A Contract Marriage With My Boss

He was right. Although Sarah had been in two previous relationships, she had never really been in love before. She was still in high school when she had her first boyfriend, and both had still been very young and naïve. Although they had liked each other, it hadn't been love, so when he cheated on her, she had broken up with him without much difficulty.

Her second boyfriend had been in college. At that time, she had loved him, but she had been inexperienced and didn't know how to deal with a man, and she never overthought about love at that time. Since she was busy with her studies, trying to land a job, and taking care of her sister, she had neglected him, and ultimately, he had cheated on her too. Although she had been sad at that time, she had forgotten about him soon.

With Charles, it was different. When she met him at work, she felt herself really falling in love with him. Although they had their problems at times, their love was stronger, which had helped her in keeping their relationship this far.

Regardless, Sarah felt a little shy when Charles was so openly flirting with her. She pushed him aside with her shoulder and said, "Nonsense, your dad is here. Can't you be serious?"

Charles still laughed again. "So what? Maybe my dad likes to see me happy!"

Knowing Charles's playful nature, Sarah just ignored him. Charles took her hand again, and after a while, he said in a cautious tone., "Just now my mom told me to stay here during this time. Dad is seriously ill this time, and we should be near him and take care of him. She told me that she is also getting old and that she wants me to take care of the company here."

Sarah looked up and asked. "Won't you be very busy then?"

Charles shook his head. "Not that much. Emma will help me this time. After all, she just graduated in economics, she can help me in that department!"

Sarah was shocked. "Does that mean Emma will work with you?..." she paused for a while and then continued. "What about me?"

"You just take care of my dad and of our home, and maybe soon we'll have a child, then you need to stay home and raise our baby. Right? Isn't it good for us to divide our work this way? You don't need to work outside the home. Having a baby should be our priority now!"

Charles was speaking in a warm tone, but Sarah didn't know why she felt his words were filled with irony and a little pessimistic. He was telling her that he expected her to stay at home alone, meaning that she would only see him late at night after he came home from work.

Emma, on the other hand, would spend all day every day with Charles. If something were to be happening between Emma and Charles, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

But she couldn't refuse because of Mrs. Thomas's condition, he was seriously ill and needed someone to take care of him. How could she say no? Just because Emma was trying to destroy her marriage, she couldn't abandon the only man who had shown her fatherly love and acceptance in their family. She had no choice but to accept the plan Charles had laid out for her.

Sarah grinned bitterly. "Well, since you seem to have already made that decision, just go ahead. I have no other ideas now. I just hope your dad lives long enough to see our baby, that would make everything worth it." Perhaps if Charles were to betray her one day, Mr. Thomas would still be there to support her and give her hope.

At Christina's request, Sarah and Charles moved back to Los Angeles. Their focus was soon shifted to adjust to their new life, with Sarah walking to and from the hospital every day to take care of Mr. Thomas as Charles was busy at work.

Christina was handing the company over to Charles and Emma since she had fainted at the hospital. Their Los Angeles-based business was much larger than the one in Houston, which Charles and his friends had established. Though there were many other stockholders, the Thomas family had the largest shares, leaving Charles as the biggest shareholder, needing to be involved in many things.

Sarah was distressed seeing that Charles worked so hard and tried to lighten his burden at home. Despite her effort, if Charles continued like this, he would have no time for his family if they had children, which worried Sarah.

Sarah realized that it wasn't necessarily a good thing to be born into a wealthy family. Though they were allowed many luxuries, family ties seemed to be weaker in wealthy families compared to average families.

Every day Charles went out with Christina and Emma to work, leaving Sarah at home with the house help. After cooking and cleaning were taken care of, Sarah would go to the hospital to take care of Mr. Thomas. Most days, she didn't get to see Charles up until late in the evening. Sometimes she felt that she spent less time with Charles than Emma since they went out every day together to work, laughing and chatting happily.

Sarah became envious and worried about Emma and what she may be doing behind her back with Charles.

Sarah was much busier in Los Angeles than she had been in Houston. She had become more cautious for fear of making a mistake and giving Christina a handle on her. Over time she had become exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Mr. Thomas had woken up from his coma but was still at the hospital. His body was gradually becoming weaker as he lost weight, adding to Sarah's distress. Since everyone was informed about the seriousness of his condition, he resigned himself with a sigh. "You had to know sooner or later. I'm sorry!"

"Dad, why do you apologize? You did nothing wrong. But why did you hide it from us all this time?"

Mr. Thomas sighed again. "Even though you're my daughter-in-law, sometimes you are closer to me than my own kids."