In His Grasp: Contract Wife

Dinner with his parents

"I'm in front of the hotel. Where, the hell, are you?" It was right 5 pm when Nate texted. Leila wasn't late one bit, but he acted like the first-class prick king he was.

Not letting that bother her, she skipped an elevator on purpose. Walking downstairs, she reached the hotel door slower than a snail. Then, out to the street and toward the car. Let him wait! That pompous bastard deserved it!

Nate was sitting at the backseat of his car, staring at the tablet, not glancing at her at all. She should have walked even slower, she thought, seeing him silent during the whole journey.

"Are you nervous?" He finally opened his mouth just when she was at peace with the silence around her, eyeing outside of the window.

"No," she answered coldly. Why should she get nervous? All this was an act to save Alice, nothing more.

"Did you read everything?"

"Yes."

"Where did we meet, love?" Leila didn't miss that mocking sound in his voice when calling her love.

"In Paris, at some fashion show," she replied, suppressing the growing desire to ridicule him back.

"Good girl!" The asshole smiled, like addressing a little child, patronizing her like she was his student. Leila couldn't stand it, rolling her eyes. What a moron!

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" He got angry, moving over closer to her in the backseat within the blink of an eye. She pressed her palms against her lips, seeing him that close, threateningly towering above her. The last thing she wanted was to be kissed by him again.

"I didn't, your Majesty!" Leila bowed courteously to him, saying it too sweetly. He did act like he was the King of the Universe.

"I think I've kissed you enough for a year. LOL!" Nate laughed. He was about to kiss her, but seeing her covering her mouth like she didn't want it made him mad, so he stopped. "How are you going to address me in front of my parents?" He asked her.

"Honey," Leila replied. He wrote it, she read it. It wasn't a science book, just his idiotic contract. She wasn't stupid. But he was if he thought she couldn't memorize it.

Nate only smirked at that, leaning back in his seat, satisfied.

Forty-five minutes later, a gorgeous chateau-style mansion house welcomed them. Nate parked his car in the parking lot in the middle of dreamy, landscaped grounds. Leila looked at all those trees, romantic gardens, sweeping lawns, and woodlands surrounding them as they walked toward the entrance.

The building itself had to be from the 19th century. It was a typical English countryside manor, the traditional type, meaning Nate's parents were traditional orientated too.

But when they got inside, modern luxury dazzled her. She knew the Hills were rich enough to buy another planet, nevertheless this castle-like villa. Leila felt like living some old-fashioned fairy-tale, if not for the Prince Arrogant Asshole next to her.

"Oh, my son! There you are!" A mid-aged, tiny woman greeted them, showering Nate with hugs and kisses. Her hair was chestnut, and her light brown eyes looked warm. Nate grimaced at her outpouring of affections, and Leila considered it ungrateful of him.

She would give everything to having her mother still alive.

"And who is this m..?" The older lady stuttered, switching her attention to Leila. She thought Leila to be a man, and Leila found it funny, stifling a laugh.

"Mom, meet my girlfriend, Leila Swift. Leila, my mom, Karen Hill." Nate cut in, emphasizing the phrase "girlfriend." What an actor, Leila thought.

"Well, well! The girlfriend! Finally! Come in, child!" Karen seemed pleased and relieved. She hugged Leila, walking her inside the villa.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Hill!" Leila felt accepted and welcomed. Nate's mother scolded her, asking to be called by her first name. So Leila obliged. Karen hugged her, walking her inside the villa, right in the living room.

In there, Nate's father waited for them, sitting on the huge leather sofa. His black hair got peppered with some grays, and years formed some wrinkles on his face. But otherwise, the man looked like an exact copy of Nate, only some twenty years older.

"Dad, my girlfriend, Leila Swift. Leila, my father, Phill Hill," Nate did the formality again, introducing them. Phill Hill only nodded after glancing in her direction.

Then Karen asked them over to the dining room, remarking they must be hungry. The dinner was ready.

Leila liked Nate's mother, finding her very kind, something she never felt with her stepmother. Karen even cooked dinner by herself, leaving her amazed. It was a rare thing for such a wealthy woman.

"Nate said you lived in Paris. He should take you there for a weekend. It's such a romantic city. What was your job there?" Phill Hill asked her. At first, he seemed to her like his son, but Leila discovered the man lacked that arrogance his son had. His smile was sincere, and he never patronized her.

How Nate had become that pretentious with parents wonderful like this was beyond her.

"I worked as a fashion designer, Mr. Hill." She said, noticing Karen's funny stares.

"That's lovely," Karen wondered why Leila dresses in those baggy, old, male clothes. Maybe that's a new trend, something offbeat. Who knows? Karen knew little about fashion. It never interested her much. She preferred long countryside walks and gardening to all the silly shopping.

"Textile or garment designer?" Phil surprised her with that question. Usually, people supposed fashion design was all about creating clothes, but it wasn't. Everything starts with designing fabrics first.

"Fabric, I design fabrics," Leila smiled at Phil.

"Ooh, you set the trends," Phil smiled back, showing her he understands the industry. He was impressed with Leila. His son finally found a girl he liked.

Nate was also shocked by what he had learned, not showing any of it.

He knew she worked in the fashion business but thought she was some dressmaker, a seamstress, or something. A fashion designer, dressing like that? He wondered the same as his mother, who got lost somewhere inside their large kitchen. It was time for the dessert.

"This is delicious. You have to try it!" Karen offered them a strawberry cake, serving Leila first.

"Thank you, Karen. Mmm, I could steal a recipe." The cake tasted awesomely good.

"How did you two meet?" Nate's mother nonchalantly asked while cruising around the table with the cake. Leila noticed that Nate didn't eat it. He stated clearly in that shitty contract that he didn’t like the sweets.

"Oh, we encountered at the fashion show. It was love at first sight. But a friend introduced us at that gay party right after it." Leila watched Nate's parents chocking over the strawberry cake as she said it.

"Gay party?" They asked simultaneously. They supported l***q rights, but it came out so suddenly, never hearing their son attend gay parties before.

"Yeah, his last boyf...," She couldn't finish about Nate's last boyfriend attending her University because Nate dropped his hand on her knee, squeezing it hard under the table.

"Mom, you look ten years younger in that dress!" And he changed the topic within the heartbeat.

"Oh, thank you, son!" Karen smiled, feeling thrilled, knowing green suits her. And her son was finally becoming the compliment-giving type of a man.

It must be all Leila's doing, she thought.

"So, children, when is the wedding?" Phill Hill cheerfully asked. Leila's heart sank. Would she really become this asshole's wife?

"We're working on it," Nate answered.

"How about the next Saturday? Such a nice, round date!" Karen chirped. It would be May the 15th.

"What do you think, Leila?" It was Phill again.

"Hmm," Leila stuttered, feeling Nate's both hands landing on top of hers, holding them tight. She froze, remembering the contract. It had to be his decision. "Nate should decide," she said.

"Fine. We'll marry next Saturday!" The asshole exclaimed, pretending happiness.

"Great! Fantastic!" Karen couldn't stop her delight, serving them some more desserts.

"Honey! Try this! Your mom made it all by herself!" Knowing Nate didn't like sweets, Leila deliberately brought a small cupcake to his lips, nudging him to open his mouth. She shoved it inside and watched him munching it 'til the last crumb. Oh, what the boys wouldn't do for their mothers' love!

After dinner, they moved over to the living room, chit-chatting and watching the news. At least, Nate and his father did while Karen was showing her some family albums.

"Oh, Honey! You were such a chubby boy!" She mocked Nate in front of his parents, getting some of her sweet revenge. Just a little more, and she'd be at Alice's.

"It's pouring. This storm will last 'til the morning, I tell you!" Phill looked through the window, getting all worried. Right then, she saw lightning splitting the night sky.

"You're right, dad!" Nate grinned at Leila, instructing his mother, "Mom, get some clothes for Leila, please. We're staying!"

Leila blushed, looking at Nate like begging him to change his mind.

"Oh, dear! Look at you, blushing! Of course, you'll be staying. And don't worry. We're modern people. You won't get a separate room," Karen winked at Leila, leaving her gaping open-mouthed.

"Thanks, mom! You're the best! Let's go, honey! To my bedroom!" Nate grinned again, taking clothes his mother brought in one hand and Leila's hand in another, leading the way.

All she could do was follow him, thinking he would pay for this.

And she hoped he would not try kissing her again. Or, God forbid, something else!