Marriage Agreement: It's Just a Wager

On the day my boyfriend, Antonio Vinci, proposes to me, his adoptive sister, Lucia Falcone, remarks on a whim, "How romantic. It makes me want to get married now as well."

On the very same night, Antonio gives me an agreement.

"You should leave. Here's a 50-million-dollar compensation. I'm going to get married soon."

If this were to happen in the past, I'd have kicked up a huge ruckus and threatened to take my own life if Antonio didn't marry me.

But now, I just ask for another 50 million dollars calmly.

When I'm about to sign the agreement, I hear Antonio talking on the phone in another language.

"Thank goodness I gave Daniela a marriage agreement. Otherwise, she'd seriously think I'd break up with her. I knew that Daniela would be perfect as my wife. She's obedient and docile, just like a loyal mutt.

"As for Lucia, I can give her everything but a legitimate position by my side."

My hand pauses momentarily. Then, I scribble Lucia's name on the agreement.

What Antonio doesn't know is that I have an ongoing bet with Lucia.

If I can ensnare Antonio's heart in ten years, she will back out of our relationship.

If I fail to do so, I'll disappear permanently from their lives.

Daniela's POV

After Antonio Vinci hung up the phone and saw how swiftly I had signed, he suddenly smiled.

He slid his arms around my waist and intimately asked, "Why are you so obedient, Daniela? If I asked you to die for me, would you do it?"

"Maybe."

Resting his chin on my shoulder, he closed the folder and said, "This is a marriage agreement. Are you happy that I'm finally marrying you?"

I gave a slight nod. "Weddings are a lot of work. That includes setting the date, picking the rings, dress fittings, and arranging the guest list. We're going to be busy."

"Our tenth anniversary is two days from now. Let's have the wedding then. I'll have everything else arranged, while all you have to do is wait to be my bride," he said and brushed a kiss against my ear.

The air between us turned thick and heavy with intimacy. Antonio gently lifted me onto the desk and tilted his head up to kiss me again and again.

"It's been ten years, Daniela Valenti. Will you resent me for taking so long to give you a title?"

Why would I?

In the past ten years, I had never asked for anything, yet Antonio had given me the world.

When I woke up from nightmares in the middle of the night, he would fly across half the globe just to keep me company, only to fly back to work the next morning.

When I was kidnapped, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 500 million dollars plus his life. He paid the money and drove a blade into his chest right in front of them.

"Come for me however you want. What kind of men threaten women?"

The kidnappers were later wiped out, but Antonio was bedridden for six months and left with a permanent condition. He fainted whenever he got too emotional and nearly lost his Vinci family inheritance rights to an outsider over it.

Antonio's love was intense, so how could I not have been moved?

It wasn't until today, when Lucia Falcone reminded me that my ten-year term was almost up, that I understood I had completely lost.

Antonio hadn't rushed home in the middle of the night to soothe me through my nightmares; he was there because Lucia had been hospitalized for heart palpitations.

As for the kidnapping, it wasn't for me. The kidnappers had taken Lucia, too.

A sudden clatter snapped us both back to reality, and we turned toward the door at the same time. Lucia stood there with disheveled hair and a nightgown so short it exposed herself with the slightest movement.

Her eyes were red-rimmed as she stammered, "I-I'm sorry… I didn't know you were… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Then, she ran off in tears.

Antonio immediately let go of my waist.

Caught off guard, I fell hard onto the floor. My arms and knees were mottled with bruises as I slowly got back up onto my feet.

For a long time, I stared blankly at his panicked figure as he fled.

"Antonio, what were we for ten years?"

Perhaps none of that mattered anymore because in two days, I would disappear for good.