Love Contract novel Chapter 10

"Why did you marry William? Did he force you into doing it?" Sitting beside her on the driver's seat, Victor peered into Mary's eyes to desperately seek the truth as he spoke in a resentful tone towards William.

"No, he didn't," Mary retorted in response to his direct question. "I did it willingly. Whatever the case may be, Mr. Qiao. I don't owe you any explanation for it, we don't share that kind of a relationship. With all due respect, please stay out of my business."

Mary's words seemed to have struck a nerve in Victor, as he went silent. 'She's right. Why am I so concerned about her? Is it because I want to sympathize with her over the situation she has been put through? Or am I just afraid that she would be forced into doing something she doesn't consent to like myself?'

"Nothing else to say? In that case, I'll just get off the car," Mary said as she hurriedly gathered her things and unlocked the door to exit herself from the interrogative atmosphere.

"Wait, please. I'm sorry." In a moment of desperation, Victor subconsciously grabbed Mary's hand to stop her from leaving the car.

As soon as he realized what he had done, he immediately let go and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

"Is there anything else you want to ask me?" Mary fixed her awkward posture as she sat right back next to him. She wanted to get this confrontation over with since she feared Victor would see right through the ruse they were putting on.

"Well... Do you know a guy named Frank?" Victor kept his eyes focused on Mary's face to read even the slightest change in her expression after his inquiry.

"Frank? Are you talking about the Frank from the Intoxicating South Restaurant Chain?" Mary asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Wait. You know him!?" Victor blinked a few times in shock, still gazing at Mary.

"Yes, I do." Mary nodded to confirm. Frank belonged to an elite family and was closely connected to her company in terms of business. Of course, she knew about him. But why did Victor act so surprised at this confession?

"So you do know... I guess I'm guilty of having an officious nature," Victor lightly chuckled as he rubbed his neck with his hands. 'You are already aware of the relation between Frank and William...' he thought

Mary shot Victor a questioning look as she raised her eyebrows. "Since everything is sorted now, I'll be getting off the car." "Come on. At least let me drive you back." As Victor requested, he turned the key in the car and started the engine.

"Alright, thank you." After seeing that Victor had started the car, Mary relaxed back in her seat and put on her seatbelt without protest.

"Please don't take this the wrong way but, keep your distance from Frank. That guy is bad news. " Victor couldn't help himself and ended up voicing his concerns to Mary.

"I see... Okay, I will." Mary nodded to him, reassuringly. 'I should just do what he says, so Victor refrains from asking more questions, and the suspicion dies down.'

Since then, the atmosphere of the car was choked up with a lingering awkward silence as Mary turned her back towards him to stare at the outside scenery. She watched the neon lights fly past her eyes and reflect through her clear skin.

"By the way, can you please avoid getting into so many scandals in the future? The Public Relations Department gets exhausted from having to cover up them." Mary subdued the silence with her statement as she turned away from the window to look at him.

"Huh? The Public Relations Department?" Victor's eyes widened again in shock as he maintained his focus on the road. "You work in the Public Relations Department of the AJ Group? Then how come I've never seen you before?" "You haven't seen me, but I do know you." Mary continued, sounding more upset by the minute, "I have dealt with a lot of problems, whose root cause was you. But I would usually meet with the reporters to clear up the mess you made. So I never got the chance to meet you."

"Oh, I see." Victor couldn't help but smile in amusement at Mary's reaction. "Nowadays, the paparazzi are getting more dedicated than usual. They would show up just about anywhere... I'm sorry for causing you trouble, I will be more careful in the future."

"I sure hope so..." Mary folded her arms and shook her head in disapproval. She barely believed he could keep his impulses under control.

"Well, here we are," Victor said as he pulled the car over. He then turned to face Mary and gave her a heartfelt smile as he said, "It was nice meeting you! I'll see you around."

"Likewise." Mary returned his smile earnestly and waved him goodbye after getting out of the car.

As Mary walked away, Victor remained in his car and stared at her back, which seemed to get smaller as the distance between her and himself grew each passing second. Once she was out of sight, he slumped back into his seat and sighed to himself as he thought, 'Whatever happens to you, has nothing to do with me. But I will become a better person, just this once.'

The next morning, Mary went to her office as per her usual routine.

As she was debuting as the CEO's assistant, she had a lot of work on her plate.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lan." At half-past seven in the morning, Kevin greeted Mary with a smile as he arrived in the office.

"Um..." Mary turned to Kevin as she fumbled with her fingers nervously. "Kevin, can you

please not call me Mrs. Lan? It's just... I find it a little awkward, you can refer to me as Mary instead."

"Alright." Kevin smiled warmly.

"Ding..." The door of the elevator opened,

revealing an expressionless William standing

behind them as he stared blankly ahead.

He loosened the noose of the tie around his neck as he raised his head up slightly and made his way out of the elevator one step after

another.

"Mr. Lan."