A Contract Marriage With My Boss

Mr. Thomas stopped beside the flower beds. He turned around to look at Sarah, a little anxious and sad. "You are a patient woman, Miss Tyler. You've not asked me where we are going at all." Then he smiled and, at this moment, his old face became radiant and he appeared far younger than he had before. He had clearly been a handsome man in his youth. Charles bore a strong facial resemblance to his father when he smiled. Mr. Thomas asked again, "Do you know why I have taken you here?"

Sarah lowered her head. She assumed that he might also want her to leave Charles as Mrs. Thomas had. His way, however, was more moderate. Unlike Mrs. Thomas, he had at least taken her to a quiet place to talk.

No matter how the conversation took place, however, she was not welcomed. Sarah prepared herself for further disappointment and replied gently, "I think I know. I understand that you don't want me to be with Charles. I have already promised that I will leave him and let him go." She had made up her mind to leave Charles. It was clearly impossible for them to be together, whether it was for her future happiness or Charles's happiness.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Thomas shook his head and smiled, "You have me wrong. Miss Tyler. In fact, I have brought you here to persuade you to be with Charles."

Sarah suddenly lifted her head and looked at Mr. Thomas blankly. She thought she must have misheard.

Mr. Thomas nodded at her. Sarah was stunned and eagerly inquired, "Mr. Thomas, what are you saying? Why would you want me to be with Charles?"

Mr. Thomas nodded with a smile; he looked very kind and had a sense of someone who had become wiser and kinder with age. He said, "I know my son very well. I just want him to be happy. All fathers in the world hope for their children to be happy."

Sarah paused again, thinking that this man who stood before her was quite different from many rich people that she was used to interacting with. Mr. Thomas squinted and looked up at the sky with a little blue in his eyes. "Miss Tyler, will you sit down and listen to some stories about Charles?"

Sarah nodded, then they sat down beside the flower beds. Although Mr. Thomas was rich, it didn't seem to affect him all that much. Sarah kept silent and thought about how unusual this man was.

Mr. Thomas looked at Sarah and said, "Charles was extremely rebellious even as a child. No one could control him. In fact, I consider it to be partly my fault. His mother and I were always busy with our business and didn't care for him when he was young. Sometimes we saw each other as little as one month during the year. Charles was left in the care of a nanny. I believe this is the reason why he became so short-tempered. He may have despised that we didn't pay enough attention to him. I felt guilty all the time. We didn't do anything for him and hardly cared for him after he grew up. In fact, he largely kept away from us and didn't listen to us. Initially, he wanted to be with Emma." At this point, Mr. Thomas stopped for a little while and looked at Sarah. It seemed that he was afraid that Sarah might become uncomfortable hearing about Emma.

Sarah didn't mind it at all and said, "Please go on, Mr. Thomas."

"He made his mind up that he would be with her, and no one could stop him. He never listened to us, often doing the opposite of what we said. Finally, we looked for ways of coercing Emma to end their relationship. Eventually, Charles gave up on the idea of them being together. After that, he ran away from home to start up his business and didn't come back home for a long time. He even bought a house here so that he didn't have to go home anymore. I always felt that I owed him something. I never realized it before, but now..." Stopping mid-sentence, his face suddenly turned very pale as if he had remembered a cruel memory. Then, he smiled bitterly and continued, "Everyone experiences birth and death, and men are subject to sudden changes of fortune. I myself am not sure how long I have to live. Perhaps one day soon I might die. I always felt guilty about Charles. I am not a good father, so I felt guiltier after we deprived him of being with Emma. I wish I could do something for him. This time, I can see how wildly he devotes himself to you, and may even be falling in love with you. Moreover, he came to ask for my opinion several days ago. He asked that if he still disobeyed the marriage, we had arranged, would I treat him the same way that I did last time."

Mr. Thomas lowered his head and said, "I think Charles didn't make a commitment to you at the beginning because he was afraid that he couldn't fulfill that promise, and maybe we would hurt you like we hurt Emma."

Sarah felt her heart sink into her stomach. She recalled his behavior from the past, and it seemed that the explanation did make sense. But why would Charles fall in love with her? Was Emma not still the love of his life? After all, he had loved her so much and for so long.

"When he found me to ask for my opinion, I thought I should do something for him. Otherwise, I may never have another chance to make it up to him. As for the perfect match for marriage, I took it too seriously before. Now, however, what is the point in marrying for money? We have enough money now, and we needn't earn more from marriage. It is crucial that Charles is happy. That's enough!"

Mr. Thomas's words shocked Sarah. Unexpectedly, the leader of the family business looked upon their fame and wealth with indifference. To Sarah's surprise, he didn't look down upon her at all. Sarah suddenly felt awe-stricken, even moved.

"So, Miss Tyler, please give him another chance if you still love him. Don't be afraid of my wife. This time I will support you. Miss Tyler, would you like to be with Charles?"