Love Contract

At Maple Mountain, Tokyo, Japan.

Since he just woke up, Frank was in a daze. His blurry eyes looked around and saw the white ceiling and crystal chandelier above him.

"Are you finally awake? How are you feeling?" Suddenly, laughter reverberated beside Frank.

With a frown, Frank sat up and immediately felt a mild pain at the back of his head.

"Hey, don't be so eager to get up! You're still weak and unstable. It will only worsen your dizziness."

With a vexed expression, Frank turned his head to where the voice originated. When he saw who was talking, Frank said with hatred, "What are you doing here?" "Huh? What do you think?" said the man with a strange smile. He was the 'young lord' who detained Frank.

"Where am I?" asked Frank as he stood up and looked around with a frown.

"Well, you're in Japan."

"Of course, I am!"

"We're at my house." "Your house?!" Suddenly, a cautious look flashed across Frank's face as he looked at the man. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Frank, calm down. I have no ulterior motive." The man raised his hands and tried to calm Frank.

"What the--! How do you know my name?" Startled, Frank widened his eyes.

"In this day and age, such information is rather easy to find," boasted the man, still smiling.

"Okay, fine! Then who the hell are you?" Frank impatiently asked.

"Well, my name is Corbett."

"Corbett? Hmm..." For a moment, Frank simmered in his thoughts. Suddenly, a memory came to mind. In a surprised tone, he asked, "Are you from Shadow Organization? Oh, goodness! The young lord of the organization?"

"Ha ha!" Corbett revealed a delighted expression. "Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you, Frank."

Then, Corbett reached out his hand while maintaining his smile.

"I don't want to be your acquaintance." A displeased expression painted Frank's face as he turned his head away. Frank had no intention of affiliating himself with gangsters!

"Unfortunately, I can't accept that." Frowning, Corbett slowly shook his head. "After all, I still have several business dealings with your family."

"Okay, fine! What else do you want? Let me go already!"

"Frank, just relax. I think there's some sort of misunderstanding between us." Corbett smiled again as he leaned forward. "I just want to be friends with you! Don't worry. Your father already knows about this." After Corbett revealed that, Frank suddenly remembered that people from the Liang Family visited them last night. Corbett must have driven them away!

Even though his family was influential and powerful, Frank's father couldn't afford to offend the gangsters.

"Hey, why are you so silent? What are you thinking?"

When Frank finally snapped out of his reminiscing, he saw Corbett leaning towards him with a deep stare. Their faces were so close together that Frank found it uncomfortable.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" With a disgusted expression, Frank pushed Corbett away. "Don't get too close to me!"

"Oh, do you hate that?" Corbett asked while faking innocence.

"You little..." Already at the limit of his patience, Frank clenched his fists. Irritated, he asked, "What the hell do you want? Just give me a quick death already!"

"Shut up! If I want to kill you, you won't be talking right now. Your lifeless body would already be somewhere no one could find." Suddenly, Corbett's calm expression turned cold. Then, he stood straight as the atmosphere grew heavier. Finally, Corbett turned around and walked towards the door with his hands in his pockets. After a few steps, he paused, and callously said, "You can stay here for a few days, my friend."

"Bastard! Just let me go already!" However, Frank was helpless. All he could do was watch Corbett leave. When the gangster was finally gone, Frank punched the bed hard to vent his anger. Meanwhile, in the villa district in R Town of A City, a woman was aimlessly walking. She was looking down as if the universe had punished her.

"Hey, Mary!" Suddenly, a man's voice reverberated from behind her. Mary was so startled that the call made her come back to her senses. With a surprised expression, she hurriedly turned around and looked at the man.

"Lucas?" It was only then that Mary realized who called her. Mary was still unhappy, and tears were falling down her cheeks.

Lucas was standing next to a brand new car. When Mary turned around, he noticed her disheveled appearance. With furrowed eyebrows, Lucas rushed towards her and gently asked, "Why are you crying? Are you okay? Why are you not with William? Where is he?"

"William... He left!"

"What do you mean? He left?" Anger mixed with concern immediately filled Lucas's eyes. With a disappointed sigh, he put his hands on his waist. Then, he clicked his tongue and asked in an angry tone, "Where did he go? What's going on? Why did he leave you here alone?"

"He went to find Frank."

"That idiot, I knew it!" Stressed, Lucas rubbed his forehead. In exasperation, he yelled, "Has he gone mad?"

Lucas was so frustrated that he didn't notice that Mary was in tears again. When he came to his senses, he panicked at the sight of her reddened eyes.

"Mary. Please don't cry anymore," said Lucas as he searched his pockets for a handkerchief. Unfortunately, he didn't bring one with him. "Damn."

On the other hand, Mary was trying her best to hold back her tears. However, her efforts were in vain. The longer she cried, the heavier her breathing became. "Hush now and wipe your tears. Don't worry. I'll take you away." Suddenly, Lucas reached his right arm closer to Mary's face. "Calm down, Mary. Stop crying."

As she raised her head, Mary's eyes were bloodshot from her tears. However, she looked at Lucas as if his words terrified her.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't be scared. I'm not a monster!" Lucas raised an eyebrow. Then, he wiped Mary's cheeks with his right sleeve. After a few seconds, there were no more tears nor snot in her pretty face.

After realizing what just happened, Mary became embarrassed and dodgy.

"Hey, stay still. What are you hiding from?" asked Lucas in an arrogant tone.

"Um..." Mary's face was so sticky, and her nose was clogged. She could only snivel with a depressed expression.

"Okay, enough of this. Come with me!" When he realized that it was too troublesome to calm Mary down, Lucas pulled her hand. Then, they headed towards his car.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Mary asked in an anxious tone.

"Just get inside!" Lucas opened the door and made Mary enter the car. Then, he walked around the vehicle and sat on the driver's seat. "We're going to leave his place!" "Thank you, Lucas." A sigh of relief escaped Mary's lips. She finally calmed down while sitting in the passenger seat.

"Don't mention it," Lucas casually replied. When he noticed that Mary was still depressed, a thought came to his mind. With a smile, he said, "Let me tell you a story."

"A story about what?" Mary asked with raised eyebrows.

"Do you have any idea where this car came from?" A complacent smile flashed across Lucas's face as he stared at Mary.

"This car? Well, didn't you buy it?" Mary's slender finger ran across the glove compartment. "It feels like a new car."

"Ha ha!" Suddenly, Lucas burst into laughter. "Well, it is a new vehicle. I'm driving this car for the first time!"

"Hmm?" Confusion filled Mary's eyes as she stared at Lucas. Deep inside, she was wondering why he was so enthusiastic.

"Well, I got it from the store earlier. And it didn't cost me anything!"

"What? How could that be?"

"Well, I told them that I fancy this car and would like to have a test drive. The store immediately agreed to my request since they had a shop assistant that would accompany me. But before the guy could get in the car, I revved the engine and immediately drove away. Ha ha ha ha ha! I'm so awesome, right?"

"Uhm..." Mary was stunned with such a revelation. However, when she saw Lucas's complacent expression, she revealed a wry smile. "Yeah. You're terrific!"

"Ha ha! I think so too!" When he noticed that Mary finally smiled, Lucas finally felt relieved.

"But Lucas, why would you do something like that? Did you drive all the way here just to pick me up?"

"Uhm, well..." For a moment, Lucas was hesitant to answer. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm just helping William. That guy is quite unreliable sometimes."

"Oh, I understand." A warm smile flashed across Mary's face as she bowed. "Thank you so much, Lucas."

"Oh, it's not a big deal. Don't mention it."

"By the way, why did you suddenly call me?" asked Mary in a confused tone.

"About that..." Suddenly, Lucas revealed a worried expression. "Didn't you look at your phone after answering my call?"

"My phone?" With a perplexed look, Mary searched her pocket for her phone. Then, she took it out and opened it. Her eyes widened when she saw the missed call log.

Mary's hand was shaking in anxiety. There were three missed calls from Dr. Cao and another two from Lucas. She was worried that something terrible happened to her mother. Suddenly, Mary's heart was beating fast!

With her hands still trembling, Mary raised her head. Her worried eyes looked at Lucas. "Dr. Cao also called me. This is about my mother, isn't it? What happened? Did something wrong happen to her?" "Hey, don't overthink!" Lucas's tone was gentle and comforting. "Your mother just suddenly wants to see you. As such, she requested Dr. Cao to call you. Unfortunately, your phone was unattended. It was then that Dr. Cao called me and asked if I could contact you instead."

"Are you telling the truth, Lucas?" Mary's lips were trembling in fear as she thought about scary thoughts regarding her mother's health. "Please, don't lie to me. I can handle any kind of news!"

"Mary, stop overthinking!" Then, Lucas stretched out his right hand and gently rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to relax Mary. In an upbeat tone, he exclaimed, "Hey, cheer up, will you? Your mother's alright. I'm a doctor, so take my word for it."

"Okay, I believe you. My mother's fine. My mother's fine..." Mary was still anxious. Her mind wandered off as she repeated her words to comfort herself. Soon, tears were trickling on her cheeks again.

Her warm tears dropped onto Lucas's hand. With eyes full of pity, Lucas helplessly stared at Mary as he silently let out a sigh.

It was almost noon when they arrived downtown. The sun was high, and the weather was warm.

Just after they stopped in front of the hospital's gate, Mary immediately opened the car door and rushed into the hospital.

With an anxious expression, Mary bolted towards her mother's ward. Immediately after she reached the door, Mary opened it and looked at her at the bed. She finally felt relieved when she saw that her mother was comfortably lying there.

"Mom! How are you?" Tears welled up in Mary's eyes as she ran over to hug her mother.

"Mary, are you alright?" Mary's mother patted her head to calm her. "Why are you crying again? Did something happen?"

"I'm crying because of you! You suddenly want me here! I was worried that something horrible could have happened to you! I was afraid that I might lose you, Mom."

"Don't stress yourself, sweetie. I'm fine-" Mary's mother was about to smile when her throat suddenly itched. Then, she loudly coughed and winced in pain. Just outside the ward, a nurse heard the cough. As such, she hurriedly took a spittoon and gave it to Mary's mother. There was a trace of blood in her discharge.

Biting her teeth, Mary realized that the blood on her mother's saliva was a bad thing.

Unfortunately, Mary could do nothing but hold back her tears.

"Ehem! Ehem! Ehem..." Then, Mary's mother let out a series of rough coughs. Soon, she appeared to be short of breath. With a worried expression, Mary immediately patted her mother's back. It was only then that Mary realized that her mother was getting thinner.

"Breathe, Mom!" "I'm fine now, sweetie."

"Okay, I understand." Mary nodded, but her worries hadn't faded yet.

"Mary, how are you? Did your father bother you recently?"

"No, he didn't. Don't worry, Mom. I can handle him."

"I'm pleased to hear that." Mary's mother slowly nodded as her doting eyes looked at Mary. "By the way, where is William? Is your relationship okay? I don't see him. Is he coming?"

"Well, William is on a business trip." Mary faked a dry smile. "He has a busy schedule and can't come here." "Oh, I see. That man is often away for business. Does he even spend time with you?" The eyes of Mary's mother had a hint of disappointment.

"Yes, Mom. He cherishes me. Our relationship is stable. Don't worry too much about us."

"That's wonderful."

Candy GSmgB