7: Contract

After leaving the hospital, Hilda Cavill volunteered to take Alicia shopping. Xavier decided to ditch the women, saying shopping wasn't his forte. There is no shop in the mall that Hilda and Alicia didn't enter. They got it over their head with spontaneous buying, so they ended up shopping for the baby as well. There is nothing they left untouched in the baby store. They bought a lot of stuff, including a tricycle. One would have assumed they were shopping for at least an already born baby. They left precise instructions to have the stuff delivered to Theo's residence the following day.

After the shopping spree, Hilda convinced Alicia to accompany her back to their estate, so she could get to meet Martin Cavill. Theo's father. Of course, in an attempt to please Hilda, she agreed. That's why she got home many hours later and Theo had already arrived.

*****

When Alicia walked into the house that night, she found Theo seated on the sofa drinking in the dark. She hadn't seen him initially, that's why she was startled, almost losing her footing, when she turned the lights on and saw him. He has a grim expression on his handsome face. He kept tapping on his whiskey glass impatiently.

“Theo,” She called excitedly, giving him a warm smile. “You will not believe what happened today…” She removed her shoes and stepped further into the house, ready to narrate the craziest day she had ever had to Theo.

“Why the hell did you loop my family in your lies?” Theo roared, getting on his feet and began stalking towards Alicia menacingly. Two significant facts that neither Xavier nor Hilda mentioned to Alicia was that Xavier couldn't keep a secret or lie to save his life. He has an itchy mouth. And second, Theo could forgive just anything but an intentional lie.

“Theo…”

“Shut up!” Theo barked, cutting her off firmly. “I don't want to hear it.” He held his palm up, thinning his lips dispassionately. “I will talk, and you will listen,” Theo added, retrieving a folder from the coffee table and thrust it into Alicia's shaky hands.

“What is this?” She asked with a small voice.

“Don't you know how to read?” Theo snapped, raising his brows incredulously. Alicia's face fell. She swallowed nervously, tearing the envelope, anxious to see what it contained. You to say she was shocked by Theo's harsh demeanor would be putting it mildly. Her eyes snapped back to Theo quizzically. Inside the envelope was a contract. A marriage contract, to be more specific.

“You will read through it and ask questions where you do not understand. You will then sign it and abide by every rule stipulated in the contract.” Theo articulated each word clearly to ensure she understood everything. “We are getting married tomorrow.”

“And if I do not agree to sign it” Alicia dared ask.

“Then I will get a court order and do a DNA on that embryo and if it is indeed mine, I can promise you that I have people who can dig dirt on you at the snap of my fingers. You will be declared unfit before even that baby drops.” Alicia took an instinctive step back. She didn't doubt Theo would do as he had threatened. It was written on his face for her to see.

“You have until morning to sign it,” he barked, turning to head upstairs. Halfway through the stairs, he stopped but didn't turn. “If I were you, I wouldn't do anything stupid, like trying to run away. I am not unresourceful like your darling Stephen Herald.” And he sauntered away, leaving her gawking at his retreating back. If someone had told her in the morning that Theo could turn into a heartless dictator in a matter of hours, she would have laughed at the person calling them crazy. But that is what happened. The sweet man who took her virginity and cared for her the night before was instantly replaced but someone she couldn't even look in the eye due to fear.

Theo's mention of her ex-husband-to-be, Stephen Herald, was proof enough that he could ruin her in an instant. It was barely a few hours ago when she confessed the truth to Hilda and Xavier. She hadn't even mentioned Stephen's name, for crying out loud. Theo had found that on his own, and the heavens knew how much more had actually dug up.

Alicia slumped on the couch with a defeated sigh, rubbing her temples. She was mad at everyone else but Theo. She wondered who between Hilda and Xavier had squealed. But having no way of knowing, Alicia decided to forget about it and instead study the contract in her hands. Placing her feet on the table, Alicia leaned back on the couch and held the contract in front of her.

A Marriage contract between Theodore Cavill and Alicia Smoke.

This document specifies the duties and the responsibilities of both parties: Mr. Theodore Cavill living at 51 Githongo street and Ms. Alicia smoke living at the same address. Both consensually agree to abide by this marriage contract until either or both parties want to nullify it. This agreement will be Valid from the 20th of May 2022.

Responsibilities:

*Theodore Cavill (husband), will be responsible for the well-being of Alicia Smoke (wife) during their duration of the marriage. This will include cars, clothes, jewelry, and everything else needed for her stature as a Cavill.

* Miss Alicia Smoke is entitled to a monthly allowance of $45000 for personal use.

* And in return, Alicia smoke will play the role of dutiful wife and mother to their unborn child.

* She will not engage in any activities that will bring shame to the Cavill name.

Warnings:

* No cheating will be allowed during the duration the two will be married.

* Upon the birth of the child, he or she will get a DNA test done and if it turns out Theodore is not the father, he will sue Miss Alicia Smoke for emotional duress. And if he is, Miss Alicia Smoke will get $1000000 as a token of appreciation from Theodore Cavill.

* In the case of Alicia Smoke, if by any chance she meets someone in the future and decided to get a divorce, under no circumstance will she be allowed to take the child with her. Of course, she will be allowed to visit the child whenever.

*The child will never set foot in the smoke family residence. If the maternal grandparents, uncles, and aunties want to be involved in the child's life, it will be under supervised visits.

* Unless both parties are in agreement, no sexual relationship will exist between the two.

Alicia let out a nervous chuckle after finishing reading the contract. It wasn't as absurd as she had expected it to be, but it still made her shudder thinking of what had become of her life.

She was running from an arranged marriage only to end up in a contracted one.