Love Contract

Chapter 72 Attending The Party

The sun was up as usual in Hainan, the heat radiating outwards into a bright day. Huge waves rolled out from the sea, as the clouds hung low with no sign of rain.

Mary had woken up early, excited for the party being held in Yalong Bay today.

She pushed her bedroom door open and walked out, finding William adjusting his tie in front of the mirror. He watched her disheveled figure as he called out, "Your clothes are on the sofa. I'll ask someone to do your hair later, you can go take a shower first." ...

"What clothes?" Mary asked, scratching her messy hair.

"Never mind, you can put them on later." He turned back towards the mirror.

"Okay." Letting out a loud yawn, she picked up the clothes and shuffled towards the bathroom.

William quietly chuckled at her unkempt appearance. He was speechless seeing that she was so casual when she woke up in the morning.

The silence that had settled in the room was broken by a 'Ding!'. His computer came to life, as several notifications popped up in the corner of the screen.

He strode towards the table, holding the mouse with his slender fingers as he moved the cursor to open the new e-mail.

"Share transfer agreement of the company..."

William's hand froze in its place for a long moment, before he quickly closed the mail and turned off the computer.

A soft humming, mixed with the sound of running water, traveled from the bathroom.

William cast a glance towards the source of the sound. 'Mary, how long will our marriage last?'

Wet hair sticking to her neck, Mary walked out of the bathroom as she pulled at the dress she had on. "It's too long, isn't it?" ...

When she raised her head, she found William plopped down on a sofa. Unaware of her presence, he leisurely read documents placed on his lap.

Three stylists stood beside him. Under the pressure of their boss's company, they were almost trembling in a cold sweat.

"Finished?" William raised his head nonchalantly.

"Yes." She nodded. 'He is so handsome!' She silently mused over how, without even trying, he intimidated his audience with just his mere presence.

"The dress is quite long, don't you think?"

"Yes, a little.

Just wear it."

Mary rolled her eyes and ignored him, moving towards the people standing by. She asked, "Hello. Are you stylists?"

"Mrs. Lan." A bearded man replied with a smile, "Yes."

"Thank you then."

"My pleasure." The man slightly bowed to her, showing his respect. Although Mr. Lan was serious, his wife seemed very kind to him.

While her hair was being done, Marry chewed on her breakfast. "William, can you bring me a glass of orange juice? My throat feels dry."

William was slow to respond when he finally pushed away his documents and stood up. A few seconds later he walked back into the room, with a glass in his hand. "If you keep drinking this much, you might have several bathroom trips."

"Don't worry, I have strong control over my bladder." Mary put down the bread as she gulped down the juice.

"Puff..." The young assistant, applying the nail polish on Mary's left hand, let out a giggle. The bearded man was quick to scold her in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

"It's okay." Mary assured him and then glanced towards William. She suggested, "How about you go back to the bedroom and I will call you after I'm done getting ready? Otherwise, I'll just be disturbing your work."

William glared at her, then hesitantly turned around to walk out.

"Hoo... "

The four people in the living room breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as William left, the living room became active in an instant.

"Madam, your hair is in good condition. How do you take care of it?"

"Really? I don't know. I don't have any special routine for it."

"It's called natural beauty."

"Madam, did you just buy this dress? I think it's the latest style!"

"What? It's just what William gave me..."

"Mr. Lan and you are on really good terms!" "Well, we're okay." Inside the bedroom, William let out a deep sigh. Was he that frightening? They sounded so relaxed, chatting with Mary. Yet those stylists feared talking in his presence? Why was that, was he some kind of a monster?

Later, when they arrived at the party, it caused quite a stir. Mary was adorned in a Bohemian long dress, while William looked dapper in a black suit.

The combination of a handsome man and a breathtaking woman, always attracted people's attention.

"Oh, William, you're finally here!" A tall middle-aged man sauntered over to the couple.

It was Adam Chen. As he reached them, William said, "Mr. Chen, here is a small gift for you." William grinned and handed over the gift he had prepared.

"Oh, I'm so happy now that you are here!" Adam curiously scanned Mary. "Is this your wife?"

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen. I'm Mary, William's wife. I'm so honored to attend your party," Mary answered.

"You're welcome." He mused aloud, "You indeed are a perfect match. William, you chose the right person."

"Mr. Chen is also married, aren't you?" asked William. "Can we meet your wife?" "My little son fell asleep, Beryl went to put him to bed."

As the three exchanged greetings, a commotion broke out within the crowd.

Trying to locate the source of the chaos, they saw Victor. Donned in a red suit, he approached them at a slow pace.

The bright color of his suit made him stick out like a sore thumb amongst the crowd. However, Mary was able to see through his facade.

An impeccable smile was plastered on Victor's face.

The guests at the party were either celebrities or tycoons in the industry invited by Adam. Although Victor was worshipped by the public, he was just an 'actor' in their eyes. How was he allowed to attend such a private event?

All of a sudden, a soft pain welled up in Mary's heart. How many people were aware of the pain hidden behind the smile of a proud person like Victor?

William's eyes were settled on Mary, as she gazed at Victor intently. There were waves of emotions on her face, and he didn't dare stare at them for too long. He didn't want to see something he wouldn't be able to accept.

"Mr. Chen," Victor loudly stated as he reached them. Taking off his sunglasses, he smirked, "Does my arrival cause any inconvenience to you?"

"Of course not, Mr. Qiao." Adam returned the smile. "I'm very happy that a big star like you, decided to come here."

"That's good." His eyes crinkled. "I was invited by Mrs. Chen. However, on the way here, I was worried that I would not be welcomed by you."

"Why wouldn't you be?"

The two politely greeted each other, aware of the eyes on them.

"I've to go meet others, enjoy yourselves."

Adam busied himself with the new guests and walked away.

"Mr. Lan. Mary." As soon as Adam left, all the politeness disappeared from Victor's face.

"Victor, why are you here?" Mary questioned.

"Mrs. Chen invited me." He gave her a sly grin and asked, "What about my clothes?"

"They're fine." She was about to say something but was stopped by William.

"Behave yourself now that you are here. Don't lose the face of our company."

Mary was startled at his cold tone. She cautioned, "William... How could you say that?" "Oh? Do you feel sad for him?" William gave a sharp reply and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Mary. I'm fine." Victor's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

She looked at him awkwardly.

She knew if these two were left on their own, they would end up in a fight. It was difficult being sandwiched in their tense relationship.

When William caught the way they bore into each other's eyes, a blinding rage surged up from within him. He clenched his fists, as he stormed away.

"William..." Mary called after him in a low voice.

"Go and find him. It wouldn't be good if someone noticed," Victor advised.

"I'll go then. We can talk later!"

"Okay."

Mary quickly turned around, lifting her long dress, and chased after William. Victor watched her disappear into the crowd.

"Slow down..." She caught up to William and asked, "Where are you going? Wait for me."

"Mr. Lan! Long time no see." A bald man with a round belly walked over to where they were. "Yes. How are you doing nowadays?"

"Everything is fine..."

"Oh, is this Mrs. Lan? When did you secretly get married?"

"Mr. Lan, I've heard a lot about you..."

After they politely met and conversed with everyone, Mary's face felt frozen into a smile.

Before she could voice her discomfort, another person joined the group.

"William." Adam strode over. "I'm sorry that I couldn't take good care of you. Thanks for your understanding."

"It's okay."

"Have you read the documents I sent you this morning?"

'Documents?' Mary frowned. What documents were they talking about?

"Mary, you can go hang out. I'll come back to you later." At his sudden request for her to leave, she had no option but to oblige.

"Okay." Mary gave a few nods and walked away.

"Didn't you tell your wife about the share transfer?"

"No." William gave an emotionless reply. Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything more on the topic, Adam let it go. He questioned, "William, is there any dissatisfaction on your part with the agreement?"

Mary had sauntered over to the nearby barbeque stall and got a plate. She ran her gaze over the crowd looking for a particular face. She wondered where Victor was and if he was by himself?

"Are you looking for me?" Victor's silvery voice came from behind her.

"Oh?" Turning around, Mary let out a chuckle in surprise. "Yes, here is some barbecue meat for you."

"Thank you." Victor took the grilled meat and asked, "Did you finish socializing?"

"Well, sort of." She looked away, avoiding the awkward stare.

The two continued chatting for a while and strolled to a bench away from the crowd.

"You said you received Mrs. Chen's invitation today?"

"Yes. I saved her once by chance," said Victor.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Mary continued, "Tell me more about that heroic deed of yours."

"Then listen carefully..." He beamed, "Actually, it's not a big deal. The last movie I did was invested by their company. While shooting, a few props fell and almost hit Mrs. Chen who was there for inspection. I was the one who pulled her out of the way. That's it."

"Wow, that's still pretty cool."

"Yeah, keep the compliments coming!"

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