Four

**The Marriage Clause**

(Chapter Four)

Two Days Later

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Elizabeth cursed under very breath as she crouched low to wipe off the bird poop on her new Louis Vuitton heels that cost a fortune,before going into the building and riding the elevator up to the tenth floor which was the lawyer,Mr Arnold's office.She was ushered in by the personal assistant into the main room where be was,then her frown creased deeper the moment she spotted Marcus seated on the couch wearing a black leather jacket and black boots that made him look...... surprisingly good.

Marcus also frowned deeply as his eyes narrowed up and down to get a full glimpse of her outfit,her beige piece suit was nice and it matched well with her eyes which had a beige-golden hue around it, that was concealed of course through her tinted shades—God she was expensive,he thought annoyingly as they made eye contact when she sat down.It was evident that she was going through a lot,he knew a drunk and hungover person going through hell when he saw one—Elizabeth Goodman,even under all her expensive clothing was still a broken person,it made him soften towards her a little.

‘Sheldon'.

‘Goodman'.

‘Okay can we get this done with??'.Arnold,the lawyer frowned deeply,all he wanted was for everything to be settled before he took a vacation to Hawaii with his newly wedded wife.Elizabeth habitually rolled her eyes and sighed deeply,hoping the meeting would be over soon so she could go back and finish her bottle of tequila.Marcus was also starting to get nervous out of the blue which he hated very much.....hating Elizabeth was one thing...being nervous in front of her was another.

‘Okay so I would give the both of you some time to figure this out since it's my lunch break, I'll be back in thirty minutes'.Arnold got up after a few minutes of giving them the documents in his possession before leaving the room.Tension brewed and Marcus sighed deeply due to a loss of what to say, Elizabeth also felt awkward as she tried reading the papers in her hands but her focus was more on the little cute scar at the side of his neck that was covered with a tattoo—who knew the day would come where she finds someone's scar cute?.

‘Uhhh should we talk over lunch? I know a fancy restaurant few blocks from here'.She muttered, feeding into her need to eat something and Marcus's right brow rose in question as to her motive.

‘Sorry I don't do fancy and I don't want your—'.

‘Come off your high horse Sheldon, I'm not reeling you into some mafia death like this is some romance novel,it's just lunch and I have much more important things to take care off!'.She snapped impatiently and his brows rose again.

‘Yes I can see that'.His sarcasm was unmatched and she scoffed loudly trying to hold herself from gauging his eyes out.....God he was infuriating,she thought as she grabbed the bottle of rum on the top shelf next to her and downed a little in one gulp.Marcus softened a little seeing how frustrated she really was,her demeanor and body language was of someone who was wavering into depression—he felt another stab of guilt in his gut just seeing her tap her shoes impatiently on the floor.....she just lost her father,the least he could do was be a little more reasonable.

‘Fine let's have lunch,but I'm paying'.He muttered and got to his feet,leaving the room without even taking a second glance behind him to check if she was following.

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‘Berkley's' was situated only few blocks away from Arnold's office.It wasn't a fancy restaurant and it wasn't what Elizabeth had in mind but the place smelled of great food.She slid into one of the booths that had a good view of the bustling street, Marcus joined and in a few minutes they had a waiter at their table,she ordered for a huge steak sandwich and a cabbage salad to go with it whilst Marcus just ordered pasta and a glass of beer.

Few minutes later their order arrived and Elizabeth didn't wait a second before she dug in like a hungry wolf who had been starved of prey,she had a little speck of salad dressing at the corner of her lip which Marcus itched to acknowledge but he kept quiet—who know the standoffish spoiled princess could eat in such a manner?? just thinking about it amused him to the point of making him smirk.

‘I suppose we should get down to business?'.He only took a forkful of his food into his mouth and realized he wasn't hungry after all...who was he kidding? Maurine was the only person who made the best spaghetti in the entire world,so he opted to drink his beer instead.

‘Yes Sheldon,it's obvious you want your inheritance and I also want mine so let's get married'.Elizabeth responded going straight to the point.

‘I do want my inheritance.I don't want to marry you'.

‘I don't want to marry you either'.

‘Well that's one thing we have in common'.

‘For heaven's sake Sheldon! are you always this much of an a*shole?!'.Elizabeth scoffed,already on the brink of losing her temper which was totally understandable in her case.Marcus Sheldon looked like a man who just wants to live his rodeo life,she was a millionaire and a business woman born and bred into wealth and class—it was just a match made in hell and hell alone.

‘I am a simple man who just wants the best for himself and his business.I am not and opportunist but Uncle Henry was the closest thing to a second father I had,I will not let a hundred million slip from my grasp and if I have to marry a spoiled Marilyn Monroe....then so be it'.His words were fiery in a calm tone and Elizabeth's hands balled into a fist of fury,she wanted one thing more than riches and it was to punch the stupid smirk off his face.

‘Okay then.I'll marry you but there has to be some conditions'.She finally replied trying to keep her voice as calm as possible as to which Marcus just nodded.

‘We will discuss the conditions later..... cheers to our unhappy marriage'.He said, raised his glass of beer and placed it back down on the table,leaving Elizabeth in a state of confusion as to what she just got herself into—she just agreed to marrying a man she barely knew and hated with every ounce of blood in her body....What in the world was wrong with her?, she thought as she also raised her glass of water and gulped hard.