Chapter 3
1146 Words
Dara tried to shake off the depressive feeling all day. She busied herself with work. She thought of Mama Nena and the children.
'I don't know what's waiting for me but your future and the kids' will be bright and certain, Mama Nena!'
Dara visited the mall once or twice only because the branch of the bank there closed later as usual.
There were lots of families promenading around. Dara watched the smiling children with envy.
'That's the way all children should be! Playful and laughing!' Dara thought of her foster brothers and sisters. They would have a lot to smile about! They could play and be lighthearted, at last. Even Mama Nena would enjoy life and would be able to laugh more.
While Dara would be a prisoner of marriage to an old man...
She was still dazed while she walked to her bedsit.
Dara was startled when an elderly man approached her discretely.
"Miss Stone, I am Attorney Montes. May I talk to you in private?" the man said respectfully.
"A-attorney?" Dara repeated apprehensively. She stepped back uneasily.
"I'm the solicitor to the Ackers family, Miss Stone." Attorney Montes showed a business card bearing his name and company name. "You choose where we can talk in private. In the car or inside your room?"
Dara cringed on having a man inside her room. The space was like a closet!
"Um, wh-where's your car, sir?" she asked hesitantly.
"Okay," Attorney Montes nodded calmly. A limousine moved and stopped beside them silently. "Come inside, Miss Stone."
When they were seated inside the spacious car, Attorney Montes opened his briefcase. He placed a thick folder on the built-in table beside Dara.
"Please, read these papers. Ask me if you did not understand any part or term in the contract. Take your time," Attorney Montes instructed her.
Dara was tongue-tied. She looked at the folder with wide eyes.
"Have a snack." He opened a mini-refrigerator under the small table. He took a bottled water, a canned juice, and a ham sandwich. "Excuse me for a while. I'll be back within an hour." The elderly man got out of the limousine.
Dara followed him with her eyes until he got inside another car. She was left alone. She turned her head to make sure that the driver was in front of the wheel.
She locked the doors securely. While biting her under-lip, she opened the folder. It was a prenuptial contract. She read the first page curiously.
'I have no right to any properties of the Ackers family.' Dara understood in not so many words. 'I will receive this money every month. In case of termination of marriage, I will receive this much money!' She counted the zeroes disbelievingly.
'The children shall remain in the Ackers family!' Dara almost exclaimed aloud. "No, of course not!" she whispered to herself fiercely.
Dara realized what she said immediately. She slapped her forehead. 'I was being sucked up! What if there was no child?'
'Of course, the marriage would be ended at once!'
Dara scanned the rest of the contract while shaking her head. She understood perfectly. She did not have any questions!
The next legal paper was a gag order. Dara Stone should not discuss the marriage, the prenuptial contract, and the amount of monies to anybody. They were very clear.
In case she broke the agreement, she would lose everything. The house and the monthly allowance of Filomena Stone, the private schooling of the four children, namely: Nono, Bel, Lio, and Anita Stone, and the personal monthly allowance of Dara Stone-Ackers.
Dara should not utter 'Ackers' to anyone. Period.
'Dara Stone-Ackers...' She rolled the names in her tongue. They sounded strange.
'What did he see in her? She is ordinary. She dressed shabbily.'
Dara observed her reflection on the glass of the window. Her hairstyle was dreary. Her face was uninteresting. Her spectacles were old-fashioned.
She looked older than her age.
What did she have to complain about? Her whole family would be taken care of!
Dara loved Mama Nena very much. She would do everything for the older woman who nurtured her until she grew up.
There was a knock on the window. Dara opened the door hastily.
"I am ready to sign, Attorney Montes!" she blurted shakily.
"Good! Is there you'd like to ask me?"
"No. I understood everything about the prenuptial contract and the gag order."
"Is the settlement amount enough for you?" Attorney Montes asked in disbelief.
"It is more than enough!" Dara replied almost angrily. "Oh, there's something I don't agree about!"
"What?" Attorney Montes stared at her as though seeing a different individual.
"The children shall remain in my custody!" Dara felt fiercely protective.
Attorney Montes opened but no words came out.
"That is, if there were children..." Dara's face flamed with embarrassment.
The elderly man cleared his throat. "Of course, of course!" He out a pen beside the folder. "If you're ready to sign..."
Dara heaved a deep breath before picking up the pen. 'Mama Nena, this is for you!' With open eyes, she placed her signature on top of her printed name. 'This is for the house! This is for Nono! This is for Bel! This is for Lio! And this is for Anita!' She enumerated while she was signing the legal papers.
Dara threw out the pen afterwards. She was breathing hard as though she had been running fast.
"Have a drink of water, Miss Stone!" Attorney Montes unscrewed a bottle quickly and offered it to Dara.
She accepted wordlessly and drank thirstily. She could feel her heartbeat slowing down.
Attorney Montes had just finished signing and stamping on the papers.
"Well, Miss Stone, congratulations!" He offered his hand to her, which she accepted automatically. "You shall be Mrs. Dara Stone-Ackers or Dara Ackers tonight!"
"What? Tonight?"
The door of the limousine was opened after a brief knocking by a uniformed man.
"Sir, these are all her belongings," the man informed Attorney Montes.
"Are these your things, Miss Stone?" the elderly man asked her wonderingly.
"Yes! Where did you get them?" Dara took the worn but familiar yellow cloth sack immediately. She hugged it to her body.
"Your landlady handed it to us after I paid for your month's rent," was the calm answer.
"What? You got me out of my bedsit!" Dara was stunned.
"Closet, you mean," the attorney said quickly. "Don't worry, Miss Stone! You will be sleeping in a wide bed tonight!" With a flick of his fingers, the limousine started to move.
Dara looked through the tinted window. She could make out the meddling landlady staring out at the long and luxurious vehicle.
'Old Miss Stone got herself a wealthy lover!' Dara could almost hear the gossipy voice.
She was surprised when she felt only relief to leave the home she had for more than four years!
- Writer
