Becoming A Contract Wife, Again?!

"Even after everything I've shown her, she still thinks I'm a fraud."

Darren grumbled as he left Vivi's apartment building and walked toward a black car waiting for him.

But before he got into the expensive car, Darren lifted his head. And he was grinning as he gazed out the window of Vivi's apartment on the 7th floor.

"She's even more attractive when she plays hard to get like this," Darren grumbled. "That woman knows how to make me want her even more."

***

"No! No! It's obviously a scam! Why should I believe anything he says?"

Vivi shook her head to dismiss the idea of accepting Darren's offer. Despite the fact that she was now using her phone to explore the Internet for more information about Darren Hart–and the more she learned, the more her head hurt at the thought of how wealthy he was.

"Even if he is very wealthy, what kind of crazy person would spend so much money on a contract marriage? He must have lost his mind..."

When Vivi suddenly thought about Lucas, she abruptly ended her statement. She remembered how she thought Lucas was crazy when he suddenly offered a contract marriage.

"Do you want to get married to me? If you marry me, you won't have to work here every night."

The words Lucas had said to her that night when he offered a contract marriage returned to Vivi's ears in a voice as clear as if she had heard Lucas say them directly to her.

Vivi was taken aback when Lucas made such a ridiculous offer to her. Vivi thought Lucas had absolutely lost his mind when he told her what she would get if she accepted the marriage contract.

On the other hand, Vivi had already fallen in love with the man who came to the fast food restaurant where she worked every night by the time Lucas offered her the marriage contract. As a result, even though Vivi thought it was a crazy offer, when Lucas returned to the restaurant the next night, Vivi stated her desire to accept the man's offer.

"There are a lot of crazy people who make no sense in this world," Vivi said as she gazed at her phone screen, which showed a picture of Darren in a black tuxedo. "Are all wealthy people insane because they have a lot of money?"

Vivi sighed and placed her phone on the table to prevent herself from learning more about Darren. Regardless of how wealthy Darren was, Vivi only needed to convince herself that the man was a fraud and that she should never deal with him again.

"I'm now wealthy. Why should I be concerned about other people's riches when I have so much of my own?" Vivi murmured, annoyed at herself for not wanting to stop thinking about Darren's wealth.

"This man is already crazy for offering me such a contract marriage. And if I even consider that, I'll be crazier than he is!"

***

"We are here to pick up Mr. Lucas Warren's belongings."

Vivi awoke this morning to the arrival of the movers Lucas had sent. She had expected them to arrive later, but they had come before 10 o'clock.

It was almost midday, but Vivi, who had only slept around 5 a.m. due to insomnia caused by overthinking, awoke late.

"Where will the packages be delivered?" Vivi inquired of one of the movers.

"Some of this stuff will be sent to Miss Freya Quinn's house, and the rest will be discarded," the man explained.

"To Freya's house?" Vivi repeated the man's words in a voice only she could hear.

Of course, Vivi expected this to happen after Lucas divorced her. He was so in love with Freya that he was willing to contractually marry her so that his mother, who disapproved of his relationship with Freya, would stop troubling them. So it's no surprise that Lucas moved into Freya's house as soon as their divorce was finalized. Lucas had no time to squander with Freya now that his mother, who had opposed his relationship with her, had died.

"This is for disposal. Don't mix it up with the items delivered to Miss Freya's house."

When she heard the man next to her give orders to his men bringing a box out of Lucas' room, Vivi snapped out of her daydream.

But when she saw the box containing a picture of her and Lucas' wedding photo, Vivi hurriedly said, "Don't throw it away! Leave it here, please.

After the movers left, Vivi checked the box. It had a bunch of files that looked like they were no longer being used, but what caught Vivi's eye was the wedding picture of her and Lucas.

"So he kept our wedding photo all this time," Vivi murmured, rubbing the photo with her palm.

And just by looking at Lucas' smiling face embracing her waist in the photo, the suffocating longing seemed to overflow from Vivi's chest until she could no longer hold back the tears that uncontrollably flooded the picture.

If she could, Vivi would go back to a year and a half ago. To the day that wedding photo was shot. To her wedding day and her first day as Lucas' wife, even though it was just a contract.

More than the luxurious apartment and all the money Lucas handed her when the marriage contract ended, Vivi would like to return to the past as Lucas' wife. Even if it's just a loveless contract, she wants to go back to that time and hope that a miracle will happen to make Lucas love her back. Now that their contract is over, she can't hope like that anymore.

Dingdong!

Vivi stopped crying when she heard the doorbell. She wiped her tears away and went to the door because she thought the movers were coming back to pick up something they might have left there.

"Is this Miss Vivian White's house?"

But it was someone else. It wasn't the movers this time, but a courier with a large box of chocolates.

"I didn't order any chocolates," Vivi explained, refusing the chocolates.

"Mr. Darren Hart sent it." The courier's statements made Vivi realize that Darren, whom she had assumed had given up, was more stubborn than she had thought. "He told me not to leave before you got it, miss. Can you take this chocolate now?"

After hearing what the courier said, Vivi sighed loudly. Darren was definitely in the mood to play games with her, and Vivi didn't want to waste her time with him, even though she didn't know what she would do today.

"Then that's it for you. You're welcome to take it," Vivi responded.

"No way, Miss! Wait!"

The courier held the door Vivi was about to close with his foot, prompting the woman to open it again so the courier's foot wouldn't be trapped.

"I can't leave until I've sent Mr. Hart video evidence of you eating that chocolate."

The courier's statements caused Vivi to open her mouth in surprise. "I don't even know this Darren Hart, so this has nothing to do with me," she said, shaking her head. "Just go and finish your business with him."

"Miss White!"

Vivi sighed again as the courier's foot held the door open.

"Mr. Hart is not an ordinary customer, and if I don't do what he wants, I might lose my job. Could you perhaps do me a favor this time?" The young courier implored Vivi with a pleading face, causing her to sigh loudly.

"I've never met him or recognized you. How could you bother me like this?" Vivi grumbled, making the courier's face even more sad and worried he'd lose his job today if Vivi didn't help him.

"All you have to do is take a bite of this chocolate, and I'll send Mr. Hart the video. After that, you can spit it out or throw it away. Please, Miss. I will wish you endless good wishes if you help me just this once," the courier begged.

Vivi closed her eyes and rubbed her dizzy head due to Darren's behavior. But she made the courier smile as she pulled the chocolate box from his grasp.

"Wait. I need to record this," the courier added, pulling out his phone as Vivi opened the box of chocolates.

"I'll just take a bite," Vivi remarked, to which the courier nodded, his hands on the phone he was using to record Vivi.

The box of chocolates had roughly 30 various shapes in it, and Vivi ate the smallest one. She took a bite and regretted that she had picked the smallest, despite the fact that this chocolate tasted fantastic–the best she had ever tasted, as she had never had expensive chocolate before.

"That's enough." As he put the phone in his jacket pocket, the courier said.

"Good. Now you can go," Vivi remarked as she handed the courier the box of chocolates. Despite the fact that the chocolates were amazing she refused Darren's present. She could get it later because she had a lot of money now, and chocolates like this could be bought as many as she wanted.

"Then please pay the price of the chocolate and the shipping fee," the courier said, which surprised Vivi.

"This is unpaid?" Vivi asked, pointing to the chocolate box. "Didn't you say that Darren Hart was the one who sent it?"

"Yes, he did order it. But he hasn't paid for it yet since he said you'd pay once I delivered the chocolates, Miss."

"Oh..." Vivi closed her eyes and massaged her temples to relax. "I shouldn't have trusted him so quickly. He really is a fraud!"

Vivi then looked at the young courier in front of her. Her sympathy for the young man turned to anger because the courier, who she thought was innocent, had helped Darren trick her.

"How much?" asked Vivi. She chose to pay for the chocolate so that the courier could leave. "I'll pay for both the chocolate and shipping."

"The total is..." The courier checked the receipt he was holding before looking back at Vivi and saying, "The total is $8,433."

Vivi's eyes blinked. She said, "How much did you say?"

"$8,433," the courier repeated.

"Eight... Eight what?" Vivi asked again. Either she didn't hear or didn't want to believe what the courier said.

"$8,433." The courier replied, emphasizing every word he said. Then he showed Vivi the receipt he was carrying. "The chocolate costs $8,400, and shipping is $33. As a result, the total is $8,433."

"Just give that back to Darren Hart!" Vivi gave the command. Finally, she got angry when she discovered the chocolate she ate was truly that pricey. "Didn't he order it? So tell him he has to pay for it!"

"But, miss, you ate it. I already have video evidence of you eating it, so you can't deny it, and you now have to pay for that chocolate."

"Oh..." Vivi opened her mouth but couldn't say anything because the courier's explanation made her feel betrayed because she had eaten the chocolate to help the courier in finishing his work, but now he was using it to trap her like this.

"Well, did you eat it?"

A voice interrupted Vivi, and the woman's eyes bulged in annoyance as she noticed Darren, already behind the courier, staring at the opened chocolates box with a happy smile that Vivi saw as mocking.

"Didn't you want to trick me? Do you think I believe that this chocolate costs thousands of dollars?" Vivi demanded fiercely.

"Who is tricking you? You can look up the price on the Internet, and this chocolate is indeed pricey," Darren explained. Then, mockingly, he asked, "Ah, your rich ex-husband never bought you expensive chocolates, huh? That's a shame. If you married me, you could have chocolate like this every day."

"I'm not going to pay for it." Darren smiled as Vivi responded, "I'm not falling for your trick!"

"Trick or not, I have video proof that you ate it, Miss," Darren stated as he shook his left hand over the phone, which already displayed a video of Vivi eating the chocolate the courier had sent her. "Do you want me to pay for it?"

"Of course you should pay! You ordered it, sir!" Vivi responded in a high-pitched displeasure, not realizing that her annoyance was something Darren craved, and now she made him grin with satisfaction.

"All right, I'll pay for it," Darren responded, pulling a black card from his wallet.

Darren stared at Vivi and murmured something that made her feel trapped before handing the card to the courier to pay for the chocolate he had ordered.

"However, if I pay for it now, I'll regard it as signing money for our agreement. Don't worry, it's not a down payment. It's just signing money. If you accept my offer, you will receive much more. What do you think? Would you like to take me to your apartment to discuss this further?"