It was twenty minutes past six and Nerida was still seated in the sea green sofa in the living room of the luxurious penthouse waiting for Kennedy.
She was supposed to meet Kennedy Damian,her future husband.
Not that she had expected him to come immediately by six , just like his secretary had stated in the email.
Given his caliber, not just as a billionaire's son but a multi million worth company heir, she knew better not to hold him accountable to his lateness.
And then coupled with the scandal that got the whole city buzzing, that his name was tangled in. Moving through public spaces wouldn't be easy for him.
Still a flicker of unease stirred beneath her calm facade.
A month ago she had sent an email across to the HR of Damian Holdings, asking the company to headline and sponsor her upcoming art exhibition.
She had done so to several other companies in the city hopeful to get atleast one to agree.
She had almost given up hope until she had received a response to her inquiry,but not from Damian Holdings Hr, but Kennedy Damian's office.
When she had met up with Kennedy Damian's secretary, he had informed her that he wanted to marry her as well, not just sponsoring her event.
This had ofcourse come as a surprise to Nerida. With few days left for her art exhibition, a billionaire wanted to marry her? She was a nobody and even as an artist, she wouldn't be among the B-lists because she was still an upcoming.
The premises of his proposal still appeared weird to her.
She wouldn't be here if it were not for her mother. The old woman has sacrificed a lot for her and her university education and now that Nerida was a graduate, she had to repay her sacrifices. And one of such ways was to take care of her medical fees after she got diagnosed with cancer.
"Miss Sylvester!" A voice called out casually.
Nerida snapped out of her thoughts on hearing the voice and the man that was quick approaching her.
"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting" he apologized.
Nerida's gaze lingered at the door, still anticipating the entrance of the second person. But minutes passed and no one came after him.
"Mr Kennedy couldn't make it. He currently is in an important business meeting. I hope you do not mind?"
Nerida managed to give a nod. She minded. Even though she pretended not to.
So much for someone who proposed marriage to her. Why couldn't he have fixed the meeting on a day when he had no important meetings to attend?
She thought loudly to herself.
" I brought the marriage contract certificate. Please do go through them and call my attention to any clause that does not sit well with you"
The tall man dressed in a suit said while handing over a brown envelope to her.
Nerida took it and opened. She had little time on her own hands as well. She was supposed to be at the hospital with her mother by this time but instead she was here where supposedly she were to meet her future husband. A husband who didn't show up.
" Six months" she muttered to herself but her companion had heard her.
"Yes miss. Is the time not okay? Do you want me to shorten it?" He asked all concerned and Nerida nodded in the negative immediately.
Not that she had expected. Normally contract marriages, from novels she had read while at highschool, all lasted two years and more. She had almost believed that the billionaire was going to ask her to be his bride for a duration of two years or more.
Six months as the duration had come as a total surprise.
"Mr Kennedy is currently facing malicious rumors which is why he needs to get married to salvage his reputation. That is the purpose of this marriage, Miss Sylvester" he explained on seeing the confusion that wrecked on her face.
" Ohhh" she voiced out loudly and in a casual manner. Trying to engage in what he had said even though she had nothing to say.
She had read about the rumor once. It said that he was gay.
Not as if Nerida was homophobic or had anything against people for their sexuality, but most of Qhezon City weren't as liberal and open minded as she was.
"Miss Sylvester, you might want to pay extra attention to clause six?" Kennedy's secretary called her attention back when he noticed her drifting in thoughts again.
Nerida scanned her eyes till she was done reading the sixth clause.
She was to become a housewife. Never to leave the house,never to visit anyone or let anyone visit her. Unless Kennedy gave her the permission to or took her out himself.
" Does this include my mom?" She asked to be clarified.
It wouldn't be a big deal for her, afterall she was a low-key person and had no friends, so it wouldn't be a hard task abiding by the sixth clause but then, she needed to confirm her doubts.
The secretary hesitated before he gave her a response.
"Ma'am, your mother will be duly cared and catered for at a private VIP ward in the best hospital in the city, you wouldn't have any need to visit her except when Mr Kennedy would decide so"
Nerida was dumbfounded on hearing that. She pressed her lips into a thin line, swallowing the lump in her throat. Disappointment flared, but she crushed it under the weight of responsibility. Six months. Just six months, she reminded herself. As long as her mother received the best medical attention.
At the back of her mind, the clause did not sit down well with her but she didn't want to dispute it for fear of loosing the golden opportunity.
It might be a red flag but the voice of responsibility over clouded her mind.
She quickly read the remaining clauses in the contract and although she had several objections, she couldn't voice them out.
First it was when she read in clause number mine that she wasn't allowed to work, sell her art or anything. He would provide her with paint and canvas whenever needed and let her paint as long as the media was covering it, but anything apart from when he gives his permission, it wasn't allowed.
Then next one was when she read that she wasn't allowed to own a cell phone. Her husband had volunteered to provide her with a landline which she would be contacting her mother's hospital from, apart from that, she was to use the television for her perusal if she got bored of painting.
He loved submissive women and didn't want to create an avenue for her to go against that order. Mostly because he believed that money made women grow wings and communication with people or the internet would derail her of her job.
Ofcourse it was toxic but she couldn't query any of the clauses.
As Nerida rose from the sea-green sofa, clutching the envelope to her chest, she offered a polite nod to the secretary and turned toward the door. Her heels echoed softly against the marble floor as she walked through the elegant hallway of the penthouse.
She laughed at herself for she had spent the little she had trying to look pleasing for the CEO who didn't even show up at the meeting he had set up.
Just before reaching the elevator, a woman brushed past her—tall, poised, and dressed in a sleek, body-hugging dress. The woman's perfume was rich and expensive and the scent Nerida couldn't name but wouldn't forget. A luxury handbag hung effortlessly on her arm.
Something about her face felt familiar.
Nerida slowed briefly, trying to place where she'd seen her but her thoughts snapped back to her mother. She didn't have time to dwell on strangers. Tightening her grip on the contract, she stepped into the elevator and left without another glance.