With a loud crackle, a bolt of lightning illuminated the sky for a second. The bright light it emanated was beautiful yet daunting. The rain did not lessen, instead, it rained heavier. It poured down overwhelmingly and relentlessly.
"Mary! Mary Lu!" Outside the villa, William remained unmoved. Still kneeling on the ground and wet all over, he shouted, "Come out please! I promise I won't lie to you anymore! Mary, I really can't live without you!"
Meanwhile in the living room of the villa, Aisha and Jazlyn were drinking coffee leisurely.
"Why is he repeating those lines? So boring!" As she heard William's shouts from the outside, Aisha's lips curled in amusement.
"Wow, Mr. Lan is still crying out there even though he's soaking wet," said Jazlyn. "He's so persistent, I feel touched."
"Humph!" Aisha snorted. "He's only sorry because he got caught. It's too late for him."
"You are right. Men! Humph!"
"Ugh. His shouts are annoying." Aisha looked at Jazlyn and said, "Call Lucas and ask him to take that annoying guy away." "You can't make phone calls during a storm. Besides, I'm not familiar with that doctor." Jazlyn turned her head away as if nothing had happened.
"You're not afraid of bullets and fighting, yet you're afraid of thunder and lightning?"
"People should die the right way."
"Cut the crap!" Aisha rolled her eyes and walked to the window of the living room. Looking at the blurry figure in the heavy rain, she sighed, "Don't let him die here."
Jazlyn shrugged and said, "Boss, why don't you go upstairs first and ask Mary to give you a room. You haven't slept for several days when you were watching Corbett in Japan."
"I heard that something happened to Frank Liang, " Aisha walked back from the window and said.
"What?" asked Jazlyn in surprise. "No wonder Corbett came back to China quietly. Do you think he is going to see Frank Liang?"
"Probably." Aisha shook her head and added, "Call him now. I'm so sleepy."
"Call whom?" As Mary went downstairs from the second floor, she happened to hear the conversation between the two.
"I want to call someone to take that guy away from the villa. Are you okay with it, Mary?" asked Aisha with a smile. Mary forced a smile and replied, "Okay."
She had coaxed the two kids to sleep. Also, she had taken off her hearing-aid. William's cries were mixed with the sound of the heavy rain so she could not hear him at all. She secretly peeked from the curtain and saw a figure kneeling under the heavy rain.
"Mary?" Aisha asked, "Can you hear me? What are you thinking?"
"Nothing." Mary came to her senses and asked, "What did you say?"
Aisha looked at Mary in confusion and asked, "Mary, do you feel sorry for that guy outside? He's just pretending. Don't be deceived by him! You can't believe a man who even hits a woman!
Mary lowered her head and smiled. "No, I won't be deceived by him anymore. There's something I have to tell you. I'm... I'm getting married."
"You're getting married?" Aisha gasped in shock and her eyes lit up. She grabbed Mary's hand and excitedly asked, "Oh my God! My God! Who is the lucky man?"
Mary shrugged and said lightly, "The owner of this villa."
"Barry!" Aisha nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. He is quite good. Oh! I'm so happy!"
Hearing that, Mary pursed her lips and smiled without saying anything else.
"I have finished the call." Jazlyn came over and added, "The doctor will be here soon."
"Can we go upstairs and have a rest?" Aisha asked. "Jazlyn and I just came back from Japan and we're so tired."
"Sure," Mary responded with a nod. "You can go upstairs with Hester. I want to stay in the living room for a while."
"I'll wait for Dr. Murong to arrive. I'll go upstairs later as well," said Jazlyn.
"Don't go out!" Aisha warned Mary before going upstairs.
"I won't." With a smile at the corners of her mouth, Mary sat on the sofa. Touching the cold and dazzling diamond ring on her finger, Mary smiled sadly.
Outside the villa, a black Jeep came to a halt, splashing water everywhere.
"What a crazy man! You are insane!" As Lucas complained, he opened the door of his car and got off with a black umbrella.
With a bang, the door on the other side opened. A handsome man with black hair and blue eyes walked out. It was Archer.
Kneeling on the ground without saying a word, William felt that the wound on his shoulder seemed to open again. Also, Aisha's punches hurt him badly. With a pale face, William pursed his lips and stared at the villa pathetically.
"William!" Archer walked to William and asked angrily, "How long do you still have to tolerate Frank? Stupid!"
Hearing that, William finally raised his head and looked at Archer. His voice was hoarse. "I have nothing to do with him anymore."
Standing aside with an umbrella in his hand, Lucas looked at him pitifully. As a doctor, he was worried about William's health, but he sympathized for Mary.
"You should have done this earlier!" Archer threw away the umbrella and grabbed William's collar, "Do you know who kidnapped Mary's children? It was him! It's Frank! The one whom you tried your best to protect!"
"You... What did you say?" William's eyes widened. "But it was Andy Duan..."
"What could Andy do alone?" Archer said with disappointment, "Frank colluded with Andy, and then betrayed her when she was of no use to him. Don't you understand?! That group of well-trained people were from Japan! Do you know Shadow Organization? It was Corbett! He must have offered Frank his men."
There was a flash of light in William's muddled brain. No wonder the group of people suddenly put down their weapons when they saw him. Moreover, they said that they only wanted Mary.
Like an iron wall, William held Mary tightly. He was afraid that once he let go, he would lose her forever. "I won't let you go, Mary... I will never let you go!"
"Lucas, help me! Hurry up!" Mary shouted angrily. "Take him away. I don't want to see him! "What? Oh!" Lucas answered in a hurry. Archer came back to his senses first and he had already stepped forward to stop William.
"Let go of her!" Archer held William's arms and pulled him away.
"Sorry, sorry..." William continued to apologize profusely in Mary's ear while holding her tightly.
"Let go of me! I said, let go!" Despite Mary's shouts, kicks, and hits, William remained unmoved. She remained nonchalant to his apologies either. Mary knew she had no choice but to tell William the truth. "I'm getting married! Don't come to me anymore! Did you hear me?"
Bang!
All of a sudden, William's strength seemed to have left him. In an instant, his body softened and he fell right on the floor.
Getting married...
Before he completely blacked out, those two words was the last thing in his mind.
"William!" Watching him fall down, Mary called out his name in shock. Archer, who had been silent for quite some time, frowned upon seeing that.
"William!" Lucas immediately squatted down to check him. "How's he doing?" Mary asked unconsciously.
"I need to take him to the hospital immediately. His wound reopened and he passed out with a fever."
"I'll go with you," Jazlyn volunteered.
"Okay." Lucas nodded.
The bodyguards of the villa came up and sent William to the car outside the villa.
Worry was written all over Mary's face. Would he be okay?
"By the way, you just said you were getting married? Is that true?" Lucas asked before leaving. "Are you getting married to Barry?"
Mary swallowed hard. The worry in her eyes was replaced with firmness. "Yes."
"Okay." Lucas nodded in satisfaction. "I'm leaving now. Remember to send me the invitation."
"I will." Mary nodded and smiled. From now on, the person she only needed to put in heart was Barry. Not William Lan!
Everything about William Lan had nothing to do with her any longer!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Contract