Chapter 18

Kathryn frowned and asked, "What if I don't want to?" Her grandmother had repeatedly advised her not to settle for less, let alone force it! Everything was for the sake of her happiness. This was an act, and she wasn't keen on putting up with it.

Markus' mirthless expression turned even colder. "Were you listening to Mr. Albert?" If she continued to refuse, there would only be one outcome—and that was leaving Harborlean!

She wanted to say more, but his sharp gaze reminded her of her predicament. She was trapped and had no choice.

When he realized she had nothing more to say, he asked immediately, "Where are your identification papers?"

"They are with my sister," she answered with her head hung low.

Markus checked the time on his wristwatch before continuing, "I'll give you the rest of the afternoon off. Go get it."

She finally felt what it was like to be forced into marriage. She'd always imagined it to be a customary affair with roses and candlelight. Perhaps their families would be around to discuss wedding gifts. Demanding her identification papers for the marriage wasn't something she'd ever expected. Despite the threat looming over her head, all she could do was nod. "How long?"

He raised a brow. "What do you mean by 'how long'?"

"Didn't you say it was only a marriage of convenience?" Kathryn, who'd come to her senses, knew there was no way out. All she could do was ask them to make the terms clear.

Markus furrowed his brows at the mention of time. "You'll have to ask Mr. Albert." All Markus knew was that he had to get Chris' mother to give up. He didn't know how long they had to keep up the pretense.

Her expression turned despondent. She was unable to summon the courage to ask Chris herself and left Markus' office in a daze, her complexion ashen.

Chris, meanwhile, was going through documents in his office when he caught glimpses of Kathryn packing up and leaving through the gaps between the blinds when he looked up. The sight of how dispirited she seemed left him vaguely displeased.

That was the moment Markus walked in. Chris asked, "Did you make everything clear?"

Markus nodded and answered, "You should've been the one who broke the news to her. This is a marriage!"

Chris had instead threatened the woman the moment he'd opened his mouth. What if Kathryn bailed from fright? There were many women who desired to marry him in Harborlean, but it wasn't easy to find the right one. The resounding silence that followed gave away how morose he seemed. It was obvious her reluctance had left him incensed.

"I gave her time off to fetch her identification papers. Ms. Michaels has a sister," Markus said.

Chris only hummed in response. Markus also didn't think it was reasonable for him to ask. After all, this was to be a marriage of convenience. There was no need to take proper marriage etiquette to heart.

Kathryn, on the other hand, hadn't immediately left after getting out of the company. She'd instead sent Tally a text and was currently sitting by a flowerbed near the company building, waiting.

Tally soon arrived, after kicking up a storm, and plopped down beside her friend, completely out of breath. She handed her a packet of beef jerky and took several swigs from a bottle of frozen lemonade before asking, "What happened?"

Kathryn accepted Tally's offering. "I'm getting married."

Tally spat out a mouthful of lemonade in response. She stared wide-eyed at Kathryn. "What did you say? I think I misheard you." Hadn't she just promised that they would be by each other's sides? Was she being left behind?

Kathryn hung her head. "With Mr. Albert."

"Wait, what's going on here?" Tally was confused.

Markus had made it clear that this was a marriage of convenience and wouldn't be made public. But Kathryn didn't want to hide it from her best friend. How could she? She told Tally everything that had transpired, from beginning to end. Tally's jaw was on the ground by the time she finished.

"Do they know that it was you that night?" Tally asked after a pregnant pause.

Kathryn shook her head. "They don't know, but from now on, I'll have to say it's me if anyone asks."

Tally was still bewildered. What kind of joke was this? So, Chris still had no idea that it was Kathryn, but he needed to get married and have Kathryn pretend to be the person from that night. Why go through all that trouble? Was it to nip some sort of scheme in the bud?

It took Tally a while to sort out the details in her mind and sigh in disbelief. "You and Mr. Albert are like star-crossed lovers!"

Star-crossed lovers were ill-fated. It was like living on the precipice. If Chris found out that it had been Kathryn that night, the consequences would be far different from what they were now.

"You have to say yes!" Tally exclaimed. She would be in trouble too if Kathryn said no.

"He wants me gone from Harbolean if I say no," Kathryn said.

"Small matter if you dip out of Harborlean. But if the Johnsons are forced out of the city …" They would've suffered an injustice. The duo had come this far by keeping the matter under lock and key. They had no choice but to keep hiding it.

Kathryn's silence prompted Tally to ask, "What are you planning to do now?"

"I'm going to my sister's place to get my identification papers," Kathryn answered. Back when her mother had remarried, her name had been transferred to her stepfather's household registry. She and her sister's names remained on their grandmother's household registry. When the elderly woman passed away, the two of them shared the same records.

Tally handed Kathryn her car keys when she heard she was going to her sister's place. "Here."

Kathryn shook her head. "I'm not driving." Her sister, Jessica Michaels, and her husband, Matthew Quinton, lived in an urban village on the outskirts of Harborlean. Driving there in Tally's Porsche would be too showy.

Tally thought about it and agreed. "I'll drive you to the subway then."

Kathryn shook her head again. "No need. I need to go to the mall to get some stuff."

Despite living in the same city, she rarely visited Jessica out of concern that she would put her sister in a tough spot. She would visit with gifts for her niece every time she stopped by so that her sister-in-law wouldn't be able to say anything.

"Can I drop you off at the mall then?" Tally was going to lose her temper if Kathryn continued to reject her offers.

Kathryn smiled and hugged her friend. "You're the best, Tally."

Tally had shown her nothing but kindness from the moment they'd met. Junior high was the prime time for children to form their views of the world. Many of her fellow classmates showed disdain for her because of her perceived pauperism. Only Tally, the rich kid in the eyes of the masses, was willing to play with her.

Tally was delighted by Kathryn's words. A large part of the pressure of being discovered vanished. "So, you do know I'm the best. Will you be having dinner at your sister's place?"

"I don't know. You don't have to wait for me."

"Cool!" Tally playfully shoved her.

The two women left for the underground garage together. Kathryn called up Jessica after she got in the car to ask how tall her niece was now.

Jessica, on the other end of the line, spoke in distress when she learned that her sister was planning to buy the child clothes, saying, "You don't have to do this. She already has a lot of clothing. You should treat yourself better now that you're being paid. Save up when you have extra. It'll come into use in an emergency."

Kathryn felt warmth spread through her at her sister's concern. She knew how frugal Jessica was. Children's clothing was much better quality now, and it took a while for it to wear out. Still, she saw them becoming shorter every time she visited! Her niece did have a lot of clothes, but that was simply because she couldn't bear to throw them out. She never went out of her way to buy new clothes.