The Love Contract (Sizzle & Burn Book 3)

by Linda Verji

  Uncaring of the effect of her words, Dooshim continued, “So you can see why I would be a little wary about giving Vina to your family.”

  “That’s enough!” Orion shoved his seat back and stood up. Vina had never seen him so angry. His face was stormy, eyes flashing, lips thin, jaw tight. His eyes on his mother, he bit out, “Eomma, let’s go home.”

  “Sit down,” his mother ordered him without once looking away from Dooshim. To the older woman, she said, “So you’re saying that I’m dirty?”

  Dooshim didn’t answer but from her smirk it was obvious what she thought.

  Yoon-ah laughed. She laughed loudly. The harsh sound was loud enough to draw some attention to their table. But no one could’ve been more shocked than the four people watching her laugh. When she could finally speak, it was say, “Then I guess Vina’s blood must be just as dirty as Orion’s.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Dooshim’s eyes narrowed. “We’re a very respectable family.”

  “Respectable?” Yoon-ah laughed again. When she quieted down, it was to taunt Dooshim. “You’re not the only who knows how to look into people. I looked into your family too.” Ignoring the sharp in-drawn breaths that met her words, Yoon-ah continued, “I know all about Im-na’s father and the dirty things he’s been doing outside his marriage. And you call me dirty? Ridiculous.”

  Vina didn’t know whether to gasp, laugh, clap, cry or bow her head in shame.

  Dooshim looked just as stunned and unsure of how to react. “I… how…” she sputtered. “I can’t believe… This is so insulting.” Practically shaking, she stood up. “Im-na, Na-ri, let’s go. Let’s go. We’re not going to tie ourselves to such a rude family.”

  “Ya! Who’s the rude one here?” Yoon-ah stood too. She looked like she was about to jump across the table and strangle Dooshim.

  “Eomma, let’s just go.” Orion grabbed his mother’s hand.

  Dooshim sneered. “Ya? Hear that? Ya! How can she speak like that to an elder?”

  “I wouldn’t speak to you like that if you behaved like an elder,” Yoon-ah yelled out as Orion forcefully walked her away from the confrontation. She tried to extract herself from Orion’s grip. “I haven’t finished with that woman.”

  But Orion held on to her firmly and dragged her towards the exit.

  CHAPTER 18

  “Break up with that man,” Dooshim ordered the moment they got home.

  On the drive home, she’d filled Vina and Na-ri’s ears with her complaints about Yoon-ah and how rude she was. Neither of the other two women responded, but that didn’t deter Dooshim. On and on she went until Vina was ready to scream blue murder.

  Vina had thought that once they got home she could just go up to her room and take a minute to calm down, but here Dooshim was again, acting like she was the one who’d been wronged.

  “Break up with him right now,” the elderly woman insisted. “We can’t be linked to a family that can speak such things.”

  Maybe it was because she was at the end of her rope. Maybe it was because she was just so tired of Dooshim having double-standards for everyone but herself. Either way, Vina snapped. “A family that can speak what things?”

  “You heard what they said,” Dooshim huffed as she plopped down on the couch.

  “You mean the truth?” Vina raised her eyebrows as she stared at her grandmother. “Hong Yoon-ah only said the truth, and she wouldn’t even have brought it up if you hadn’t called her dirty.”

  “Are you on that woman’s side?” Dooshim glared at Vina.

  “Im-na, stop.” Na-ri grabbed Vina’s arm

  “No.” Vina shook her mother’s hand off her. “Someone needs to tell her, and we both know you won’t.”

  Dooshim’s eyes narrowed. “Someone needs to tell me what?”

  “That you were the one who was rude to them.” Locking eyes with her grandmother, Vina enunciated, “Ri-on’s mother wasn’t in the wrong. You were.”

  “I was wrong? Why I never-” Dooshim puffed out an angry breath and pressed her fists to her waist. “How can you say I was wrong after seeing how that woman behaved? Did you hear how she spoke to me?” Increasingly agitated, she added, “That woman doesn’t know how to respect her elders, and her son is probably the same. Uh-uh, break up with him. I’ll find you a better man.”

  “A better man like who? Abeoji?” Vina laughed, the harsh sound ringing in the room. “No, thank you. I’d rather die alone than live with a man who’ll make me as miserable as he’s made mom.”

  Vina had never seen Dooshim move so fast. One second she was seated and the next she was standing right in front of Vina. Like lightning, her palm cracked over Vina’s cheek. Slap. Hot pain mingled with shock as Vina instinctively cupped her cheek.

  “Eomoni!” Na’ri exclaimed as she pushed her way between Vina and her grandmother.

  “Aigoo, this is the way you speak about your father now?” Dooshim shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval as she glowered at Vina. “Is that what that boy had taught you? How to disrespect your parents?”

  “This has nothing to do with Orion,” Vina retorted. Even though her cheek was still smarting from the pain of her grandmother’s slap, she refused to show it. “This all me.”

  “Im-na-ya.” Na-ri turned to grip her arm. “Stop.”

  “No, this isn’t you. It has everything to do with him,” Dooshim ranted on. “Otherwise what would possess you to speak like that about a good man like your father?”

  “Good man. Hah!” Vina laughed, but her laugh was filled with bitterness.

  “Im-na, stop.” Her mother tried to drag her away. “Go to your room.”

  Vina peeled her mother’s fingers off her arm with more force than unnecessary. For the first time in her life, she resented Na-ri for being such a fragile, passive woman. If she was a stronger woman, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Vina wouldn’t be battling scars from a flawed father, and Dooshim wouldn’t think it was okay to treat other women the way she treated Na-ri.

  Vina zeroed in on her grandmother. “I’m tired of you putting dad on a pedestal like he’s some kind of god when we all know that he is the furthest thing from it.” Her voice rose with every word. “Halmeoni, let me ask you as question; if Abeoji wasn’t your son and Eomma was your daughter. Would you let her marry him since he’s such a good man?”

  Dooshim opened her mouth, even pulled in a deep breath as if preparing to answer. But something about Vina’s question must’ve stumped her because she closed her mouth again.

  “Let me define for you what a good man is,” Vina continued. “He’s honest, he’s kind, he’s responsible, he puts his family before himself, he doesn’t treat the women in his life like they are sub-humans, and he doesn’t need to put on shows so the rest of the world can think he’s a good man. That’s who Orion is. What you see is what you get.”

  “He’s not that perfect,” Dooshim protested, but her tone had lost most of its bite and she even looked a little embarrassed.

  “No he’s not – but he is a good man,” Vina insisted. “You keep on telling everyone about how I’m such a catch, but the truth is that Ri-On is too good for me. I’m never going to find someone else like him. He’s young, successful, comes from a good family and has no emotional baggage. He could get any woman he wanted – a better woman than me. He could get someone prettier, younger… someone who’s family won’t insult his mother. After the way you behaved today, he’s probably realized it too and wants to our relationship this just as much as you do.”

  “I didn’t say I wanted to end it,” Dooshim protested. “I just… you know… I said wanted us to think about it a little more.”

  How typical of Dooshim. Now that the flaws behind her reasoning had been revealed, she was backtracking on her own words.

  “There’s nothing to think about?” Vina sighed tiredly. “Orion will probably end our relationship.”

  “No, he won’t.” Dooshim smiled, but the smile held more than a little p
anic. “If you just talk to him nicely and apologize, I’m sure he’ll understand that this just is a little bump in our negotiations. The first meetings between in-laws always go like this. It’s not a big deal. Just talk to Orion.”

  Vina wanted to ask her grandmother why she had to be the one to apologize when she wasn’t the one who’d done the insulting, but she knew that Dooshim would just find a way to justify that too. She sighed tiredly. “I’m going to my room.”

  “You’ll call him while you’re there, right?” Dooshim called out behind her.

  Vina didn’t answer. But as soon as she got to her room, she called Orion.

  This wasn’t the end for them was it? The knot in her stomach grew with each second that the phone rang. He’d understand that Dooshim’s thoughts about his mother were hers alone, right? That Vina didn’t think his mother was dirty, right? He wouldn’t end their agreement because of today, would he?

  His phone rang and rang and rang. After trying three times, she finally gave up. He was ignoring her, she guessed. After all the insults his mother had endured at the hands of her grandmother, who could blame him. Sighing deeply, Vina swiped her hand over her face to wipe away the sudden wetness on her cheek.

  It was only then that she realized that she was crying.

  ORION STARED AT his phone. Three missed calls from Vina. Part of him wished that he’d picked up the phone when she’d called but the rational part of him knew that that was a bad idea. No doubt, he would’ve ended up saying something he didn’t mean. He was that angry.

  “Yah, Ri-on-a?” Yoon-ah exclaimed as she pottered around the kitchen fixing lunch for them. “Why didn’t you tell me that Vina’s grandmother was crazy?”

  “I didn’t think I needed to,” he answered, his voice tight with retrained anger.

  Frankly, he was surprised that his mother could think about food at a time like this. He was still reeling over all the things Dooshim had said, while the victim was more interested in filling her stomach.

  His mother stopped moving to glance his way. “You’re angry.”

  “Of course, I’m angry.”

  Yoon-ah turned off the stove and crossed the room to stand beside him. She patted his back. “Sorry, Ri-on-a. Don’t be angry with me.”

  Frowning, he looked up at her. “Why would I be angry at you?”

  “I ruined our first meeting with Vina’s family.” Her expression was genuinely apologetic as she added, “You’re always telling me about how my temper will get us in trouble and I guess you were right.”

  “Eomma.” Orion turned slightly in the seat so he could see her face without craning his neck. “I’m not angry with you. You did nothing to be sorry for. In fact, you should be angry not sorry. How could that woman talk to you like that?”

  Most of what Dooshim had said was true. Yes, his mother had remarried. Yes, the man was younger than her. Yes, she’d divorced him. But the way the elderly woman had spun those incidents made it look like his mother had done something to be apologetic for, which she hadn’t.

  When Orion and Julian’s father had died, Yoon-ah was just thirty-seven. She was in the prime of her life, and yet she’d spent the next ten years selflessly taking care of Orion and Julian all on her own. Was it so wrong for her to remarry because she was lonely? In fact if she was a man, people like Dooshim would’ve been pushing her to remarry much earlier than that.

  Also what was so wrong about her marrying a younger man than her? It wasn’t like she’d found some under-age boy and seduced him. It was a mutual thing. Fine, she’d divorced the guy within two years, but was she supposed to stick with some guy who couldn’t keep it in his pants just because he’d been generous enough to marry an ‘old’ woman like her? Bullshit!

  Orion hated when people talked about his mother like they were experts on her, like they lived with her everyday and went through the same problems and emotions she did. Dooshim had no idea the kind of life his mother had lived – and she had no right to judge her. Dirty? The word made him want to burn something.

  “Omo, Ri-on-a.” Yoon-ah laughed as she patted his head. “How can I be angry when you’re already so angry on my behalf?”

  “Ah. Don’t do that.” Orion moved his head away from her.

  His mother chuckled before she took the seat next to his at the table. “Don’t be so angry. Ahn Dooshim didn’t say anything that I haven’t heard before. Normally, I would just let it roll off my back but I was already annoyed because of my students and she pricked me at the wrong time.”

  “You shouldn’t have to let it roll off your back,” Orion mumbled under his breath. The more he thought about the whole argument, the more annoyed he got.

  Dooshim’s hurtful words weren’t even the most jaw-dropping thing about the woman’s behavior. Her hypocrisy took that award. How dare the woman call his mother dirty when her son was… Wait! Orion still as a thought occurred to him.

  He lifted his gaze to meet his mothers. “Eomma, how did you know about Song Min-kyu?”

  “I already told you.” Yoon-ah smiled. “I looked into them.”

  “You did?”

  “I’m a woman who hired a spy to follow you.” Yoon-ah lifted one eyebrow. “Are you really surprised that I investigated your potential in-laws?”

  Despite his annoyance, Orion laughed. His mother was crazy – absolutely bonkers. If Dooshim really wanted to get to them, she should’ve used that. The thought of the older woman was enough to sober Orion up. He stared at his hands for a long while before quietly asking, “Eomma?”

  “Mm.”

  “Should I break up with Vina?”

  It was the right thing to do in this situation, right? How could he continue associating with people who could be that cruel to his mother? The muscles in his tummy immediately tightened in protest and pain stabbed through him at the thought of letting Vina go. But what else was a loyal son supposed to-”

  “Yah!” His mother’s slap to the back of his head caught him unawares.

  “Eomma!” He protested as he rubbed his head. “That hurts.”

  “Remember how that hurts when you start talking nonsense again.” Yoon-ah glared at him. “Do you think that relationships are so easy that you just end them because of little things like this?”

  “But it’s not a little thing-”

  “Shut up,” his mother cut him off. She glared at him for an uncomfortably long moment before her gaze softened. “I know you feel hurt because of what Ahn Dooshim said about me, but that has nothing to do with you and Vina. Has Vina ever said such things about me?”

  Orion shook his head. If anything, Vina seemed to admire his mother.

  “Then what’s the problem?” Yoon-ah asked. “Since you love her, this shouldn’t be enough to make you break up.”

  When Orion opened his mouth to protest her description of Vina as the woman he loved, Yoon-ah cut him off. “Don’t say you don’t love her. You’re my son. I know you like the back of my hand.”

  That silenced him.

  “I won’t let you lose her just because of something some old woman said about me. If I have to be the one to apologize first to Dooshim just to keep you two together then that’s what I’ll do.”

  “Madam Hong, if you apologize first,” he threatened, “I’ll disown you.”

  Yoon-ah snorted. “Then disown me. I’m tired of being your mother anyw-”

  The ring of her phone cut into her words. She lifted off her seat to go and pick up the call. Her brow creased in a frown when she checked the screen. “Who is this?” but answered anyway, “Hello?” “Yes, this is Hong Yoon-ah.”

  A moment later, her eyes lit up and a smile creased her face. “Vina’s Eomma, I didn’t even know you had my number…”

  Though Orion only heard his mother’s end of the conversation, he surmised that Na-ri had called to apologize on behalf of Dooshim. That was surprising because Vina had described her mother as a very introverted and passive woman. His two encounters with the woman had left him
with the impression that Vina was right.

  “You see,” Yoon-ah commented after the ended the call. “Even Vina’s mother knows that it would be wrong to break up the two of you over this little thing when her daughter loves you so much.”

  Orion’s heart thudded in his ribcage. “She said that? That Vina loves me too?”

  “She didn’t have to say it.” Yoon-ah explained, “She wouldn’t have called to apologize if that wasn’t the case.”

  Was his mother right? Had Na-ri called because Vina loved him and didn’t want to lose him? His pulse raced in instant excitement, but common sense quickly intervened. Maybe Na-ri had only called because the family didn’t want to lose a potential husband for their daughter. His excitement faded and his heart sunk. Yup, that was probably what had happened.

  Soon, however, another thought struck him. What was the point of agonizing over Vina’s feelings when he could just ask her? Did he really plan to be spineless for the rest of the life of their ‘relationship’? Never asking if she wanted more as much as he did? Wasn’t he tired of walking on egg-shells around her? Maybe it was time to finally find out if there was a future for them, or if this was it. Then he could decide how to move forward.

  CHAPTER 19

  Orion was practically sweating bullets when Vina, at his request, dropped by his apartment the following day.

  “What will you have?” he called out from the kitchen, surprised that his voice sounded so even and controlled when he was nervous as hell on the inside.

  “I’m okay,” she returned from her position in the living room.

  He could tell that she was just as nervous about the conversation that they were about to have from the way she kept cracking her knuckles and worrying her bottom lip. Despite her assurance that she was okay, he poured her a glass of fresh juice and brought it to the living room.

  Holding the glass of juice out to her, he said, “At least have this.”

  She glanced up at him then took the offered beverage. “Thank you.”

  Setting his own drink on the coffee table, Orion settled on the couch adjacent to hers. He asked, “Did your family get home okay yesterday?”