The Secret Marriage

Chapter 2: Meet Kevin, the lawyer

Exclusive gossip! We have insider info that the late Charles Sage donated ALL of his assets to an orphanage leaving his only daughter, Lana Sage with nothing! Oh, poor little princess, how will she survive without her father’s backing? Is the end of Sage’s legacy?’ 

-       Gogogossip News

 Nothing like a cup of warm coffee for Lana to bullshit her way through a report that was due tonight. She doubted that she will use 2,000 words that featured on the ways consumers behave during shopping. She did not even ponder too much when she shopped.

What is there to ponder much about? If it’s cute, buy. If it’s on sale, all the more you should buy it!

Speaking of shopping, she was in dire need to go for retail therapy. It had been a while since she stepped on her holy grail – the mall. However, shopping was not part of her usual routine anymore. Her bank balance was thinning out because she was no longer receiving her monthly allowances. Plus, she had received a notification to vacate her apartment in 10 days. 

The thought of it made Lana’s head dizzy. On top of all the problems she was facing, the viral fake news made it worse. The "insider info" was not credible at all. Instead, they got it all wrong. The inheritance that belonged to Lana was still on hold until they could come to a mutual agreement.

A part of Lana was happy that Cameron caused the problem in these alliances. It gave her time to think about the situation thoroughly. Also, she was not ready to give up her relationship with Kevin. The thought of that man clouded her judgment.

Money is the least of her worries, or so she thought. She wouldn't want to throw her youth away and marry a stranger that she barely knew. Besides, she had been in a relationship with Kevin for a year now.

They met when she was a freshman in college. He wasn’t the typical bad boy that she was usually attracted to. A studious and hard-working man, Kevin was always ahead of his peers. Lana loved all the qualities that he had, and she was mainly drawn to his ambition - to be one of the best lawyers the city had to offer. She also liked how Kevin was within her eye level. She found it easier to have a conversation or stealing a kiss or two when he started to ramble about the law.

“That’s it!” Lana assured herself that she could live without the money. Happy with her current personal life and boyfriend, she believed that the decision she made was a good one. If not, she will have Kevin to lean on.

What is the use of having a high-profile lawyer as a boyfriend?

(Six months later)

It was Friday evening and Kevin had invited Lana over for dinner. She was cooking over at his place and she decided to cook Kevin’s favorite dish - Meatball Bolognese. It had been a while since she made homecooked food. The thought of digging into the meal made her salivate.

“Thanks for cooking babe. How’s work?” Kevin was in a good mood. Now that Lana had started her internship, he only got to see her once a week. It had been a while since he could look into her deep blue eyes while penetrating her loins.

They met when Lana was a freshman and he was in his final year of college. She was his sister’s friend that drifted apart when they started dating. At first, he was drawn to her for her status. Coming from a small suburb, connections were very important in order to succeed. No one wanted to know Kevin Farmers, but everyone wanted to know Lana Sage’s boyfriend. Although she was out of his league, he was determined to get her to notice him. When Charles Sage passed away, Lana was broken, and he used that opportunity to be someone she needed.

    Kevin turned serious when Lana did not smile back. Her face was rigid, and she was fondling her fingers. As a lawyer, he was sort of an expert at reading body language.  He knew Lana had something on her mind, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Either way, he knew that it was something serious. He didn't say anything. Instead, he waited until Lana was ready to talk about it.

    “I can’t afford to pay the rent for my studio for long. The salary I’m earning is not able to cover my expenses.”  Lana had no one else to turn to other than her boyfriend of almost two years. He was her place of solace. He was her source of emotional support. She was hoping that he would be her knight in shining armor again.

Her internship was harder than she thought. She imagined her life as an intern would be glamorous, like in those chick flick movies where a secretary became an editor, or a ditzy girl became a good lawyer. Unfortunately, she had been doing coffee runs, printing a thousand sheets of paper per day, ruining a perfect nail day by filing papers in alphabetical order and other mundane tasks.

Being the heir of Lance Properties meant always getting the special treatment, however, in this cut-throat world, she was ignored and ordered around. To top it all off, the pay wasn’t even ten percent of the allowance that she used to receive. She had to cut down on her expenses including meals, to sustain herself for the month.

“How about the money that you’ve been getting from an advertiser?” asked Kevin. He groaned internally, he already helped her previously on her rental house deposit. He thought it was the least he could do after making use of her status.

“They are backing out. I’m losing followers. It all started when that stupid fake news that Gogo Gossip wrote went online,” scowled Lana. “Furthermore, I’m too busy to update my social media with all these lousy errands to do!”

    “What do you mean by fake news?” It caught Kevin’s attention that maybe his girlfriend was still a billionaire heiress after all. He had been thinking of breaking up with her now that she was no longer needed to boost his fame. As the days went by, Lana seemed to be becoming extra baggage to his hectic life.

“Hope Orphanage didn’t get all of Charles’s money. I’m still in line for the inheritance.”

“Then, why are you asking me for help? With the amount of money, you will be getting, I should be the one receiving money from you,” chuckled Kevin. He was glad that he gave in to his guilty conscience and helped Lana when she needed the money.

“It’s... complicated.” 

Lana did not have any intention of confiding in Kevin about the contract. As much as she loved him, she remembered that Cameron wanted it to be kept a secret. Besides, she did not want to break up with Kevin for the sake of the marriage. 

“My money is draining like crazy! Who knows a lawyer could be so expensive?”

“You hired another lawyer? I can’t believe you! How could I not be informed of this? If it’s anyone could win a case, it’s me. I’m the best lawyer the state could offer!”

“Don’t be mad! It’s a personal matter that I need to settle by myself. Please, trust me. Everything will be okay soon. I will get the money and things will get back to normal.”

Kevin cooled down the instant he heard the word money. Nothing calmed him down more than the green notes. However, he could not help but be curious about the secrets that Lana had been hiding. He made a mental note to dig deeper.

“Okay, I’m sorry babe. But should you need someone capable to take over, you know that I will always be around.”

“Thank you, Kev. So, will you help me one more time?”

“Sure, how much do you need this time?” Kevin took out a cash cheque from his drawer. The money that he had spent on Lana was considered as an investment for his future. He wrote a five-digit cheque and tore it before giving it to Lana.

“I don’t want this,” refused Lana.

“Not enough? Let me write you another cheque.”

    “No, I want to move in with you,” declared Lana. She had been thinking long and hard about it. Moving in with Kevin was the best option. She couldn't keep asking for Kevin’s money. Her remaining savings and rental deposit could instead be used to pay the lawyer’s fees until she won the case.

Kevin took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He then said, “It’s not the time for us to move in together yet. We are moving too fast.” He did not see this coming. As much as he loved money, he was not ready to make such big changes to his life. Kevin thought about how to thread this carefully. He no longer wanted to be "the boyfriend that tamed the bad girl" as per the news headlines. "Moving in together is a big commitment. I’d rather that you take the money,” he continued.

“I'm not asking you to marry me, Kev. Just for six months and we won’t have to stay together after that. Think of me as a roommate and not your girlfriend who is moving in with you. Please!” Lana pleaded. It wasn’t the answer that she was expecting. She thought that Kevin would accept her with open arms.

“That’s how it goes. You will move in here. You will get comfortable, then one thing leads to another and then BAMMMM! Here comes the topic of marriage. I’m not ready for that yet!” Kevin said, feeling frustrated. It was the first time in their relationship he had raised his voice to that level. He usually managed to cool down almost instantly whenever they got into an argument. He then glanced at the empty dishes on the table.

“So, is this the reason why you cooked for me today? You expect me to say yes after you have gone through the trouble of cooking, isn't it?” he continued in an accusing tone.

Kevin felt less guilty when he thought that Lana used others too. That’s how Kevin thought of society; people always have motives for being with each other, be it big or small, humans use others to benefit themselves. He stood up, took Lana’s bag and coat.

"Please leave. I need to be alone right now,” he said before ushering her to the door.

“Kev, please!” Lana pleaded. Shocked by Kevin’s hostility, her vision was blurred by her tears.

“I’m sorry. Let me think this through.” He just wanted her to disappear from his vision. The thought of having a lustful evening died down.