62 iii. Prenuptial Agreement

“What the hell are you doing, sitting in my grandson’s chair?” the loud voice of Dominus’s grandmother woke Mary up in a daze.

She was fixing some documents but accidentally snoozed off. Mary immediately rose from the seat, knocking off the documents she was attempting to fix.

The old lady’s eyes widened as she looked at Mary’s stomach, a prominent bulge showing despite her loose clothing.

For a second the old lady felt a pang of guilt but her determination won over and her face returned to its blank state. Her lips were firmly on a straight line as she looked at her grandson’s fiance once again.

“Do you think the likes of you belong to that seat?! Are you that shameful, you social climbing whore?!” she shouted at the trembling woman before her whose dizziness made her hold into the edge of the table, trying to keep herself steady.

“No ma’am, I never wanted any of that,” Mary’s lips quivered as she tried to answer Dominus’s grandmother.

“And you expect me to believe that? A good-for-nothing secretary sleeping with her boss to secure a fortune?” the old lady walked towards her with her head held high.

“It is the truth ma’am. I never wanted your fortune,” Mary felt her knees tremble as the matriarch walked inside the room.

“Then explain what on earth are you doing acting like a leech and sucking off on my grandson’s side?” the madame shouted at her, making her want to cry.

.....

“I love your grandson ma’am. Dominus is the only man I ever loved. I couldn’t stay away from him even if I wanted to. He is the whole world to me,” her eyelids fluttered as she tried to stop her tears from falling.

The madame laughed, “There is no such thing as love between outsiders. You my dear child, is nothing but a social climbing whore who wanted our hard-earned money for yourself,” the old lady continued to advance, her gait steady even as she felt a bit of pity towards the girl.

“I swear on my life, ma’am. I have no such motives. I do not care for any of these. All I want is to stay by Dominus’s side,” she tried to explain, backing away from the old lady when they are finally facing each other.

“If that is your only wish. Then I will let you. I will let you stay in my grandson’s life. On one condition,” she continued, looking at her eyes as she spoke.

“What is it? I will do anything! This is the only thing I wanted,” she assured him.

The old lady signaled to her assistant and the woman beside her placed an envelope on top of the table.

“Sit down, child. You will need to sign that,” she commanded the poor girl who had no choice but to sit down for fear of falling from where she stood. Her knees had just turned to jelly being so near the cruel relative of her soon-to-be husband.

“What are these papers, ma’am?” she asked the madame who looked sharply at her as she tried to make sense of the document.

“A prenuptial agreement saying you won’t be inheriting a single cent from this family in case of Dominus’s death. You will receive no monetary help from us,” the assistant handed her a pen as her hands shook.

“Did it say of anything regarding my child?” her lips quivered, she couldn’t do it if there is anything about her child in it.

“Your child is Saito’s heir, nothing can change that. He is my blood, as long as he lives, he will be sure to inherit,” the old lady clarified.

Without reading the document, she readily affixed her signature and handed the document back to the assistant.

“You did not even read the contents,” the madame pointed out.

“I do not care about the inheritance. I just want to stay by Dominus’s side. This is all I ask for,” she smiled faintly.

“Then, that is all I came here to do. Pick up the mess you made later,” the madame looked at the papers scattered on the floor to signify what she meant.

“Will you be coming to the wedding, ma’am?” she asked the madame.

“Do you think I will miss such an important occasion in my grandson’s life?” the old lady answered sharply which made her silent.

The madame left quietly and so did her assistant, locking the door behind them. Only then did Mary feel pity towards herself.

She never really cared about Dominus’s inheritance, to be called names and to make her feel worthless is something that hurts her more.

She tried to stand up to pick up the papers but her shaky knees gave in and she lay slumped to the floor. She continued to pick up the papers that are within her reach, but soon, tears started to fall and she began to sob.

She heard the door open followed by hurried footsteps until she felt her shoulders beings squeezed and her chin lifted.

It was her fiance. Dominus. His face was filled with worries as he wiped the tears on her cheeks. “What is wrong, baby? Are you feeling alright? What happened, honey?”

She forced a smile and met his golden orbs, “I was just being emotional. Pregnancy hormones made me cry for no reason.”

“Are you sure? If you feel anything weird, we have to see the doctor right away, okay baby?” he pats her back, comforting her as he hugged her tenderly.

“I am sure, daddy. I just have some weird cravings for ice cream,” she rubbed her cheeks on the palm of his hand. Her heartaches are covered by the desire to not make him worry.

“Do you want to go somewhere to eat it, or do you wish to have it delivered?” he kissed her forehead lovingly.

“I kept some ice cream on the fridge daddy,” she whispered, pertaining to the personal fridge he insisted they keep for her cravings.

“Let’s get it then, honey,” he stopped her hands from reaching out to the papers.

“I need to-to pick them up da- daddy,” she stammered, biting her lips.

“Let somebody else pick it up, baby. Right now what we need to do is to get you some ice cream, alright?” he smiled at her, his eyes still filled with worries even as she forced yet another fake smile.

“Daddy, can you carry me, please?” she lifted her hands in the air as he smiled at her, worry dissipating a bit.

“Of course, honey. You know I would love to do that,” he princess- carried her in his arms as she circled her arms on his neck.

“Thank you, daddy,” she lay her cheek on his chest. His heartbeat kept her calm.

historical

He carried her and opened the refrigerator showing her favorite selections of ice cream. To which she pointed at strawberry ice cream that was placed neatly in the middle.

He smiled and took the tub, handing it to her. She took it as he rummaged to find her a spoon.

He sat her on the sofa and began to scoop her some ice cream, placing the spoon in front of her as she licked it up greedily.

“How is it baby?” he asked, holding her close to him as she hummed.

“It tastes good, daddy,” she assured him, smiling at him softly.

“Do you feel better now, honey?” he inquired, smiling back at her.

“Absolutely, a hundred percent better, daddy. You shouldn’t worry so much about me. It is just pregnancy hormones making me act irrational at times, daddy. My tears mean nothing now,” she assured him.

“They will never mean nothing to me, baby. To me, seeing you cry will always be something to remedy. How can I calm down seeing my baby so unhappy?” he caressed her cheek, then scooped up some more ice cream.

She greedily opened her mouth wide and lapped up at the ice cream, smiling happily at him. The scene from earlier doesn’t matter to her now.

What matters is this moment with him. He was making her feel so secured, loved, and cherished. Being his woman is worth every heartache that comes with it.

“I love you, daddy. I love you so much,” she confessed, smiling at him as he caressed her cheek.

“And I love you more than anything in this world, queenie. If there is anything at all that you ever wanted or needed, you just have to tell me and I will lay it all on your feet,” he kissed her forehead as she pushed the tub away.

“Don’t you want more of these, queenie? I can fetch you a new flavor if you want,” he assured her.

“It is fine, daddy. We don’t want to make the baby obese. What will happen to Jiro if her mother loses control over what she eats?” she smiled at him, rubbing her cheek on the palm of his hand.

He caressed her cheek gently, “Jiro?”

“Our baby,” she blushed. “Is the name something you’d like to consider? It came from the story about this demon prince who destroyed the whole world for love. It is not a good name for a baby but I just feel comfortable with it.”

“I quite liked it, queenie. It seems fitting for the child, since the father is like this. So obsessed and crazy for his beloved wife,” he teased her, kissing her fondly on her lips

“Do you really like it, my knight?” she asked, kissing him soundly on his lips.

He smiled as he ruffled her hair, “I love it so much, darling. There is no other name more fitting for the child who will have the whole world at his own disposal.”

“Will this world accept him, daddy?” she felt her tears about to fall so she closed her eyes to stop them.

“Look at me baby,” he caressed her cheeks again and tilted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.

“The world will have no choice but to accept him. They will have to worship him and revere him, otherwise, this world they so love... I will all burn it to the ground. I will do it for either of you. Because I love you both so much, queenie,” he kissed her forehead as she clung to his shoulders.

“Do you promise that daddy?” she urged him. As this is a matter she couldn’t just let the fate decide, she need to hear him say the words.

“I promise, my queen. I will not let anyone hurt our child. I will protect you both with my life, no matter what happens. I promise you this, my love,” his deep voice assured her as her heartbeat started to race.

She held into his hair and pulled down his head gently to make their lips meet. It was a long soft kiss that lingered even when it had ended.

“I love you so, queenie,” he professed.

“And I love you just as much, my knight,” she tugged into his shirt’s collar as he dipped his head to claim her lips once again.

Soon the sofa witnessed another of their sweet rendezvous, albeit a sweeter one this time around.