Love Contract

Chapter 62 Third Wheel

Sitting in the car, Mary felt a bit uneasy. It was strange to sit in a car wearing only a swimsuit.

"Could you find a nice spot to park the car? I'm going to change my clothes," asked Mary.

William stared at her. "Are you afraid that I will see your body?"

"There is nothing to look at." William bit his lips and continued, "I'm not interested in women."

"Then why did you — " Mary turned her head in anger. She was so furious she could not finish her words.

"Why did I what?" asked William.

"Nothing, nothing." Mary took a deep breath. 'Why did you rape me?' she said in her heart. Mary turned to look at William again. 'That night is also a big blow to him, isn't it?'

"Let's go eat." William did not dwell on the topic anymore. Without waiting for Mary's permission, he drove to the most prosperous commercial street in A City.

"How can I go inside while wearing a swimsuit?! " Mary asked while rolling her eyes. Annoyed, she said firmly, "No, I'm not hungry." "I am ordering you as your employer. Do you understand?" said William sternly while raising his eyebrows.

"I know, I know." Mary was still unconvinced but she had no choice but to agree. "A typical evil businessman style," she muttered under her breath.

"Mary!" William pulled the car over. "Are you provoking me?" He looked annoyed. Mary, on the other hand, just bit her lips.

"No, no, no." She waved her hand in dismissal.

Sometimes she could not control her own mouth and it would cause her trouble.

"You'd better not. Otherwise, you can go to dinner wearing only that." William got out of the car first, walked to the door of the passenger seat, and opened the door for Mary. "Come out. Let's go buy you some clothes first."

"What?" Confused, she got out of the car and looked up. In front of her was the entrance of a mall. The first floor of the shopping mall was surrounded with transparent windows. There, Mary was able to see all luxury goods she could never afford.

William was the first to enter the establishment. Mary followed closely behind him silently.

She felt strange as she was only wearing a bikini inside a suit jacket. How Mary wished she could find a hole to hide herself! "Hello, sir, madam, what can I do for you?" The shop assistant smiled as if she did not see Mary's ridiculous attire.

"Get her some clothes," William said, his hands inside his pockets. When he spoke, his voice was cool and calm.

"Okay." The shop assistant nodded her head gracefully and walked to Mary's side. "Ma'am, what kind of clothes do you want?"

"Anything," Mary whispered. She lowered her head out of embarrassment.

The shop assistant took out a black strapless bubble skirt and asked, "Ma'am, what do you think about this one? This skirt is one of Chanel's StartingPoint series this season. It's simple but elegant. It's suitable for your temperament."

Mary looked up and scanned the dress. It was pretty but it was not her type.

She raised her hand to see the price tag. Her hand trembled when she saw the five zeroes on the tag. "This... This is not my style at all! No!"

"How about this one?" The shop assistant brought a light yellow dress.

"Let me see..." As Mary touched the dress, she cast a sharp glance at the price tag.

Five zeroes again! "This one is not good either..." Mary shook her head.

"How do you know it's not good if you haven't tried it?" William stood aside and frowned. 'Women are so troublesome!' he thought. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"I can tell that it's not good at a glance," Mary answered as she shook her head repeatedly.

"Why is it not good?" William asked, "Is it the style? Color? Brand?"

"No." Mary just gave a flattering smile.

"Then what is it?"

"Price!" Mary approached William and whispered, "It's too expensive. Normal clothes are okay with me!"

Hearing that, William did not know whether to laugh or cry. This woman neither cared about style nor color. She valued money more. "I'm not asking you to pay for it."

"Well, I don't think that's okay," Mary insisted. "I will feel guilty if I receive a reward without any merit."

"Then deduct it from the money I will give you."

"No way!" Mary responded immediately and accidentally raised her voice.

This caused the customers in the shop to turn around to look at the two. William frowned slightly.

With a gloomy face, Mary apologized, "I'm sorry... I can't use that money."

'How can I spend the money for my mother's treatment on a dress?!' Mary sighed at the thought of it.

"Since when did you become so timid?" William asked calmly, "Shouldn't you argue with me this time?"

"I didn't..." Mary's voice trailed off. Before Mary could continue her sentence, William spoke, "Try the yellow one." William waved his hand and the shop assistant led Mary to the dressing room.

All of a sudden, his phone rang.

"Frank?" William smiled. "What's up?" Mary was just about to enter the dressing room when she heard William's phone ring.

She glanced back and gazed at William's gentle face for a moment.

After trying on the expensive dress, Mary came out of the dressing room slowly.

No matter how much money one had, it could not erase the pain they felt in the heart.

William was standing in front of a transparent window of the store. He was gazing at the heavy traffic when he saw Mary's reflection on the window. "It's very beautiful." William turned around and nodded.

"Really?" Mary said while forcing a smile.

"Yeah. Let's go. I've already paid the bill. Let's go have a dinner," said William.

Mary agreed, "Okay."

'Although I know falling in love with you is a luxury, I still want to be with you. Is this a disease?' she asked herself in her heart.

The two arrived at a restaurant at the corner of the street but there was no hint of smile on Mary's face.

The two elegant words "Intoxicating South" made Mary's eyes dazzle.

Frank should be here, no, he must be here!

'This is a woman's intuition, isn't it?'

At the thought of this, Mary saw Frank walking out of the restaurant with a sunny face.

She had not seen Frank since the "good show" incident with Nancy. Also, she did not know how to face him.

On the contrary, both of Frank and William acted as if nothing had happened.

"William, Mary, here you are!" Frank greeted them with a big smile. He looked good even if he was just wearing a simple white shirt.

"Yeah." William nodded in a doting manner.

"Come on in." Frank smiled. "It's the same room." Mary observed the two men.

"Okay." William nodded and invited Mary.

Mary looked around as she walked. It was said that Intoxicating South Restaurant was fine and it deserved being expensive.

Bridges, streams, and people; light rain, sunset, and sunset glow... One room with one scene...

It was a visual and aesthetic enjoyment to have dinner here.

"One meter of sunshine." Mary murmured as she read the words at the doorplate.

"The sunshine in the south is the most precious. " Lowering his head, William smiled at her. "Let's go in."

The three of them sat down and settled on the same table. Although Mary was William's wife, she felt like she was the third wheel.

"Mary, here's the menu." Frank smiled as he handed Mary the menu. "Order whatever you like.

"Okay. Thank you." Mary took the menu from him and nodded. "I want caviar spaghetti, green bamboo shoots soup, and mutton cake." Without looking at the menu, William ordered the food quickly.

"Give me Elba's truffle macaroni." Frank ordered the restaurant's signature dish.

"How about this?" When Frank and William had finished ordering, Mary only glanced at the menu and casually pointed to the picture of green apple cream cake which was closest to her.

"Don't you want to eat a main dish?" asked William.

"No, I'm not hungry," Mary replied with her head down. She had no appetite at all.

"Go ahead." Frank then handed the menu to the waiter.

The three of them sat in silence. However, Mary felt tense and she felt that she was sitting on pins and needles. 'Is it too late to leave now?'

"Mary," Frank suddenly asked, "How have you been recently?"

"Well, I'm fine."

"Mary, thank you for not disliking me. I'm grateful to you for helping William all the time."

Mary frowned. Before she could open her mouth to answer, William suddenly spoke, "Frank! Nobody dislikes you. Don't say that again. I'm here for you always, okay?" William said. When he spoke, his voice had a hint of anger.

"Thank you." Frank looked at him gratefully and continued, "I'm afraid our situation will be a big blow to Mary. Will Mary accept us...?"

"Yes, I will." Mary picked up the glass on the table and took a sip of water.

"Thank you for understanding us." Frank smiled at Mary and said, "I have liked William for a long time. Without him, I really don't know what would happen to me. I'm a freak..."

"Don't overthink," William assured Frank as he put his hand on the back of Frank's hand and squeezed gently. "Everything is going well. So what about being gay? Don't mind other people. What's more important is that we have each other."

"Yes, you're right." Frank nodded hard with his eyes shining.

Mary lowered her head. Should she celebrate their beautiful love now? Even if she wasn't really happy?

Finally, the dishes were served quickly.

Mary sliced a piece of green apple cake and chewed it slowly. The cake was so sweet it tasted bitter.

Sure enough, they were not from the same world. Her values and taste were different from those of William. After all, they could not be together, not to mention that they did not even love each other.

Frank was different. He and William grew up together and loved each other. Everything was the same... Even their gender was the same. Only the two of them could be a perfect match for each other.

Mary picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. When she looked up, she inadvertently saw the advertisement on the LED screen of the opposite building.

It was for the AJ Group Real Estate. On the screen, William and Mary hugged each other affectionately. How long could such a perfect marriage last?

"By the way," Frank said, "William, can I go back with you and Mary, and stay there for the night?"

Mary's hand that was holding the napkin trembled and her lips turned pale for a moment. She did not know whether or not William noticed it with his sharp eyes. Either way, she could not control her thoughts.

"Is it because of Nancy?" asked William calmly. "Yeah." Frank snorted.

"Ask Mary. It is her name that is on the property ownership certificate."

"Mary? What do you think?" Frank asked with wide eyes. He was looking at her expectantly.

"O...okay." Mary answered with the corners of her mouth slightly twitching.

"Thank you, Mary. You are really kind!"