Love Contract novel Chapter 28

"The studio said they wanted to use our photos as sample pictures in their leaflets." Mary stood in front of the car and asked William, "That okay? They said we'd get a discount."

"Don't they have their own people for that? Photographers, models, what-have-you?" William said, after thinking it over.

"Yeah," said Mary, her face turning red. "Maybe we did an awesome job."

"Tell them they can show other clients our photos," said William after a pause. "But they don't need to print them in the leaflets."

"Okay, I'll tell them." Mary nodded, turned around and was about to leave, but William put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Wait a minute."

"What's wrong?"

Looking into her eyes for a bit, William asked, "What do you think of my idea?"

This made Mary a bit skittish. She answered hesitantly. "I think....I like it."

"Okay, go ahead. See you soon." There seemed to be a smile at the corners of his mouth when William spoke.

Mary hurried back to the studio.

'Why did he ask my opinion? He's the boss, after all. It's nice of him to do that. And why that mysterious smile? Is that because of my idea, or some other reason? I could get real used to this.' And yes, she could. It was a good feeling to be valued and included.

When she got into the car, Mary still insisted on sitting in the back seat. She had no time to care about William's dark face. She had to stay away from a dangerous creature like him.

The two kept their silence the whole way to the family house. Timothy sat in the living room, like he was waiting for them.

''Father!''

"Hi Father, we're back."

"So you are. Why so late?" Timothy sat up from the sofa and looked at Mary with a smile. "Are you tired? How did the shoot go?"

"Not too tired to talk. And we got some great photos." "We took two sets of indoor pics," Mary said.

"No outside shots? Why not?"

"It was noon, so we had to come back. Outdoor shots take some more doing. The weather, the wildlife, the lighting... Inside is easier."

"You're right about that." Timothy nodded, "Let's get something to eat and quit for today."

"Thank you, Father." As Mary nodded, she stole a glance at William.

Since they entered the house, the two men hadn't said a word or even made eye contact with each other. It seemed the chasm between father and son was still too wide to cross.

Biting her lip, Mary remembered what she heard last night. 'It was like they were arguing about responsibility. But what exactly did they argue about? Was this about the company?'

"By the way, I need to head back this afternoon." At the table, Timothy suddenly opened his mouth. Mary was so surprised and even William didn't believe it.

"That soon? How come?" Mary asked with a frown.

"I'm worried about your Auntie Amy staying out there alone. It's a foreign country, after all," continued Timothy. "It's a good idea for me to go back early. Forward those wedding pics to me, please. I need to look them over."

"You are ready to go, then?" asked William. Timothy replied casually, "Yeah."

He didn't even look at him when he said that. The rest of the meal was a little awkward. After lunch, William drove Timothy to the airport in person, while Mary stayed home to relax. William didn't really want her along anyway.

William's dad really liked her. Or seemed to, at any rate. Was it just because she was his daughter-in-law? But what would the old man think if he knew that she had connived with William to cheat him? Would he be disappointed? Melancholy, maybe?

However, she didn't know that Timothy was pretty smart and capable. How could he be deceived so easily?

"William," Timothy started, "Do you know why I asked you to drive me today?" He didn't want anyone else in the car, so he figured this might be easier if he only had to deal with his son.

"I don't know, Dad. You have something to say?" William said, biting his lips.

"Very good," Timothy said slowly. He continued, "I know everything about you and Mary."

Hearing that, the hand holding the steering wheel paused. Although William felt he already knew the answer, he still asked with a trace of doubt, "What do you know?"

"Do you still want to lie to me?" Timothy smiled with disdain, "You pretended to marry her and you two both tried to deceive me."

Hearing that, William squinted his eyes and felt relieved. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he needed to come clean. "I should have guessed I couldn't hide it from you for too long."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You tried your best."

"But you weren't the only one I wanted to fool. It was everyone."

"So, what? You promised her riches beyond belief if she married you?"

"We just took what we needed."

"Okay, okay," said Timothy angrily, "I really thought you were better than this. Who on earth did you do this for? Sansa or Frank?"

He paused, too angry to continue. Frowning, William still said nothing.

"Sansa's been gone for five years. I know you feel guilty and you miss her," said Timothy with a pained expression on his face. "But are you really going to spend your whole life doing this? Do you really have no one else in your heart except her? Are you willing to stoop so low for her?"

"Low? Come on, Dad" All of a sudden, a sarcastic smile appeared on William's face. "Just because Frank likes me, you think I've stooped low? Is that it? Is it really that bad?"

"Yes! Of course it's that bad! Tell me, are you in love with Frank?" "So what if I am?" "Really? That's all you have to say?

You... You're impossible!" Timothy was furious. "If you don't care what I think, then think of your reputation! This family's reputation! You can't forget Sansa so you want to stay with her brother? What a joke!" "A joke?" William replied.

"You think this is funny?" he continued. William flashed an evil, ironic smile. "As long as I like it, it doesn't matter if other people are laughing at me!"

"You ingrate! How did I raise such an asshole son!" Timothy shouted, trembling with anger. If it weren't for the fact his son was driving, he would have already lunged at William. But that might kill them both. "You stubborn ass! If you don't know what you did wrong, I'd rather kill you than let you ruin this family!"