Contract marriage:Mother for rent, wife for free
Chapter 43: End of the year party

Chapter 43: End of the year party

Lin wei stared at the twins and wondered if perhaps she was getting hard of hearing.

"What did you say?"

"Again? This is the third time," Garry scoffed, his eyes disapproving.

"Well then start making sense! What do you mean I had been invited to the end of the year party?" She asked, her voice almost an hysterical pitch.

She was invited to an event coveted by parent of the students. She, who was acting like someone she wasn’t.

"Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t ask for it." Harry said indignantly.

"I’m not looking at you anyway," she murmured absentmindedly as her fingers traced the golden paper.

Oh yes, the invited had been printed in a golden paper. They wouldn’t do something common like using normal god-damned paper now, would they?

Obviously not.

"Whe.." her voice cracked, she took a large swallow, "when is the party?"

Garry and Harry exchanged a sheepish look.

"Tonight." Harry whispered.

"Tonight? Of course you can’t be serious." She chuckled nervously, at the twin grimace on both of their handsome faces she yelled, "Tonight? The party is happening tonight?"

"And you did not tell me?"

"Harry forgot." Garry supplied.

"I did not!" Harry said hotly. But his face turned red.

"Fine, it’s fine." It was anything but, "I’ll just not go, shall I?"

The twins stared at her like she’d grown two heads.

"What? I can’t refuse their invitation?"

"Yes." They said together.

"Well I’m refusing this one. I don’t even have the appropriate dress. No, I’m not going."

They grinned secretly at themselves.

"We told Dad to get you a dress. Since Dad isn’t attending."

"Well, it doesn’t matter what you say. I’m not going." She scoffed lightly.

"Please? Madeleine will be there and she’ll..I don’t know, try to smother us with love." Garry said as a matter of fact.

Garry was probably the only six year old that could manage to make a plea sound like demand.

"Fine. But I won’t be responsible for whatever happens. Okayy?"

They both nodded solemnly and slinked off the room. She allowed herself to fall back on the bed with the world loudest sigh.

Really, what had she gotten herself into? It was a question she ask herself several times a day.

But Veronica wasn’t Lin wei. They were two different people.

At least they were supposed to be. Only she’d been having a difficult time separating them these days.

She had gotten too comfortable with pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She really must be insane to consider going to the party.

It wasn’t just any party. It was a party that only the one percent of the rich population could attend.

It was during moments like this, she wished she had an anchor. Perhaps Biggie breathing down on her nose, or Bai yue screaming bloody murder as she beat her in a game.

Perhaps her mother’s smile. Anything to remind herself she was Lin wei, whose mother had cancer.

Thinking of her mother sent hot shard of longing ripping through her chest. It’s been three weeks since the last time she had seen her mother.

She missed her dreadfully. Which is why she must get up, shower, and play pretend for a few hours at the party.

To make the money necessary for her mother’s surgery.

She walked into the bathroom, and allowed the hot water to drip down her body. She sighed, the water felt good on her skin.

It soothed the tension a bit. Grabbing a shampoo, she washed her hair and got out of the bathroom.

She towelled off, staring up at the clock. The party was supposed to start after dinner.

All elegance and pompous righteousness. She giggled to herself.

She jammed her neck into sweat shirt and pants, as a knock sounded on her door. It couldn’t be Harry.

That boy doesn’t knock for the life of him. Now Garry. Garry was a different thing entirely.

With unhurried knocks, he’ll stand outside in respect for her privacy until she invited him in.

Somehow, she knew the person knocking on the other side of the door wasn’t Garry.

She swallowed nervously and opened the door a crack.

There he was, tall and impossibly handsome. Cold eyes sculpted from the deepest ice, holding a pink bag.

She opened the door wider to let him in. He entered, standing by the door.

She patted her hair down and shifted from one foot to another.

"I heard you’ve been invited to the kids dinner party," his tone was disapproving, but his blank stare was more unnerving.

Lin wei nodded jerkily.

He pinched his eyebrows and sighed.

"Even after telling you to keep a low profile. You were invited. Do you think it’s possible to keep a low profile after all this?" He demanded, voice whisper soft. Yet hard and unrelenting.

Lin wei gulped, but managed to meet his eyes.

"I can try. I’ll just stay for a minute and leave. I won’t even talk to anyone."

"Do you even understand what you’re saying?" He took a step towards her and she took an involuntary step back. Until her back hit the wall.

She swallowed thickly. There was apprehension in her gut but what about the low hum on her skin as she caught a whiff of his expensive cologne?

Or the tingles that ran down her spine at the intensity of his gaze.

"We’re tier one. The kids are first in the hierarchical line. And only a few others are in this category. Which means, you’ll attract attention whether you want it or not."

He looked her up and down and shook his head.

"Since you’ll be attracting attention either way, it’s better you dress up to it." He handed her the pink bag.

"I picked out the design myself. It’ll suit you." He leaned down, until she could see the grey flecks in his blue eyes. Her breath hitched.

"Remember, do not tell anyone anything. Mindless female conversation is okay, but definitely nothing of who or what you are to the twins. It’s better to let them assume whatever they want. That way, it’ll be easier to sue for defamation."

He turned to leave, while she clutched the bag in one hand.

He stopped by the door and turned to her, "Be wary of those women."

She almost thought she could detect a hint of co

ncern in his voice. But she must have been reading meaning into the words as usual.

It was a little after he left, before she could get her heart to calm down. He was only looking out for his kids, that’s all.