008

Sophia De Santos

How do you react when the man you throw away your dignity in front of, all because of money is in front of you?

Especially when you've thought about them earlier that morning before coming here only to find him sitting right there, just a few meters away from you.

I suddenly lost my confidence. And my mind turned blank, completely short of words.

I hope I succeed in this interview. And maybe he wouldn't even recognize me… but that's impossible, the lights had been so bright last night that I know it's impossible not to remember me, but I can't lose this chance. I need the money... for him. For Ryan.

I quickly composed myself and walked towards him, and in turn he gestured for me to have a seat across from him.

“And what may I call you miss,” he demanded without looking up from his paper.

Evidently showing he didn't care much about this meeting, I mean it's pretty obvious by the way he pretended as if he can't remember me from last night.

Since it was like that, I also have no point trying to act familiar with him.

"I'm Sophia De Santos, and I'm here because of the Video that went viral-"

"I've already seen it. After all, you wouldn't be here if not for that, so miss Sophia, before we go into business, what would you like to offer you, coffee or tea?" He demanded, interrupting me.

I flushed a little from the embarrassment, “I think I'm fine for now sir, thank you.” I promptly rejected the offer, rubbing my sweaty palm together to compose myself.

He lazily tear is gaze away from the papers as he leaned back into his chair, clearing his throat before saying, “As I said, I've seen the video, and I can say the way you handle the frozen river isn't just anything you can randomly come across these days, but, unlike everybody else that might've seen the video I'm much more interested in something different, well, something that will be beneficial to us both.”

I looked up at his face confused, wondering one minute, he acted like he didn't know me, and now he's saying things I don't understand, so I couldn't help the tightness in my furrowed brow, “What are you trying to say sir?”

He stippled his fingers together on the table, and flashed one of those smiles that mocking would be the best word to describe, “Like I said miss Sophia, your skating is one of a kind, but as you may know, sports these days are…let's say kind of different.” He paused taking a quick glance at me as his fingertips found the paper he was previously looking at, turned it to face me and pushed it to my side,

“I'm a business man miss Sophia, and I can tell you that younglings, people below the age twenty are most likely to gain exposure and successfully make a name for themselves in sports rather than people above the age.”

My chest tightened and I swallowed hard, trying to not let his words sink in. I know I'm no longer young, after all I'd wasted my childhood, all of it, gone with the wind in a blink of an eye for that man, because I've been so blind. “Did you call me here to tell me about how I'm going to get rejected?”

“No miss Sophia, actually I called you here for a completely different deal, but before anything, can you take a look at the paper.” he uttered as he pushed it to my side,

I couldn't help glancing at it but when I saw it, it was a contract, I was supposed to come for one today, in contrast to the fact that I expected them to lay out their terms and conditions and if I was comfortable with the benefits, I'll sign them and began training, having them as my sponsorship agency; but I'd dreamt too high.

And the most bothersome part of the whole thing was, this is no business contract, it's…

“Coincidentally, we met last night in the bar, and we had some conversations I can call heartfelt, and one way or the other, we touched the topic ‘contract marriage’ . Haven't you wondered why Miss Clinton called you here?”

“Hannah? She knew about this?” I asked with my voice shaking slightly.

“No.” He curved his mouth slightly and stared into my eyes for a moment too long before muttering, “This whole meeting wasn't about the video, marry me miss Sophia and you won't have to worry about anything. Money, staking; even though becoming famous could be a really hard job, but with me it's highly possible.”

My mouth hung open in mid air, I just couldn't process any of this, firstly, it was pretending as if we don't know each other, or more like he don't remember me to proposing a contract marriage deal,

My gaze darted to the contract, then back to him. The room seemed to tilt, and the air grew thick and almost suffocating.

“You… want me to marry you?” I whispered, my voice cracking.

I've always thought this only existed in movies, or novels, so I never imagined myself in a position like this; having a real contract shoved to my face by an unknown man.

His expression didn’t change, it was that same calm and unbothered. “Yes.”

I stared at him, my disbelief suddenly morphing into anger. “Excuse me?” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended. “Is this some kind of joke? You bring me here under the pretense of a sponsorship meeting, and now you’re offering me a… contract marriage?”

His eyebrows lifted slightly, “Correct. And nothing beyond what’s written there. A two-year arrangement, during which you’ll have all the financials you need, skating opportunities, and the chance to build a future for your son. In return, I’ll have what I need—a wife. After two years, we parted ways. It’s as simple as that.”

“Simple?” I echoed, my voice rising. “You think you can just throw money at me, and I’ll say yes? I’m not for sale, Mr. Marquez.” Yes, Marquez, I heard that a lot from Hannah.

He leaned back in his chair, unfazed. “Didn’t say you were.”

My jaw tightened, and I crossed my arms. “Then why me?”

For the first time, his composure faltered—a flicker of something I couldn’t quite name flashing in his eyes before his smirk returned. “Why not you?”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not an answer,” I said sharply. “You don’t even know me. We met once, which I could barely, and now you’re offering me a contract marriage? What’s your angle, Mr. Marquez?”

His gaze hardened as he leaned forward, his voice dropping. “My reasons are my own. The question is: how badly do you want to save your son?”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me breathless. My hands trembled in my lap as I struggled to respond. Save Ryan. That’s all I wanted, all I needed. But this… this wasn’t the answer I’d expected or wanted. Just why was everything like this?