Love Contract

Mary forcefully pushed William aside without any warning. He was about to explode angrily but then, he saw Mary collapse to the floor..

William shot out of bed, scrambling over toward Mary and taking her in his arms. "Mary?" he called frantically, cradling Mary's unconscious form. "Mary! Wake up!"

Tears continued to streak Mary's face. Her eyes were ringed with thick dark circles due to lack of sleep, and her pallid face attracted pity of people who were worried about her. William grabbed a random coat and wrapped himself and Mary in it. He lifted her up and carried her downstairs.

He drove at a breakneck speed to the hospital, holding one of Mary's hands in his. It took him only ten minutes to get to the nearest hospital.

"Doctor! Help! Please, it's an emergency!" William began shouting even before they had entered the hospital.

Several doctors on duty heard the commotion and arrived by their side, attempting to lift Mary out of the car.

But William wouldn't let them. He turned around, gathered Mary into his arms, and said coldly, "I'll carry her in.".

The doctors could only nod in agreement, rather stunned by the authority in William's voice.

It was only when Mary was on a hospital bed and stable enough that William let the attendants lead him out of the room.

When he emerged into the corridor, William reached into his pocket and realized that he hadn't brought anything with him, given the rush he had earlier been in.

He used an idle phone at the reception desk to call Kevin.

"Hello? Who is this?" Kevin sounded a little hoarse when he answered, as if he had just woken up.

"It's me... William."

"Oh my God! Boss!". Kevin, who was usually calm, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You're back?!".

"Yeah. I'm at the hospital," William said shortly.

"Are you okay? Are you sick?" Kevin asked, concerned. He was now fully awake..

"No, it's not for me," William answered, massaging the crease between his brows. He then said, "I'm in Humanity Hospital. Send me some money right away. And also, bring me a pack of cigarettes."..

He hung up and went to sit on a bench in the corridor, leaning forward and supporting his arms on his knees while burying his head in his arms. His expression was difficult to make out.

He must have gone crazy. How could he rape her? He was disgusted with himself.. 'When did I become so impulsive and despicable? Just some TV gossip and I went and raped her? What the hell is wrong with me?' he thought, angry with himself. . .

William's mind was a mess, his face reflecting the distorted chaos in his mind. How would he face Mary?. "Boss!" Kevin's voice sounded through the hospital, announcing his arrival. He was a little out of breath. "There you are!" William said, looking up. "Where are the cigarettes?".

"Oh, here you go." Kevin quickly pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to William.

"Pay the bill at the front desk. I'll go out for a cigarette," William said, standing up slowly, his face expressionless..

Kevin frowned as he looked William up and down. William was wearing slippers, his shirt was buttoned up only halfway, and his hair was messy. He looked tired and lonely.

What in the world had happened?

It was so late, too. The only person who could make his boss so anxious as to send him running to the hospital was Mary.

William sat on a stone bench in the small garden of the hospital and lit a cigarette.

It flickered red in the dark garden.

For the first time in his life, William was scared. He was afraid that Mary would wake up. He was afraid that she would look at him in disgust. He was afraid that she would cancel the contract. Oh my God! What on earth had he done?.

The cigarette box was being emptied, one cigarette at a time. But the depression in William's heart was increasing.

"Boss," Kevin said gently, as he walked up to William. "The doctor is here."

William shot to his feet, handed the cigarette to Kevin, and wordlessly made his way to the ward.

Kevin opened the cigarette box and was surprised to find that half the cigarettes had been used up. In the outpatient room...

"Doctor, how is she?" William asked nervously. "Is she awake?".

"Not yet," a fat middle-aged woman doctor said. "Are you her husband?".

"Yeah," William said, nodding. He paused before he asked, "Is she okay?"..

The doctor frowned and said, "It's not a big deal. She will be fine once she gets a few days' rest."

"Nice. Then why..." William trailed off..

"Hypoglycemia, poor physical strength," the woman doctor said, frowning in dissatisfaction. She looked intently at him before she continued, "Your wife hasn't eaten in a few days. You're her husband! How could you not have noticed? What kind of a husband are you?"

William frowned, but said nothing.

"And," the woman doctor continued, "don't be so impulsive in the future. Look at her wounds. What in the heavens were you doing?" She shook her head..

William turned beet-red, coughing to cover up his expression.

"The patient can leave the hospital once she wakes up after the transfusion," she said, looking - no, glaring at William. "Thank you," William said, nodding his gratitude.

Later, he tiptoed into the ward, and slowly to Mary's bedside. He looked quietly at her.

She had become thinner. Why hadn't he noticed the wounds on her forehead and arms? Why hadn't she been eating?

William bent down and caressed her cheek. He said softly, "I'm sorry..."

"Boss," Kevin's voice sounded again..

"What?" William hissed as he turned to face Kevin, waving at him to go out..

"Boss, about the company..." Kevin said hesitatingly.

"I know everything," William said. "Inform all department managers to be present at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Emergency meeting.".

"Yes sir."

"You should go back," William said, turning back to Mary.

"But boss... You?"

"I'll stay in the hospital for a while. You can leave now."

"Yes, sir." William sat on the chair beside Mary's bed and watched over her silently all night.

At dawn, William called Jane and drove back to the Kylin International Community.

The TV was still on, and AJ Group still dominated the news. It looked like he hadn't been away for long.

But the atmosphere in the bedroom reminded him of what had happened, of what he had done. That was why he had chosen to leave the hospital before dawn, before Mary could wake up. Yes, he was a coward.

The man, who was so powerful in the business world, was a coward.

After a shower and a change of clothes, William couldn't wait to escape from this place.

He needed some time to figure out how in the world he was going to face Mary.

The summer air in the early morning was fresh, the fragrance of flowers pleasant as it wafted in through the window.

Mary woke up when the first ray of sunshine made its way into the ward. As she opened her eyes and looked around, she realized that she was in hospital. The snow-white wall and the needle tubing inserted into the back of her hand told her so. "Mary, are you awake?"

Jane, a worried expression on her face, came into Mary's line of sight.

"Yeah," Mary said hoarsely. She sat up with Jane's help and looked around. "Where is William?" she asked.

She had remembered everything the moment she had opened her eyes, her achy body reminding her of it all. They had had sex last night and she had suddenly fainted. Everything had come back to her. But she had surprised even herself when she spoke his name calmly, and hadn't broken out into curses. Was it because she was too disappointed?

"Boss has gone to the company. There's an emergency meeting," Jane answered her..

"Okay," Mary nodded. She didn't say anything else. . Was he hiding from her? Why didn't she get a chance to get angry at him?

"Mary, would you like to have breakfast?" Jane said, coming up to the side of her bed. She held a thermos container, the purple rice porridge, delicate dishes, and all kinds of breakfast were in it. "I'm not hungry."

"You need to have breakfast, Mary!" Jane said firmly. "You passed out because you weren't having proper food. Come on. Eat something.". Mary looked at Jane's enthusiastic face and relented. She took a sip of the porridge and said, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," said Jane, "All boss's orders. When I arrived at the hospital, boss had gotten breakfast ready for you and clothes for you. Please recover as soon as possible, or he will be worried." Worry? What was he worrying about?

Mary looked at the needle stuck in her hand and asked, "Can I leave the hospital after the transfusion is done?".

"Yes, you can." Jane said, nodding.

"Okay." Mary fell silent.

In the meeting room... The atmosphere was tense. The department managers sitting around the table dared not breathe heavily, lest they were to anger William.

"No one wants to say anything?" William said suddenly..

"Well..." The managers whispered to each other, but no one wanted to be the first one to speak up.

"I was away for just a few days. Look at the state of the company!" William said, throwing his pen onto the table, his voice dripping with anger. The managers visibly shrank from him at these words. "Can't the company run without me? You need to make sure there is no one in the houses before you start construction. Who gave you the courage to go ahead without checking?

And the scandal of the CEO's wife hasn't yet been solved! And you haven't even reported a solution to me. You all are very capable, but only when nothing is happening. Aren't you?

Hmm?"

William's voice had risen to a resounding level, the department managers positively cowering before him.

"Hold a press conference in the afternoon. Give me the perfect solution to the problem that every department is responsible for. Otherwise, it won't matter how much effort you have put in for the company before. You will be fired! The meeting is over!" he barked at them....

The managers nodded, freaked out by the meeting, and filed out of the room in succession.

"Manager Wang," William called, indicating that he should stay.

The manager of the Entertainment Department trembled with fear. He thought William would blame him and said hurriedly, "Yes boss? Is there anything else?" "Call Victor. I want to see him now," William said, his tone indifferent, but eyes blazing..

"Yes, sir. Sure, sir," Manager Wang said, nodding fervently..

Victor was still filming at the site of the Past of Republic of China.

No matter what gossip was going around, he had to act and do his job. What was more, the scandal that had erupted in recent days had attracted more attention to his new opera.

But he didn't know anything about how Mary now was.

"Victor!" Jorge called, hurrying over to him..

Victor was surprised to see him here. "Jorge, why are you here?" he asked..

"Boss wants to see you," Jorge said, casting worried eyes on Victor..

"William is back?" Victor asked, his eyebrows rising.

"Yeah," Jorge nodded. "Shall I turn him down and refuse to see him?".

"No," said Victor, frowning, as if he had made up his mind. "I have something I need to talk to him about."