

"One more toast! Thank you for comforting me on the plane."

"Don't mention it! I am just glad to see that you're okay!"

The two of them had eaten so much food that they couldn't even think of eating another bite.

However, their search for something other than food led them to the Bund.

There weren't many people around since it was very late in the night.

They walked for almost an hour while the sea breeze blew Mary's hair back from over her face and flapped wildly in the wind.

"I'm glad I got to know you better, Victor." Mary smiled.

"Ah? What do you mean? "

"When I was dealing with your scandals, I used to think that you were nothing but a bad boy who only liked to make trouble." After a pause, Mary continued, "I'm glad I was wrong about you, because you're not such a bad person after all."

"Now you must know that I'm a very nice man, right?" With a smile at the corners of Victor's mouth, he asked, "Are we friends now?"

"Of course," said Mary. She chuckled and said, "You have drunk and eaten meat with me. You are my friend now."

"Well," said Victor with a smile at the corners of his mouth. "Then next time you feel like having some tasty meat or beer, you let me know."

"Deal!"

The two didn't go back to the hotel until the winds were cold enough to drive them back indoors.

As soon as they entered the hall of the hotel, they saw William sitting in a corner with a cold face.

The anger seeped out of his body like fiery steam. Although he was just sitting quietly, his eyes had the power to make Mary feel colder than she did when she was faced the cold winds at the Bund. 'Has he been waiting here for me all this time ?'

Amused by the thought, Mary sneered at herself. 'That can't be right!" "You... William, what are you doing here? Are you waiting for someone?" Mary walked over to William with a curious look on her face.

"Well!"

he said, abruptly raising his eyes towards her. His deathly glare could easily burn a hole through her face. "Mary, who do you think I am waiting for?"

Mary watched him stand up slowly, gnashing his teeth as if he was going to tear her into pieces. 'Was he really waiting for me? Then, today is going to be a bad day for me...'

"I don't know. Were you waiting for me?" Mary felt numb with fear and her words stuttered. "I was very hungry when I woke up so I went out for dinner..."

"Dinner? Do you know what time it is now?" With his hands in his pockets, William casually said, "It's twelve o'clock."

Victor wanted to come up and say something in her defense, but when he thought of his own position, he feared that the more he tried to fix the situation, the more chaotic it would be. Silence seemed like the better choice under the circumstances.

Everyone else present at the lobby found themselves curiously drawn to their conversation.

"All right. Let's talk about this later and go back to our room first," said Mary, tugging at his sleeve. "Everyone's looking at us. I don't want to talk about this right now."