Three

**The Marriage Clause**

(Chapter Three)

‘Marriage clause??'.

‘Yes'.

‘What do you mean by that? what in the world is a marriage clause?'.She asked again obviously confused by the rubbish coming out of the lawyer's mouth.Marcus was also confused,more irritated that there was a clause in the will which was obviously standing between him and his hundred million dollars, can't things just go his way for once? he complained silently as he watched on.

‘The marriage clause in the will miss Goodman simply means that you have to get married before you get your inheritance—you have to get married to Mr Sheldon here—you both have to marry each other before you can get the inheritance'.The lawyer finally dropped the bomb and both Elizabeth and Marcus gasped deeply in shock.Surely this was a good joke,she thought as she yanked the file from the lawyer's grasp and read throughly....well he wasn't lying,there was a clause that she would only get her inheritance if she married Marcus Sheldon and vice versa—what in the hell was her father thinking?!.

‘This is a joke!!'.She yelled at the top of her voice about to have a mental breakdown,the joy of having a hundred million dollars also vanished from Marcus and he was back to his gloomy shell.Apparently he was supposed to marry the spoilt rich princess to get his money,there was no way he was agreeing to a stupid clause like that.He was a man who had a ranch to take care of,a little girl to father and he wasn't planning on getting married—even if he wanted to get married,he would make a much better choice of partner than Elizabeth Goodman.

The lawyer shrugged deeply,he also knew the clause was stupid but Henry Goodman was his client and he didn't have a way in the matter.Elizabeth however,still trying to get a hold of the situation at hand,slowly walked up the stairs and into the room slamming the door hard and then instantly bursting into tears.It was all to overwhelming and she was stressed out,now she couldn't even get her inheritance unless she marries a man she knows nothing about and loathes endlessly—what in the world was her father thinking?.

Marcus waited patiently for her return and when he was sure she wasn't coming down anytime soon,he decided it was time to leave.He dusted his jeans and made to the door but before he could open it Elizabeth came running down the stairs,he turned around and by God was he mortified by who he saw—the once poised snobby and classy woman was now in her pajamas with streaks for wet mascara pouring down her cheeks.

‘We need to talk Mr Shel—'.

‘It's Marcus'.

‘Okay then Marcus.We need to talk'.

‘There is nothing to talk about'.

‘So you're going to leave the hundred million dollars left in your name? are you really that egotistical?'.She couldn't help but scoff which made the already plastered frown on his face crease deeper.

‘Of course a hundred million dollars is something that I don't want to lose,but I can't marry someone I don't know..... someone like you'.He responded and the way his eyes narrowed only made Elizabeth's belly churn harder,her detest for him was increasing by the minute and he wasn't doing a thing to help the situation.

‘I don't like you Marcus Sheldon'.

‘Same Elizabeth Goodman'.

                          ***********

The next morning after the ruckus which happened the day before, Elizabeth woke up with slobber all over her face from all the drunk saliva,it took a moment before she realised she was at Joan's.She couldn't bear staying at the mansion and she didn't want to go back to her apartment either,so she had the driver take her over to Joan's,got drunk,had mindless sex with a cocaine addict in the men's bathroom and now she looked worse than ever.

She blatantly ignored the bartender who had pity written all over his face and went up the elevator which led to the apartment on the second floor.Thankfully the whole place was clean,she breathed heavily as she slipped out of her heels and slumped into the couch for another round of sleep,only for her phone to ring.She groaned loudly as she opened her eyes and checked who the caller was,it was Ella her best friend who just had her baby on the day Henry died.

‘Hey El—'.

‘Before you kill me,I am totally sorry for not being there at your father's—'.

‘It's no problem El'.

‘Phew now that that's over.....what the f**k am I hearing about you getting married to some dude from Houston Texas??'.Ella whispered trying not to wake the six-day old child rested on her chest.Elizabeth on the other hand rolled her eyes surreptitiously,wincing at the pain of her sore legs before answering the question her best friend asked....how on Earth did the news get there so fast anyway? she thought as she raked her hands through her disheveled hair.

‘It's all mumbo jumbo El but I'm not getting married to any dude,not especially that bastard who goes by the name Marcus Sheldon'.She muttered,slowly getting up from the couch and towards the bathroom.Ella continued the conversation,totally forgetting about her friend's problem and nagging about the new perils of motherhood, Elizabeth prayed silently for the call to end so she could run a bath and have an early glass of wine to go with it.Luckily enough, Ella's baby started to cry and the call was disconnected.

‘Well that ends it I guess'.Elizabeth breathed heavily as she switched off her phone,applied her favorite rose bubble bath gel inside the warm water, stripped herself naked after getting a bottle of wine from the bar downstairs,locked the doors,dimmed the lights and slowly slipped inside the water before finally closing her eyes.........mmmmmm.....peace of mind at last

                          ***********

‘Are you out of your goddamn mind!'.

‘No'.

‘What is wrong wit'cha Marcus?!'

‘Nothing Maurine.You don't expect me to marry a woman just because of a few dollars?!'.

‘It's a hundred million dollars Marcus!! A hundred million dollars is at stake here!!'.Maurine yelled at the top of her voice aggressively.She knew Marcus was a grown man and he was stubborn but what she didn't expect was that he would be so stupid to let go of a hundred million dollars.He blatantly ignored the cries of the woman seated next to him and went up the stairs and into the attic which he transformed into a beautiful pink room for Emily,she had just woken up when he sat on the little pink stool close to her bed.

‘Daddy you're back?'.The little girl rubbed her eyes and he nodded with a smile on his face,she was the only woman capable of making him happy....even a good comedian couldn't make him crack a smile but Emily could.

‘Yes honey,I hope Jefferson didn't disturb you in school today'.He whispered referring to the son of one of the richest men in Texas who was a jackass towards her,Emily smiled as she cupped her small hands under his cheeks before shaking her head vigorously.She was getting bullied at school but she was smart enough not to say anything—yet.The last time she made a complaint Marcus ended up breaking the nose of the father of the perpetrator,it eventually led to a huge lawsuit that made him lose thousands of dollars......she was young but she wasn't stupid.

‘Tell me about your day Daddy,did you get the million dollars so we can finally leave??'.She rose her brows and Marcus gasped loudly at how much she knew—damn you Maurine,he groaned silently at the inability of the woman to keep her mouth shut.

‘I didn't..I...well the judge said I have to marry some woman to get the money sweetheart'.

‘Then marry her'.

’Marriage doesn't work like th—'.

‘Everyone at school has a Mom..I...I want a mom too'.Her voice was raspy which broke Marcus's heart,sometimes you think you know a kid but you don't and Emily's desperation was clearly proof of that.He needed the money and she needed a mom, however the idea of Elizabeth Goodman being a mom was a bad one—she didn't look like wife material talk less of being a mom....he just didn't want Emily's tiny heart broken again.

‘Please Daddy I want a Mom'.

‘I don't know about this Emily....okay fine I'll marry her'.He finally agreed reluctantly which made Emily squeal loudly with joy and wrap her small arms around his thick body.Marcus sighed deeply as he patted her back, few minutes later she was asleep and he was on his way down the stairs to make a phone call—it was a long shot—a very long shot but he was going to marry Elizabeth Goodman with his own clauses of course.