Yes, It's Another Cliché Love Story

Thirty

Lee Young's POV:

The contract stated that I had five years to work in my father’s company after getting married. I was also supposed to produced an heir only then would I be released from the contract when the term ended. It also stated that I was not to do anything to jeopardize the marriage or else the business agreement between the two companies would also be jeopardized.

There was also a clause stating that would the two men or anyone associated with them do anything to provoke party A or B, I assumed that was me and the lady I was to marry, the marriage contract would be null but the business agreement would still stand.

What kind of father did that to his own child? Okay, I knew a few but still, I wished he’d completely disowned me and left me to live my life as I wanted.

I wanted to crumple the piece of paper and tell him shove it up his nose but I couldn’t. What if he made good his threat and got Joey arrested? The consequences would be devastating for him, the arrest would have him lose his job, then his family would know that he was gay and then what? And the kids? They would lose their father. Joey would hate me for ruining his life.

I signed the contract and figured I could explain it to him when I went back to him. It didn’t matter if he would have moved on but I would make it my goal to go back to him and the kids. Since I was supposed to cut communication with him, I asked for a little more time before cutting him off.

“You have until you get married,”

I was relieved when he died. I couldn’t shed a tear no matter how hard I tried. I had so much resentment towards him. Joey’s mom did call and asked if she could fly out to see me but I told her not to.

I got married immediately after the funeral which was weird to those who didn’t know about the contract.

My ‘wife’ wasn’t a bad person, she too had been forced into the marriage contract when all she wanted was to run her own business. She had confided in me that she never wanted to get married or have kids. Her baby was the company she owned. She too had been blackmailed into the marriage.

Kang Yu Ri handled the business part of the company and I handled the tech part of it and when we could, we tried to produce an heir. Being gay didn’t let me get aroused in her presence.

When she finally got pregnant, I asked if I could name the child. I was going to name my son Joseph and if I had a daughter, she’d be Lisa, the two people that changed my life for the better.

Kang Yu Ri’s father died two and a half years into the marriage and we decided to end the contract. She had no interest in her father’s business but since she was a major shareholder, we got a professional to handle the business part of it while my brother  took over the tech part of it.

I got full custody of Lisa because her mother would have been too busy to look after her and I took the first flight back to Joey after everything was finalized.

As soon as she saw me, Lisa hugged me crying. Not even my mother had ever been so happy to see me. I told her what happened and although she understood and sympathized, she was upset that I couldn’t confide in her.

“If you had told me, I would have brought you back myself. Your father might have acted but I would have protected both of you,”

“I wanted to protect Joey at all cost,”

“I understand but you’ll have a very hard time getting through to Joey. He’s very upset…mmnh…that’s the wrong word. He’s furious with you for ghosting him but it’s more like he’s mad at himself for still missing you,”

“He still misses me?”

“More than he’d care to admit. What you two had isn’t something you could just walk away from and he knows it. That’s why he can’t bring himself to commit to anyone. But, I was forbidden to utter your name in his presence,”

“He’s that furious? Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

“He forgave you, he’s just too stubborn to admit that,”

“Are you leaving us again?” was the first thing JJ asked still hugging me.

“No baby boy, we are here to stay,”

“She’s so cute, she’s like a doll,” Liza said playing with Lisa, “I’ve always wanted a baby sister,” she said picking her up and rocking her.

“Me too, it get’s exhausting being the little one,” JJ said taking baby Lisa’s hand.

“Did Joey tell the kids about us?” I asked Lisa when we were alone again.

“No, why do you ask?”

“It just stuck with me that they referred to Lisa as their sister and not like a cousin or something,” I said feeling slightly embarrassed for letting such a small gesture take control of my mind.

“They might be kids but they are not stupid or blind. They lived with us as you two called each other ‘babe’, ‘my love’ and the other love-sick names,”

“But we never did it infront of them,”

“Like you would have noticed,” she scoffed, “You two were so deeply gone that you couldn’t hide your feelings, still can’t,” I was smiling thinking back on it and that I was going to see him again.

Joey’s reaction when he saw me was expected but it didn’t hurt less. A part of me had hoped that he’d pull me to him and hug me like he didn’t want to ever let go but that didn’t happen. Then I found out that he had a fuck-buddy, again, expected but it didn’t hurt less. My only consolation was that he was single and that had me hopeful.

Joey often spoke his thoughts out loud when he was overwhelmed by his emotions. It didn’t matter which emotions he was going through and I found it cute because I got a glimpse of his mind.

He must have been very overwhelmed when we had sex the first time since my return because he told me how much he’d missed me and how much he still loved me and I believed him.