The Sooner, The Better!

The Sooner The Better

She was in a very strange place. It was a wide, deserted highway. The buildings and shops closed their doors and windows tightly. She stood alone in front of a clothing store, feeling confused and cold.

Her lips trembled as she began to call out to her loved ones. “Mom? Dad? Katie?”

All she could hear was the sound of the wind in her ears. Then, she heard someone calling her. “Hey, Nora! Come here!”

It was Katie’s voice. She hurried to find the source of the voice and arrived at the back of a closed Chinese restaurant. Her sister stood waiting for her, exactly like the Katie she remembered. Katie’s brown hair inherited from their father was tied back tightly, accentuating her heart-shaped facial features.

“Katie....” Nora wanted to run and hug her and cry on her sister’s shoulder. How much she missed Katie. However, suddenly from the direction of her back, someone pushed her hard.

“You bitch!” A faint face appeared above her prone body. “You slut! You’re such a slut!” Nora felt a fist slam into her chest. Surprisingly, she felt no pain. She heard Katie scream. “Di, don’t! Stop, Di! Please!”

Her breathing felt labored, and she jerked herself up for air. Her eyes snapped open and she realized she was in her bed, in her old apartment. That was just a dream.

She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down and left her bed to look for water.

Nora sat in front of the kitchen counter with a glass of water that was almost empty. She thought about the strange dreams that had been disturbing her sleep lately. But more than that, she thought about Leon’s proposal that night.

A day had passed since they had met and Leon had made that strange proposal. She still remembered Leon’s more serious than usual face as he looked at her in shock after reading the contents of the proposal.

“Yes,” Leon said. “I’m proposing marriage.”

“You’re joking, right?”

Leon shook his head. “I’ve never been this serious in my life. I actually offered you the contract.”

“Marriage contract? So I heard you correctly yesterday…”

“Yes.”

“You’re out of your mind, aren’t you? Do you think marriage is a game or something?”

“You should read the proposal carefully, Nora.”

“I’ve already read it. But as far as I understand, you seem to think of me as an object that can be used for your benefit,” Nora said, offended.

“Is the reason stated in the proposal not enough?”

Leon listed the reason that he wanted to dispel people’s notion that he was gay.

“What idiot would think Leon Carusso is gay?” muttered Nora in her cold kitchen. She slowly got up from her chair and walked towards the table where she had put her bag. In it she kept Leon’s proposal. She hadn’t read it since then because she was annoyed.

She shouldn’t be upset. She should be happy. Wasn’t her main goal to attract a rich man whom she could at least use to pay off her apartment arrears? The plan was to be the girlfriend of a rich man who was generous and quite handsome. She never imagined he might ask her to marry him. Oh, how naive of her!

Nora didn’t want to get married yet. There were still so many things she wanted to do.

Nora re-read the proposal. Leon had drafted the document in a straightforward manner. There were no conditions, only points of agreement, and Nora realized that most of them were in her favor. For example, Leon would give her freedom. Nora could still accept endorsements, live stream for her followers and hang out with her friends.

“Don’t worry,” Leon said. “We’ll only be married for a year,or two years at most if there are extenuating circumstances that require an extension. You must have read one of my clauses. If the contract expires and we divorce, you’ll get a two million dollar divorce settlement. We’ll also sleep in separate rooms. But as my wife, even though this is a contract marriage, you will receive all your rights as part of the Carusso family. You have the same access as Diane. And I will do my duty as a husband by giving you monthly money and so on. There’s no way I’m going to let you support yourself. As my wife, you are my responsibility.”

To be honest, it was all very tempting for Nora who was likely to be evicted by her landlord soon. Especially since the amount of money Leon was promised was so large. However, there was a traditional part of her that thought marriage should be a lifelong sacred bond. And one more thing. She still remembered Leon’s phone conversation that she overheard. She still remembered Leon mentioning murder. It made her afraid and hesitant.

"I wish you would, Nora," Leon said that night. His black eyes looked at Nora intensely and demandingly. “I promise this is our business, no one else can interfere, not even Diane or my parents.”

However, Nora refused to submit. She was not going to make herself look like an easy woman. Besides, even if she agreed, she didn't want to look like someone who had just won the lottery.

"I need time to think, Leon," she replied. "Marriage, even if it's just a business contract, is no joke to me."

"Of course." It seemed Leon was quite satisfied that Nora was willing to consider his offer. "When will you tell me your decision?"

"Until when are you here?" Nora asked back.

"I'm going back to D.C. tonight."

Nora nodded. "Okay. Give me three days. Then, I'll call you to tell you my decision. I promise."

If Nora finally decided to accept Leon’s offer, it was because she thought about her aspirations. She loved fashion so much, she wanted to be a part of it. She has a knack for designing clothes, but what she is most interested in is fashion management. Nora was very interested in the business aspect of the fashion industry.

She would love to enroll in a degree program, not just take a short course or workshop. Unfortunately, college requires a lot of money, which she did not have. However, by becoming Leon’s wife, she would have enough money to realize her goal.

For fear of changing her mind, she called Leon that morning. This time it was his private number, so Leon answered after the fifth ring.

“Hi, am I bothering you?” she asked when she heard Leon’s hoarse voice.

“No,” he replied, even though he had obviously been woken up by Nora’s call.

“I’m sorry, but I had to tell you about my decision before I changed my mind.”

“Of course.” Leon’s voice sounded clearer. It seemed like he was really awake now. “So, what’s your decision?”

Did he hear the nervousness in that baritone voice?

Nora grimaced. There was no way that flat, indifferent human could be so hopeful that she would marry him.

There were many more beautiful women out there that he could offer the same proposal to.

Nora held her breath. “I accept your offer,” she said quickly. Then took a deep breath to ease her anxiety. She had finally said it. She had agreed to marry Leon Carusso, a man she knew nothing about except for his rich and powerful family.

She would marry a stranger for the sake of not being homeless and for the sake of her dreams in the fashion world.

“That’s great to hear.” Leon’s voice was calm. “I’ll see you this weekend to organize the arrangements. Do you mind if we get married next week?”

“Next week?” Nora almost fell out of her chair.

“Yes.” Leon’s voice was still as calm as before. “The sooner the better, Nora.”

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