Chapter 4 I Had To Give In

" Evelyn! What are you doing here by this time of the night? Isn't it too late to be visiting someone?" Martin asked, looking surprised.

" Enough of your silly questions! Let her in." Helen yelled.

" Can I come in?" Evelyn asked, sobbing.

" Come in," Martin said, rolling his eyes as he ushered her in.

" Thank you, sorry for disturbing you at this ungodly hour of the night," Evelyn said sadly.

" No, it's fine. I had always known you'd have a change of thought, but I never knew it would be this early. So, what made you change your mind?" Helen asked.

" The doctor said my mum is running out of time; he said if she doesn't undergo the surgery as soon as possible, I might lose her, and I don't want to lose my mum; she's the only family I have," Evelyn said tearfully.

" You see? I told her that you would be a bad child if you have such a juicy opportunity to save your mum's life, and you decided to throw it away. Thank God, you're finally back to your senses. Here is the thing: I'll speak with a lawyer tomorrow; he'll get the necessary documents done so that you can sign the papers, get your upfront payment, and pay for your mum's surgery.

Then after her surgery, we'll get into business, ok?" Helen said

" Ok, thank you. I appreciate it, let me get going now." Evelyn said

" No, no, no, you can't leave. It's late and dangerous out there. Just spend a night here, then you'll leave very early in the morning." Helen said as she grabbed her hand.

" But my mum has nobody to stay with her at the hospital," Evelyn said sadly.

" Isn't she the reason why you're here? She'll be fine, the nurses are there to look after her. Please stay, it's too late. Have you eaten?" Helen asked.

" Yes thank you, I'm fine," Evelyn said.

" Ok, then I'll go get you a blanket, you can sleep on the couch," Helen said and went into the room.

Martin who had been speechless all through the conversations, went after her hurriedly, he got into the room, he went straight to where she was, she was in the closet area sorting out a blanket for Evelyn;

" Why don't I have a say in all of these?" He asked angrily.

" And who stopped you from talking? You decided to keep mute all through the conversation, so how is that my fault?" Helen asked firmly, looking into his eyes.

" Helen, do you think this is a good idea at all? I'm about to walk down the aisle with a strange woman and you're ok with it? Do you love me at all?" Martin asked, almost tearing up.

" Yes, I love you, and that's why I'm doing all this; I'm doing this to help you get the company and your inheritance, can't you see?" Helen said softly.

" By hiring a stranger to act as my wife when we can just get married?" Martin asked, looking disappointed.

" Martin, I'm not ready for marriage, don't you get it? I came up with a perfect plan, and this is how you thank me. You're such an ingrate!" Helen yelled.

" Seems you're not getting it, I'll be living with this lady for as long as the contract will last, you know? Have you thought about the whole thing?" Martin asked furiously.

" And so? Were you both supposed to leave separately? She's acting as your wife, so she'll be living under your roof, I know. Am I complaining? I should be worried here, not you. I'm the lady who's about to watch her man go down the aisle with another woman, so please spare me the drama." Helen said as she grabbed a blanket to her chest.

" You forgot to add 'stupid' to the lady because only a stupid lady will let her man go into a contract marriage," Martin said and stormed out of the room.

" Did you just call me stupid? Martin! Martin!! Martin!!!" Helen called after him.

" I'm trying to help him here and he's not being appreciative, can you imagine?" Helen said to herself as she left the room to give Evelyn the blanket.

She got to the living room and handed the blanket to Evelyn;

" You can use that for tonight." She said,

" Thank you for the hospitality," Evelyn said softly.

" You're welcome, I know you'll leave very early in the morning, so please drop your number before leaving so that we can reach when the papers are ready. There's a pen and jotter on that table, you can make use of those." Helen said pointing at the dining table.

" Ok, I will, thank you. Good night." Evelyn said.

" Good night to you too," Helen said and left her presence.

The next morning, Evelyn woke up. She arranged the blanket properly, wrote down her number as Helen instructed the previous night, and left for the hospital.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Martin was at the dining area having breakfast, Helen came downstairs looking all dressed for an outing;

" So you decided to sleep in the guest room because of the little argument we had?" She asked, walking towards him.

Martin ignored her and continued eating.

" I'm talking to you, Martin. You can't give me a silent treatment, I won't accept that from you." She said,

Martin still refused to speak to her; he acted like there was nobody with him, and he concentrated on the meal.

" Anyways, since this is how you want it, fine! I'm going to see a lawyer and I think it's better if we go together because you're the person signing the papers, not me." Helen said, rolling her eyes.

" So, you're still head bent on hiring that lady, fine! If that's what you want, don't blame me if anything goes wrong at the end because I warned you from the onset. Gosh! I've never seen anyone as selfish and self-centred as you." Martin said and stood up angrily from the chair.

" Whatever! Are you coming or not?" She asked angrily.

" Do I have a choice? Let me go and dress up, I'll join you shortly." He said and left her presence.

" Good guy, now you're doing the right thing. Don't worry, I'll help you take your plates to the kitchen. Hurry up, baby." Helen said after him with a broad smile.

She carried the plates to the kitchen, left them in the kitchen unwashed and went back to the living room to wait for Martin. Shortly, Martin came downstairs; he was wearing a two-piece black outfit, black slippers, grey eyeglasses, and an exotic perfume.

" You look good by the way," Helen said with a smile.

Martin didn't respond, he walked past her and went outside the house.

" Gosh! Why is he acting so cold towards me? I'm only trying to help here for God's sake." Helen said to herself aloud.

She went after him and joined him in the car. Martin started the engine; he was about to speed away when a car crossed his path; he was shocked; luckily for him, he pulled on the brake on time.

He came down from his car to see who it was.