by Sadie Grubor
"No problem," then he turned to me "Do you mind if I go take a shower?"
"Not at all, it’s at the top of the stairs."
He nodded and headed upstairs.
With Donald’s food before him, he ate heartily. I was happy to see his appetite returning. He seemed to be feeling better. I could only hope the medications would last and surgery would not be necessary, at least for awhile longer.
Aidan stayed at my father’s until the Sunday evening I was flying back. I’d avoided the conversation about our arrangement just because I wasn’t ready for the finality of the deal yet.
"What are you doing?"
I snapped my head over to see Aidan watching me at my father’s desk. "Printing my ticket."
"Cancel it, you won’t need it," he walked over and grabbed the printed ticket.
"What—"
"We’ll take the jet," he spoke like it was no big deal to just have a jet waiting, which, for him, I’m sure it wasn’t.
"Jet?" I cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, the AIS Jet. It’s waiting for our arrival this afternoon," he pulled out his cell phone. Before I could say anything else, he began to make a call. After about ten minutes he snapped his phone shut. "Okay, your ticket is taken care of." He ripped up the printed ticket.
"Excuse me?" I furrowed my brow.
"What?"
"Can you at least let me decide if I’m flying with you or not?" I rolled my eyes.
"Lilli, be reasonable, it’s stupid for you to pay for a plane ticket when I’m flying out on the family jet to the same location" he looked at me as if I had three heads.
"I don’t like decisions just being made for me." Standing, I tried to exit the room. He grabbed my arm.
"I’m sorry," he looked into my eyes. "I’ll try not to take charge of things but I was only trying to help."
"I know." The words slipped out quickly and I shook off his hand.
The pull of his touch was way too tempting. I’d never had that happen to me before. Sure, I was instantly attracted to some people and when guys in my past had touched me it made my body react. However, this was a simple gesture of touching my arm. It wasn’t in a romantic or intimate nature, yet I felt prickling heat flowing from that point of contact. I grabbed my bags and headed toward the steps.
"Here let me help," I turned to look at him "Please?" I handed over the bags and he headed down the stairs. I took another long look at the house as I walked down the steps, taking it all in.
Donald was sitting and waiting for me to come tell him goodbye. I hated leaving him but knew that Millie would take care of him while I was gone.
"I’ll miss you," I whispered and kissed his head.
He smiled.
"Love…you…Lilli." His voice was still raspy but it sounded better than a few days ago.
"Love you too," I smiled and hugged him. I hugged Millie goodbye as Aidan said goodbye to my dad.
It wasn’t until we got to the airport and were walking toward the plane that I realized that we would be alone the whole flight. He was going to want to discuss things on the way there. I groaned internally even though I had agreed to this of my own will. We climbed onto the plane and I took a seat. I was still so lost in my thoughts I hadn’t realized that Aidan had sat down next to me.
I snapped out of my thoughts at a loud thud. A thick stack of papers sat on the small table in front of us. Aidan had a nervous but determined look on his face.
"We have quite a few hours till we get to New York. I was thinking we could discuss things before we get there," he rubbed the back of his head. It was clear he was forcing himself not to look in my direction.
I turned my gaze back to the stack of papers before reaching out and picking them up.
"Ok," I barely answered in a whisper. I took a deep breath and started to read over the documents.
Chapter Eleven
The Ring
Lilli
My eyes were starting to dry out as I read through the thick stack that felt like it was made of cement rather than paper. There were five different sections bound together for one contract.
In section one of the Marital Conditions Agreement, Aidan and I were to agree to four years of consummated and monogamous marriage. Infidelity voided the contract. I was required to take the Iverson last name. Living in the same home for the full four years was also a requirement, as well as sharing a room and bed.
Section two was the ‘Marriage Agreement’. Aidan would receive his one hundred billion dollar inheritance, his grandfather’s estates and possessions. In return for marriage, I would be allocated full purchase of Donald’s home in Winter Harbor, which was already done, college tuition for the length of the marriage and one million dollars.
"Aidan, I don’t need a million dollars," I croaked out. "What is this Indecent Proposal?"
"Lilli, look at how much money I’m inheriting. Please realize my inheritance is on top of money I already have." He looked at me with sternness. "Anyone could use a million dollars."
"But—"
"No buts," He argued. "Once four years of marriage is complete you will receive a million dollars. You can consider it guaranteed alimony if you wish." He shrugged. "What’s Indecent Proposal?" He asked with a curious glance.
"The movie? You’ve never seen the movie?"
"I haven’t gotten to watch many movies," he laid his head back on the headrest of the seat.
Furrowing my brow, I went back to the contract. Seeing the next sections that were to be addressed I felt my stomach knot and I had to swallow a large lump in my throat before I could continue.
Section three was the ‘Heir’ Conditions Agreement’. We were to conceive a child within the first year with a healthy birth before the end of our second year of marriage, unless medical complications are incurred. The child is to be a legitimate heir to the Iverson family and will be bestowed with the Iverson name.
Section four was the ‘Procreation Agreement’, in which, upon conceiving, AIS would be granted to Aidan Walsh Iverson III as sole proprietorship. In return to being the Iverson family incubator I would receive a home in New York, financial support for the child and the child would have a trust established in his or her name.
"Aidan…" I hesitated.
"What?" His voice waivered.
"I can’t have a child. I’m sorry, I just can’t. Not like this." I laid the papers back on the table and shook my head at him.
"Lilli…look, I get your apprehension and trust me, I’m not exactly thrilled or excited that this is what it has come to for me but we can make it work." He pleaded.
"I’m from a broken home, Aidan. I can’t voluntarily have a child knowing I’m going to provide them with a scheduled broken home. I don’t want to offer a solid family dynamic and then rip it away from them, regardless of how old they will be at the time." I argued. "I think this is a bad idea. I’m sorry." I took a deep panic filled breath. "You need to find someone that will do all of this for you, cause I just…I just can’t. I can’t."
"Lilli." He said firmly as he knelt in front of me. "It will be fine." He picked up the papers. "That’s what the home in New York is for." I twisted my face in confusion. "This way you will have a home close to my home. We will stay friends after all of this, at least I hope that we will, and we will keep our residences close enough so that the child will be able to see us every day if they want to. It won’t be perfect, but then again, what is perfect anymore? The child will grow up with two parents that care about them deeply." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look at me. I didn’t have either of my parents after I was ten. Viola, Liam and Maggie kept my family dynamic intact and it was completely different for me."
"I can’t do it," I spit out. "I’m sorry."
He sighed heavily.
"You can do it. You’re going to do it." He said firmly.
"Wh-what..?" I stuttered at his tone and at his words.
"Lilli, I don’t have anyone else. I am not going to just pic
k some girl up off the street and ‘hope’ that she isn’t a psycho, a gold digger or something even worse." He sat back into his seat and took a deep breath. "I need you…I need you to help me and allow me to help you." He kept his head down.
I internally cursed myself and picked up the contract again to go over the last section.
Section five was the ‘Prenuptial Agreement’. This section simply secured Aidan and the Iverson’s assets before the marriage as well as the company’s assets acquired during the marriage. The final clause was in regards to family jewelry, which I was unsure what that had to do with me. I didn’t want any jewelry.
After some more legal jargon and clauses I sat back in my seat with my eyes closed, the contract in my lap. My mind was spinning and I was having an internal battle. Part of me wanted to grab a parachute and head for the plane door. The other part of me felt bad for Aidan’s situation and the easy help I could provide. Releasing a heavy breath, I rubbed my hands over my face.
"You okay?" Aidan spoke in a hushed voice.
"I don’t know," I answered quickly, slightly annoyed by his interruption of my thoughts.
"Are you going to sign?" He pressed.
"Hah," I breathed out in partial amusement and partial astonishment.
"What?" His nerves were working into his voice, again.
I glanced at my watch.
"We have less than ten minutes before we arrive to JFK," he said matter-of-factly.
I nodded.
"Please talk to me," he requested.
"What do you want me to say? That I feel like a high price whore or that I’m selling my soul?" I raised my head to stop his argument, it would prevent the hurt look on his face. "I’m sorry but you asked."
"You’re not a whore and I’m not the devil," he growled.
"It doesn’t feel that way at the moment," I chuckled, humorlessly. Stressful situations had always caused me to have inappropriate reactions. I took another deep breath. "You’re ready to purchase the next four years of my life?"
"I have no other choice," he grumbled.
Nodding, I understood what he meant. I barely had any choices left myself and I knew he was right. He didn’t have a choice unless he wanted to lose everything.
"Is it only the…the conceiving part or is it the marriage as well?" he questioned without looking at me.
"It all bothers me, Aidan," I sighed out and then growled. "I could handle the marriage but putting the baby thing on top of it...well…."
"Let’s just focus on the marriage part right now and then after we’re married we can discuss the baby portion of the deal. Okay?" He looked at me hopefully.
"But I still have to agree to have a baby, right?" He nodded slowly. "I don’t know if I can do that."
"It doesn’t have to be right away," he argued. "We can wait a few months to see how things go with each other before we decide to bring a child into this." His eyes were pleading again.
"Fine. Where’s the pen?" I spit out. I watched him search around. "Hurry before I change my mind!"
"Here," he shoved the pen into my hand.
As I approached the sections about having a child, I hesitated and looked up to him.
"I will continue to take my birth control pills until we talk about this again." He nodded, knowing that it wasn’t a question.
I signed and every pen stroke felt like I was signing a deal with Satan.
Aidan took the pen and signed his parts of the contract. I felt a tear slip over my cheek as I turned to my side in my seat trying to force myself to relax.
"Now we just need to talk about the wedding," he sighed out.
"Wedding?" I croaked out trying to hide my tears.
"Yes, it will be in a month," he said factually.
I wiped my face and sat up turning back toward him.
"Aren’t we just going to go to a Justice of the Peace or something?" I scoffed.
He shook his head.
"Viola wants to plan the wedding. It will be small, just family." He shrugged.
"So, I have to wear some dress and do the whole down the aisle thing?" My voice hitched up a notch at the end of my question.
"It’s not a big deal, Lilli. Viola can handle it all. My family is close and we have certain traditions. If this were a real wedding then it would be much more elaborate and take at least a year to plan."
I scowled at his choice of real wedding.
"I don’t want a wedding," I argued.
"It would crush my aunt if I didn’t do this, if we didn’t do this. Besides you can talk to her about it when we get to the airport," I instantly turned my head back to him.
"At the airport," I exclaimed. "How about you just fill me in on all these damned plans and meetings you have arranged for me?" I spit out, angrily and sarcastically.
"Calm down. Viola wanted to meet you and talk to you before the wedding. She suggested coming to pick us up from the airport. Maggie should be with her too."
"Who the hell is Maggie?" I raised my hands palms up.
"She is Viola and Liam’s daughter, my cousin, though she is like a sister to me."
I nodded, thinking that he had mentioned her before in a conversation.
"Anything else?" I pressed.
"Well, there is this," he placed a small black leather box on the arm of the seat. My nerve endings were firing rapidly and my body started to go numb from one small box. He cleared his throat.
"Are you going to open it?"
I shook my head. He laughed.
"It won’t bite you." He rolled his eyes and opened the box, took out a ring and looked down at it. "It was my mother’s," he said almost too low for me to hear him.
"Oh, Aidan, no," I shook my head and put my hand on his arm. "Save that for the," I gulped, "for the real thing."
He shook his head and handed it to me.
"I want you to wear it," he nodded lightly.
"I can’t," I pushed his hand back. "Save it for the real thing, Aidan, honestly. Don’t waste it on me."
He looked up to my face, grabbed my hand and slipped the ring on my finger.
"Huh," he smiled a little.
"What?" I choked.
"It fits," he smiled up at me.
I pulled my hand closer to my face and looked at the ring. It was pretty and vintage looking. It was a large round diamond set in silver or platinum, I wasn’t sure, and it looked like knots on each side of the diamond.
"Did I mention that we’re Irish?" He watched me look at the ring.
I put my hand down.
"No," I answered shortly, mainly because I was embarrassed for getting caught checking out the ring that I didn’t want in the first place.
He grabbed my hand and lifted the ringed finger between us.
"The diamonds are set in a platinum setting. See right here?" He was pointing to small knots on the sides.
I nodded.
"Those are Celtic Trinity knots." He put my hand down. "There will be a few Irish or Gaelic portions to the wedding." I just nodded. "Your opinion matters you know?"
"It’s okay, it really isn’t my thing." I forced a small smile, sitting there quietly until I couldn’t take it any longer. "Okay, time to talk everything out."
He looked up to me and smiled.
"Like?"
"Wedding is when? Clearly we have to live with each other, etc…I think you need to tell me all the details as well as about your family." I turned sideways in my seat, ready to listen and discuss.
"Wedding is in a month, after the wedding we will move into my grand…erm, my, our mansion," he smiled at his self-corrections. "As you read, we have to live in the same home for the four years and sleep in the same bed at least a few times a week."
"Okay…family?"
"Uh…obviously my parents are not alive. I grew up with my Aunt Viola and Uncle Liam, as well as with Maggie." He took a deep breath. "You’ve met James, he is my cousin. His wedding is in a week." He paused and smirked. "Will you go with me?"
My eyes widened. "Um I…uh…"
"It will be a way for you to meet my family and family friends that won’t be at our wedding." He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Ugh…do I have to?" I whined.
He laughed. "That’s a yes."
"I didn’t say—"
"You’re my fiancée, you have to go with me," he turned his gaze on me. Never before has anyone unleashed a gaze on me the way that Aidan was right now. I couldn’t even form a word. It was like he had put me in a trance.
When he smirked, I shook myself out of the trance.
"Not fair," I groaned. He just laughed.
"It will be a good way for you to meet people," he shrugged.
"James’ father also works for the company. Uncle Henry and Aunt Anne live about twenty minutes from the house we will be living in." He rubbed the back of his head. "Uh…my aunt and uncle will come off a little harsh, just to warn you. They treat everyone that way."
"Great," I groaned sarcastically. "Can’t wait," I rolled my eyes.
"Be prepared for Viola to bombard you with questions as soon as she gets her hands on you. She is sweet but very persistent," he laughed.
"Wow, I’m getting more excited the closer we get, thanks Walsh." I couldn’t help it, now that I had the middle name, I was using it.
I watched his face cringe.
"I don’t like to be called Walsh," he sounded disgusted.
"Well I happen to like calling you that, Walsh." I laughed and he scowled at me. "Fine, fine…I won’t call you Walsh." I rolled my eyes.
"Thank you," he smiled like a little kid. "So, what else do you want to know?"
"Honestly, I just want to sleep at this point. My brain is exhausted and I need as much sleep as I can get before I go back to work." I rolled over but felt tension fill the space between us.
"You aren’t going back to work at that place are you?" he sounded surprised.
I rolled back over.
"Why wouldn’t I?" I creased my forehead.
"Because you don’t need to, we are engaged and when we are married you are going back to school, not work,"
"Just because we are ‘so called’ engaged doesn’t mean that you get to dictate my life to me! I agreed to work a schedule when I get back and I’m going to." I said firmly.
