Chapter 9

“Can we please have our seats so we can start?” A man spoke, his voice was a bit raspy. He was dressed in a business suit too. He was sitting next to Sterling and Samuel’s parents. 

I sat down next to Sterling behind the conference table. As Patty was about to sit down on the right side of Sterling, his mother spoke, “No, no, dear. Come sit over here. Sterling should not even be seen with you.” Her tone was cold. 

From that brief interaction, I could tell that she did not like Patty. And I don’t think Sterling’s dad did too because he was giving her some glares. 

She listened and walked to the other side of the table and sat next to Sterling’s mother who kept a careful eye on her. 

On the table lay three folders that had documents stacked in them. The stack did not look big though. 

“Hi.” Sterling’s mother waved to me as she flashed me a smile. She looked excited to see me. I smiled back in response, of course. 

“So to begin, I would like to introduce myself.” The man with the raspy voice stood to his feet. “I’m Bill Steves, and I’m the lawyer of the William family. I assume that you don’t prefer a lawyer, do you?” He looked straight at me, causing everyone’s eyes to land on me. 

I gulped and anxiety choked me. I cleared my throat and when I looked at Samuel, I felt some form of strength and confidence knowing that I was not alone in this. And this was no time to chicken out. I had to get this done or my parents would end up behind bars for something that they are hiding from me. 

I looked back to the man with the raspy voice who had introduced himself as Bill. “To answer your question Bill, I would say no. A lawyer is not needed when both parties know very well what we are getting into.” I forced a smile. 

I gained an approved nod from Sterling’s mom. She seemed so proud. 

“Very well then.” Bill seemed happy by my reply. “Your parents would be coming to London in a few days and we would just leave the spaces for their signature empty if that is okay with you.”

I nodded firmly. “Sure.” 

“Great. After the signing of the papers then it’s straight to the notary.” He flashed me a smile before opening the folders on the table. “Sterling, mind signing here?” He pushed the paper close to Sterling on the table. When Sterling signed there, he pointed to a few more dotted lines until it was finally done. 

Now, it was my turn. 

As soon as the papers were pushed in front of me, I inhaled sharply and stared at the hundreds, if not thousands of printed words. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Samuel comforted me and showed me that he was there for me. “You’re doing the right thing…” 

I released a short sigh, grabbed the pen, and proceeded to sign on the dotted lines. When I was done, we took a few pictures, Sterling and I. It all seemed a bit comical to me. 

I never saw myself getting any time soon because I wanted to spend more time with Samuel. And whenever I thought about tying the knot, I imagined that it would be grand; special, and epic. Not all formal and legalistic as it was right now.

“Darling, that was done very well. You did so well!” Sterling’s mother gave me a hug. “This may be a contract marriage but I’m sure that this would be an opportunity for Sterling to finally open his eyes and see love in someone as beautiful, elegant, and successful as you.”

“Not someone like Patty.” She added in a sour tone, and I almost snorted a laugh. 

“Thank you. I guess…” I gave her a weary smile. “But I’m not looking for love from Sterling. I just want my parents to be okay.” 

She stared at me for a few seconds and her smile did not waver. “Yes, of course, darling.” She winked and then excused herself. She walked off to her husband and I searched around for Samuel. 

When I finally saw him, I headed in his direction. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a somber look sat on his face. 

“Hey, you okay?” I touched his arm when I closed the distance between him and me. 

He placed his hand over mine and squeezed it lightly before letting go as he smiled lopsidedly. “Do you want me to lie?” 

I scoffed lightly. “No.” 

“Then I am the complete opposite of okay. I’m hurt, and I’m…I’m pissed, and just feel really crappy,” He confessed. “My parents are literally ignoring me. I lost my birthright. I lost my dignity and respect. But mostly, I lost you.”

“Oh,” I breathed the word out as I gently touched his face. “You have not lost me, and never would. “Just because I’m now legally married to your brother does not mean that he has stolen me from you,” I assured him. 

I sniffled dryly. “Yeah, I know.” His voice was small. “But if I had just stayed the morning of our anniversary instead of writing that crappy note, none of this would be happening.” 

I tried to argue with him but I could not because he was right. 

“Heather!” Sterling called me from across the room and I looked at him. “Time to go.” He looked annoyed that I was with Samuel. 

I breathed out a lazy sigh. “I guess this is goodbye.” I removed my hand from his face. 

“Yup,” He said, popping the p. “I would give you a call. And don’t worry, we would figure it all out.” 

I stared at Samuel for a few more seconds and then finally excused myself. I walked off to Sterling who was waiting for me. When I reached him, I confirmed that he was not happy. He had a tight frown on his face. 

“We need to go home. My parents are behaving like d*cks. They literally just told Patty to leave, claiming that she does not belong here.” He scoffed. He led the way and walked out of the office and I followed him. 

“What? Why?” I was intrigued. Patty looked like the perfect partner for Sterling. She was hot, wore expensive things, and they had similar vibes. “And where is she?” 

“I just told you. They said that she does not belong there; that she is not a representation of what a wife should be.” He rolled his eyes. “I find that to be sexist. But my parents don’t give a damn.” He pressed the button for the elevator. 

“Oh,” I replied lowly. Honestly, I did not know what to say. I thought that everyone loved Patty. She had the looks, the money, the swag; she had it all. So, yeah.

The automated doors of the elevator finally opened and Sterling and I entered. “I told her to go ahead, so she might be home before we get there.” 

I nodded as I clicked my tongue. We spent the rest of the elevator ride in silence. When we were back in the lobby, we exited the building and got into the car that was waiting for us.

With Patty not with him, Sterling was way quieter and his lips impressively held a frown until we were back home. “I swear I hate my parents,” He mumbled as he got down from the car. 

I exhaled deeply and got down also. I followed him into the house and we headed for the living room. “You said she came ahead, right?” I asked because nothing pointed to Patty being here. 

“Yeah, Heather. I’m not a liar.” He sounded annoyed. 

“Didn’t say you were,” I replied in a hard tone. 

“I’m going to check upstairs. She’s probably in the master bedroom.” He walked off and left me in the living room. 

I took the opportunity to remove the heels, earning me a feeling of relief now that my feet were free. I sat on the couch and decided to watch the cartoon that was playing on the giant TV. 

And that was when I heard it. A loud manly cry. 

My heart instantly skipped a beat and doubled its pace. Fear started to crawl on my feet as I heard the loud cry again. It sounded like Sterling. 

I dropped my heels to the floor and rushed toward the source of the cry. In no time, I was at the opened door of the master bedroom. I slowed my pace once I reached and walked in slowly into the room. 

First, I saw Sterling. His face was stained with tears and more just kept flowing from his eyes. He looked pale like snow and his pupils were incredibly dilated. 

The next thing that I saw knocked the breath right out of me. It was like my heart stopped beating.