Fionn took the wheel as Kim sat quietly in the passenger seat. The man wondered who his boss was going to meet. Earlier, he said he was going to meet his wife, and now the question on Kim's mind was when his boss got married.
Speaking of marriage, to whom was he married? And if he was, then Kim wondered why Fionn hadn't made it known. Even though his curiosity left him mentally restless, Kim didn't dare to pry for answers.
He knew so well that if his boss kept something from him, then it wasn't something supposed to be known to him.
The drive to the Miracle Residency took about thirty minutes. But Fionn's sheer impatience made it seem like forever. Finally, the wait paid off as the car came to a stop.
"What are we doing here?" Kim asked in panic. The look on his face screamed of fear. Of all places, he didn't expect his boss to take him to the Miracle Residency.
Undaunted, Fionn replied with a chuckle. "To meet my wife. Oh, don't worry, Mr. Julian isn't around."
"You...y.. you.. you.. You mean..." Kim sturmered.
"Ooh, yeah.. She's Julian's daughter." Fionn replied, like he'd read Kim's mind.
"What!" Kim exclaimed. "I don't think this is a good idea. I don't think Mr. Miracle will like this."
"Come on, Kimbell," Fionn said with a smile. He unbuckled his seatbelt and then turned his attention back to Kim.
"What happened between Mr. Julian and me is long gone. It's forgotten history. And think about it." A wide smirk appeared on his lips.
"If his daughter and I get married, won't that be a great way of mending our misunderstanding?"
"Hmm... Yeah..." Kim agreed hesitantly.
"Alright, now let's go in."
Fionn took the lead as the not-so-convinced Kim followed behind. He was a hundred percent against what his boss was doing. But being the subordinate and rather not the boss, he had less of a say.
Mr. Julian Miracle, the man in question, wasn't just a business rival, but their last encounter didn't end on good terms. And here they were.
The two men were welcomed by a butler, a woman in her late forties who greeted them with utter respect. She then went on to welcome them inside.
"Is it the Mr. and the Mrs. that you seek?" She asked, but immediately continued to speak without giving the two men time to reply.
"I'm sorry. Mr. and Mrs. Miracle aren't around; the Mr. is on a business trip, and the Mrs. won't be back until later." She said apologetically as she led the two men inside.
Great. That's great. I'll have enough time with her. Fionn smiled to himself.
He turned to the butler with a smile.
"Ooh.. no need to worry, fortunately, we are here for a different reason." He said without hiding his joy.
The butler led them to the living room, where the men made themselves comfortable. The butler then called out to a maid, whom she instructed to get the two men some coffee.
After the maid left, she turned to the two men, Fionn to be specific.
"My dear good sirs, what then brings you here?" She asked.
Fionn, whose eyes were searching around, turned to the butler and cleared his voice before he spoke.
"We are here to meet Princess..oh sorry miss Kiara, I mean."
"Princess?" The butler echoed. "And what do I tell her?"
"Fionn, tell her Fionn is here to see her."
With a sigh, the butler left the room, leaving behind the two men. Fionn sat back, looking around the room with satisfaction.
"They sure made it look like the one back then." He whispered to himself. Soon after, the maid from earlier came in with the coffee. After handing each of the two men a cup, she immediately left.
Minutes passed, and Kiara wasn't yet there. Fionn was growing impatient. Checking his wrist watch, he sighed. "What's taking them so long?"
Meanwhile, Kimbell remained quiet and only sipped on his coffee as he waited.
"What are you doing here?" Kiara asked, startling the two men.
She walked and sat on the couch opposite the one Fionn and Kimbell were seated on. She then turned to the butler.
"Aunt Maggie, can I have some juice?" She asked politely before turning back to the two men.
The butler summoned the maid from earlier once again. When the maid got there, "Make Miss Kiara some juice, remember to keep it natural. She doesn't like overly sweet things." She instructed.
"I'll be around, call for me when you need me." The butler said as she turned to Kiara.
"Alright." Kiara nodded.
Once Maggie was gone, Kiara turned her attention to the two men. "I asked, why are you here?"
"What we talked about. Remember?"
"I'm not marrying you. If that's what brought you here." She said point-blank.
Fionn was left without a word to say. He blinked, looking at her and then to the man who sat next to him. "Say something." He whispered to Kim.
"What should I say?" Kim whispered back.
"Anything, just anything."
"Ahh.. I'm.." Kim murmured, then quickly held back on what he was about to say.
"Marriage is a life commitment, that's what you've failed to understand. I'm not ready to commit to anything." She added when no one said anything.
"That's why I want us to get married, you and me," Fionn said in enthusiasm.
"Our marriage won't be a life commitment."
He then turned to Kim, who pulled out the marriage contract[1].
"Here," Fionn handed it to Kiara.
"It's just a matter of signing that. It's a business partnership that will last a year. After that, you'll be free to do what you want with your life."
Kiara looked at the marriage contract and slowly read through it. The more she read, the more unrealistic it became, which sent her laughing.
"You think she likes it?" Fionn leaned towards Kim and whispered.
"I don't think so. It's evident she finds it ridiculous."
Kiara tore the contract to pieces the moment she was done reading it, which left Fionn in shock. Of course, Kim wasn't shocked; he saw it coming.
"This is why I don't want to bury my future by marrying a guy like you, who has no sense of love. Marriage based on a contract is the kind of marriage I would never want."
"Then, which kind of marriage do you want. Just tell me, I'll give it to you." Fionn said eagerly.
His words sent her laughing. "I doubt if you even know what love is; that's the kind of marriage I want. The marriage that my parents share, marriage based on pure love. Can you give me that?"
Can I? Fionn thought to himself.
How do I even do that? Marriage built on pure love, marriage built on pure love. What does that even mean?
"Why are you so quiet? Don't tell me you admit you can't?"
"What if I say I can?" Fionn asked confidently.
"Try me," Kiara said. "Until you prove that to me, forget about me marrying you."
"We have ourselves a deal," Fionn replied with a smile.
Kim looked at his boss in disbelief. What had gotten into him? Why was he going all this extra mile for the woman before them?
Fionn could have gone for any woman out there. After all, it was just a one-year marriage. Well, not even marriage, to be precise, but a one-year business partnership. What was so special about her?
"Are you sure about this? We could go for any other woman. We have less than a month left." Kim whispered to his boss.
"Don't worry, all I have to do is make her fall in love with me. I just need about two weeks to do that."
[1] Read the Marriage Contract in the Auxiliary volume chapter "Marriage Contract."