The Marriage Contract by Tara Ahmed Read Free Book Online

receptionist. She seemed a bit taken aback by his hostile stare, but continued to smile artificially at him nonetheless.
                  “We need Valencio,” Richard barked.
                  “Please,” I said, giving her an apologetic smile.
                  Richard shot me a stare, and for a moment, I thought I’d caught a smile. But I must have been seeing things, because someone as cold hearted as him, had probably never smiled in his life.
                  “Just one moment,” she said.
                  I crossed my hands over my chest, staring around the elusive salon, as she called Valencio through the phone.
                  “He’ll be right over,” she informed. “Please, have a seat—“
                  “Darling, my darling! I’ve been waiting for you.”
                  A tall, thin man, dressed in vibrant pastel colors, walked towards us, smiling widely at Richard. His deep black locks rested in a shoulder length pony tail over his back, as he swayed like a fashion model, his apricot skin glowing against the ceiling lights.
                  I glanced at Richard, and to my surprise, he smiled, but not at me. He smiled at Valencio, who stood before him, placing a light peck on his cheek.
                  My brows rose, and in that moment, all of Richard’s moodiness began to make sense. Since I’d met him about half an hour or so ago, he hadn’t smiled once. In fact, he looked like he hated life, and everyone in it. There was such anger in his rich brown eyes, as if all the happiness in the world had been stolen away from him.
                  As I looked from Valencio to Richard, my heart clenched. There I was, calling Richard all sorts of bad names and thinking so terribly of him, when in reality, he was just a heartbroken guy, unable to be with Valencio, his secret boyfriend.
                  I gave Richard a small smile, but he only stared back, his deep eyes set in confusion.
                  Time must have stilled, for when Richard and Valencio looked at each other, I knew the pain they must have been going through by hiding their love from the world.
                  “Stop staring at me like that,” Richard snapped, breaking me out of my trance. “Valencio, I’d like you to meet Dorothy Web. I’m sure James has told you what to do—“
                  Valencio’s large green eyes met mine, his pink lips pursed together.
                  “Leave it to me, darling,” he told Richard.
                  “Um…hi,” I said, sounding lame.
                  “Follow me, little girl,” Valencio ordered, turning and walking towards the nearest chair.
                  I gave Richard a sad smile, to which he glared in response. I shook my head, turning and walking towards the black chair. Valencio walked to the dresser mirror, as I sat on the chair, my shoulders slumped.
                  I turned my head towards Richard, who had taken a seat against the wall, and was eyeing me curiously.
                  I sighed, my heart pulsing, as I kept thinking about Richard’s heart breaking love story. Though I didn’t know the details of their love, I did believe that the reason he was so angry all the time, was because his family wouldn’t accept his true nature.
                  Poor guy.
                  Valencio’s long slender hands held either side of my head, facing me forward.
                  “Don’t look sideways, dear,” he scolded. “Just look at your adorable self in the mirror. Alright?”
                  I nodded, my cheeks heating.
                  When he was done curling my orange locks, placing them over my shoulders, I was more than a little surprised. For the first time, I