FIVE

Elvira

"Oh my God," I cry. "Where are we going to get that money from?"

"Oh my precious Andrew!" My mother cries even louder.

Just then, the doctor steps out of the room and both Elvira and my mother rush over to him.

"Doctor, how is Andrew?"

"Doctor, where is my son?" We ask impatiently.

"Calm down," the doctor says with a calm and composed expression. "For now, the young man is out of danger but if the surgery is not carried out, then I'm sorry, there is nothing we can do about it."

"Doctor, how could you be so blunt and mean?" I ask, my eyes blazing with anger and frustration. "Can't you just...just start the surgery while we gather the money?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but that isn't how we operate here," the doctor says.

"But tha..." I try arguing, but my mother immediately stops me.

"It's okay, Elvira," my mother says as she shifts her gaze to the doctor and speaks softly. "Can...can we see him, please?" As she speaks, tears trickle down her cheeks, making her look pitiable.

"Of course," the doctor says. "I will take my leave now."

I and my mother watch as the doctor leaves the scene. If not for my mother, I would have bitten off the doctor's damn ears!

"Let's go in," my mother says as she opens the door gently and walks in. I follow behind her.

As we get in, we see Andrew lying on the bed unconscious, with an oxygen mask on his nose.

Seeing my mother in this pathetic state makes my heart clench in pain. My brother has been suffering from a rare heart condition ever since he was a child, and as he grew, it only seemed to worsen.

I watch as my mother cleans her tears before walking over to my brother.

"Andrew, darling," my mother says softly as she sits on the bed, holding Andrew's hands gently.

I stare at the interaction between my mother and my brother in silence as tears trickle down my cheeks. I can't bear it anymore, so I go out of the room and stand by the corridor, crying my eyes out.

After about twenty minutes, my mother comes out of the room and joins me.

"Elvira, dear," my mother calls gently.

"Mummy," I reply, cleaning my tears.

"Don't feel sad, okay?" my mother says.

"I'm... I'm not feeling sad," I say, forcing a smile through the pain.

"You didn't tell me how your day went. Did you see your husband?" my mother asks, nudging my arms lightly in a playful manner, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes, I did," I nod, remembering how arrogant Demetrius was. "He was such an arrogant jerk, mummy!"

My mother smiles lightly. "Andrew's heart condition just reached its final stage."

Suddenly, I remember something. Demetrius had made me an offer of any amount I wanted, and he had also given me his business card. At this point, I am ready to do anything for my brother whom I love dearly with my heart and soul. I can't let anything happen to him.

"Hold on," I say as I immediately empty the contents of my bag, searching through the pile of things. I am able to find the business card.

"Yes..." I laugh painfully as I turn to look at my mother, who has a confused expression on her face, thinking I have suddenly gone insane.

"Mummy, I will be back," I say as I immediately grab my phone and rush out of the hospital, not even bothering to pack up my bags.

Once I am outside the hospital, I immediately dial the number on the card.

Placing it on my ear, I hold my breath, waiting for what might come next. The phone rings for a few seconds before it is finally picked up.

"Hello...," a deep, intoxicating voice is heard.

I need no soothsayer to tell me that it is Demetrius. Just a few hours with him, and I have already mastered his voice and know how arrogant he is.

"I'm speaking to Demetrius Quintin, right?" I ask, just to double-check.

"Yes," he replies curtly.

"Alright," I nod as I hesitate to speak. Even from the phone, I can feel his cold and suffocating aura.

"I...I accept the contract marriage," I say, suddenly turning into a stuttering mess.

"Good," he says. "Tell me your location."

"I...I'm at the famous teaching hospital downtown," I reply.

"Alright, I will send someone to pick you up in a minute," he says before ending the call.

Just as he had said, after a few minutes, a poshe, black car arrives in front of the hospital.

" Are you Miss Elvira?" The driver asks as I nodded.

" Get in," he said.

After a few minutes' drive, I arrive at a very huge mansion. Coming inside the mansion, I have to pass three enormous gates!

The car halts just in front of the mansion's entrance.

"Miss, you can get down, a maid would lead you to the boss's office," the driver says.

"Okay," I nod as I come down from the car.

Almost immediately, the car drives off, leaving me standing there.

As I look around, I can't help but widen my mouth in awe. It is so beautiful and looks like a perfect fairytale environment.

Taking a deep breath, I step inside the mansion. "Wow," I gasp in awe, everything is just so perfect and captivating!

The chandeliers, sofas, flowers, everything!

Lost in thoughts, a maid approaches me.

"Miss," the maid calls, making me jolt back to reality. "The boss's office is right this way." With that, she starts walking away as I follow behind her.

As we get to his office, his low voice rings out, "Bring her in," even before we can knock.

"Please go in," the maid says as she bows slightly before leaving.

I am left standing and staring at the huge door in front of me.

"Are you just going to stand there and admire the door, or are you going to come in?!" Demetrius' voice roars from the other side of the door.

Almost immediately, I get in. The first thing that greets me are a pair of cold, yet captivating, eyes that hold no trace of emotion.

"Demetrius..." I stutter. He is sitting behind a large office table.

"Sit," he orders.

As I sit down, I notice the documents neatly placed in front of me and furrow my brows. Where is the pen? I scan around the table for a pen. "Aha! There." I grab the pen and rest my hands on the documents, ready to sign.

"Aren't you going to read through it before signing?" Demetrius asks, staring at me with a raised brow. He can't help but notice tear stains on my face.

"These are the same documents from earlier, right?" I ask.

"Yes," he nods.

"Then there is no need for me to read through them once again," I say. Before Demetrius can open his mouth to speak, I have already signed the documents.

"Done," I declare.

"Good," he nods, handing over to me the blank check. "Fill in any amount that you want."

"Thank you," I say as I take it from him.

Hesitating for a moment, I stare at the check as a wave of emotions washes over me. I can't believe I have entered into a contract marriage with an arrogant, cold, jerk. I feel like bursting into fresh tears, but I hold myself back. I can't let Demetrius see me as weak and gullible.

Taking a deep breath, I write down ten million dollars and hand it back to him.

As Demetrius takes it from me, he scoffs. "Ten million dollars? Do I look that poor to you?" he sneers, taking the pen from my hands and adds three more zeroes. "Perfect."

I raise an eyebrow, unable to process what he has just done. He has just given me an astonishing ten billion dollars. For him to have given me that kind of money means he is a multi-billionaire... if not a trillionaire!

"Half would be transferred to you immediately," he states matter-of-factly.

"What... what?" I stutter.

"Do you want it in cash? Do you want it to be doubled? Consider it done!" he smirks.

"No... no... it's not about the amount you gave me," I shake my head.

"Alright," he nods.

"So where do we start from?" I ask. "I don't mind getting pregnant right now, so how do we do it?" I get up from my seat.

"Umm... the first thing about pregnancy is sex, and before you have sex with a man, you have to seduce him, right?" I think out loud as I approach him, wiggling my butt in front of him.

My actions make the once stoic man let out a deep, intoxicating laugh that makes my ears tingle with excitement.

I stop what I'm doing and stare at him with confusion. I thought I was doing well, so why is he laughing?

After he stops laughing, he speaks. "If you're trying to seduce me," he says icily, pulling me down onto his lap, "it's not working."

My body grows hot as he places his large hands on my bare thighs.

"Little wife," he whispers slowly, leaning closer so that his hot breath caresses my collarbone. "If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I can't be seduced by any woman."