Chapter 3

Third Person's POV

Celina went to Clandestine. As she entered the restaurant, a waitress stopped her. "Excuse me, but this part of the restaurant is off-limits," the waitress told her. Celina nodded and told the waitress that she had a reservation.

"Reservation under Mr. John Scott," Celina said, and the waitress looked at her from head to toe. She rolled her eyes at the waitress when she realized she was being criticized and didn't like it. "If you look down on me, you better look at yourself first. Remember what you are here for," she said, and the waitress ushered her to a private room after feeling embarrassed by what Celina had said.

As she entered the room, she found Jefferson in a suit. His face hardened and darkened while waiting, and Celina smiled internally as she thought she had made him wait. Jefferson looked at her and didn't say a word, so she just sat opposite him. "You're late," he said.

"I am not applying for the job, so I don't need to be punctual," Celina answered.

Jefferson creased his forehead after hearing what she had just said. "Do you need to apply for a job so you can be punctual? Isn't that necessary for everyday living?" He wondered if she was meeting the same woman his dad had asked him to meet. But his expectation of her had drastically washed away.

"Not everyone lives the way you do," Celina replied.

"Do you usually talk that way to other people?" Jefferson asked her.

"I thought I was meeting my future husband and not my future employer," Celina rebutted.

Jefferson started to lose his patience as Celina talked back and always had a say in anything. "I am indeed your employer. You will be working for me as my wife," Jefferson said.

"Are we going to eat, or will we just continue talking like this?" Celina said and took the dish in front of Jefferson, saying, "I want to try this. I'm sure you have tasted every food this restaurant offers, so you won't mind me tasting this, right?" She asked and took a bite of the steak after she cut a small piece. "Hmm, it's good," she said as she savored the flavor of the steak. Jefferson couldn't do anything but let her. He wondered why his dad wanted to marry him off to this woman.

"Can't you eat properly? Aren't you shy when a man watches you, and you eat that way?" Jefferson asked, trying to humiliate her for being unladylike when eating.

Celina looked around as if she was looking for something. "It's just the two of us here, right?" She asked.

Jefferson wondered why she had to ask, "Don't you have eyes? Can't you see that it's just us?" He asked sarcastically.

"Just as I thought, so where is the man you are talking about that I had to be shy of?" Celina asked, confused.

He could not utter a word and couldn't believe someone like her would act that way. 'Doesn't he see me as a man? Am I not worthy enough for her? Just how high does she set her standards for men?' He thought about asking but did not say anything anymore and waited for Celina to finish her food.

After she was done, Celina looked at Jefferson and said, "Go on, talk."

Jefferson just looked at her. He thought that she was a very straightforward person. She didn't look stupid either, so he thought Celina would agree with what he was about to say.

Thinking Jefferson was having trouble talking, Celina decided to start the conversation. "If it's legal, I might agree. If it's not, forget about it. "

"What made you think I would ask you to do illegal things?" Jefferson asked, annoyed.

"Comprehension, Mr. Jefferson. It would help if you worked on that." Celina replied.

Jefferson started to get irritated with the way Celina talked to him. "I had a woman I loved," he said.

"Shall I love her too?" Celina asked sarcastically.

"Can't you listen first?"

"Can you talk straight to the point? I don't need to hear about your love life. I don't care about that. You have to choose whether you will marry me or not." Celina yelled.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me, you gold digger?" Jefferson told her angrily.

Celina laughed after she heard him. If there was anything in this world she hated, it was money. She wouldn't even try touching it if she didn't need it to eat or do anything.

"Gold digger? Did you just call me a gold digger? Then what should I call you then? The man willing to let go of the woman he said he loved for the company? You had better watch your mouth. I am not someone you can step on just because you have money. I had been through a lot, and living on the street was nothing. Just because you have everything doesn't mean I won't fight you back. You cannot always fight money with money, you know." Celina told him angrily.

Jefferson was speechless. He never thought that she could talk back to him like that. His father told him that Celina was a poor child. She was an orphan whom Nicholson had adopted. Thinking that was true, Jefferson thought she should be easy to deal with, but he thought that was wrong because Celina was smart.

She glared at Jefferson, and she wanted to say more but decided to hold herself back. She needed to get married to him so she could leave Nicholson. She didn't want to stay with them anymore as she was worried that they would do anything to her and she wouldn't be able to help herself.

"If you want to get married, say your terms, and I will listen. Don't try to blame me concerning your separation from your woman because you have a choice. You're not the only son of God, so don't expect to have the best of both worlds," Celina told him calmly. She was trying hard not to raise her voice. She thought he was hypocritical to point fingers at her solely. "I can do my duties responsibly, and at the same time, I won't be a burden to you," she added. Jefferson looked at her and thought for a while.

"You wanted to work this out?" He said.

"No, I wanted us to be civil and respectful to each other," Celina told him.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why do you agree to this marriage?"

"I have my reasons, too. You are willing to marry me now because of your company. Then I would marry you to leave my family without worry."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what my words mean. I'd rather deal with a godly womanizer like you than with them," Celina said.

"Wait. What? A godly womanizer? Where did that come from? "Jefferson asked.

"Ask your father about it. I am not good at explaining trivial things. Now, do you agree or not?" Celina asked.

Jefferson was confused. He thought he had the upper hand, and it turned out it was the other way around. He thought Celina was easy to deal with and let his guard down, so he couldn't say anything.

"What? Has the cat got your tongue?" Celina pressured him to answer.

"You had the deal. I expect you to be my dutiful wife," Jefferson told her.

"Fine by me," Celina answered until she remembered something.

"Oh, when it comes to women, you can have it as long as you don't flaunt it or never let me find out about it. Even if we jump from an arranged marriage to a contract marriage, I don't want to know my husband cheats."

Jefferson stopped for a moment. He never cheated on any of his previous girlfriends and values marriage most. "I don't cheat, and ensure you're not too. You cannot even look at any man other than me."

"Deal. I don't like men," Celina said with a smile. Jefferson stared at her, confused about what she meant, but decided not to ask anymore.