Hans was up earlier than usual the next day. When Vernice woke up, breakfast was already prepared.
She went straight to the bathroom to wash up before coming down to the living room. Opening her bag on the couch, she took out the documents she signed for Tristan De Clarion.
“Babe, do you want to look at these?” she asked, placing the documents on the coffee table.
Hans poked his head from the kitchen and creased his forehead, “What are those?”
Vernice shrugged, plopping down on the couch. “It’s a copy of our prenuptial and divorce agreement,” she said as she presented the documents to her boyfriend, one by one.
“Let’s talk about that later, eat breakfast first,” Hans told her. She lazily pushed herself off the couch and went straight to the kitchen. “Dress up after eating, we need to buy some groceries. My parents are coming over for lunch,” he added.
After they were done with breakfast, both of them hurried to take a bath and get dressed. They drove to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping for what they needed to cook for lunch.
Hans and Vernice went straight to the parking lot after paying for everything and headed straight home. He started cooking while she helped with the preparations, as soon as they arrived.
Vernice couldn’t do anything related to the kitchen. Actually, she can’t do anything related to household chores. She was not used to it. She has never done it.
An hour before noon, Hans’ parents arrived. “We missed you son,” Lily, Hans’ mother, hugged him as soon as he opened the door for them.
“How is your company?” Oscar, Hans’ father, asked as he sat down on the couch.
Hans happily filled his father in on the details about their company. Seeing how Vernice is listening attentively, he never forgets to mention that the company belongs to them, it was not just his.
“Let’s talk about this over lunch,” Vernice suggested, as she interrupted the conversation between father and son. Oscar smiled at her and nodded. She then pulled his wife up to head for the dining room.
Lily, however, stopped on her track. She looked closely at the documents on the table and her eyes widened in shock. “She’s married?” Lily asked no one specifically.
Vernice and Hans looked at each other, their foreheads were creased. Following his mother’s line of sight, Hans froze for a few seconds.
He lovingly reached out for his mother’s hand and pulled her towards the dining room. “We’ll discuss that with you later,” he told her sweetly.
Lily followed her son and sat at the dining table, her expression was sour. She can’t stop thinking about the documents she just saw.
She also kept stealing glances at her husband, as if waiting and urging him to say something. When she noticed her husband couldn’t be bothered, Lily just started eating.
While at the table, Hans’ mother couldn’t help but look at Vernice. ‘What is she playing at? She’s already married but she’s still hung up on my son?’ She can’t help but think to herself.
In all honesty, she never liked Vernice. She sees her as a good-for-nothing, capricious woman. She was only nice to her because Hans liked her.
When everyone was done eating, they all went back to the living room. Vernice, on the other hand, was asked by Hans to prepare coffee for them.
While the woman was still in the kitchen, Lily took the opportunity to bring up the issue with the documents. She can’t stop herself anymore from asking.
“What are those? Is she married?” she asked straight out, already looking grumpy.
Hans showed the files to her. “She’s going to marry the young De Clarion,” he told her in all honesty. “But they’re set to divorce after a year or two.”
Lily and Oscar’s jaws fell open. They can’t believe what their son just said. They were in disbelief at how he was so calm about it, like he did not care at all.
Oscar shook his head and Lily let out a harsh sigh. The room suddenly fell quiet. A few seconds later, Vernice came in with cups of coffee on a tray.
“Vernice, what is going on?” Lily asked the woman as soon as she sat down next to Hans.
Vernice glanced at Hans as if asking if she should say anything. As she didn’t get any reaction from him, she let out a sigh, clasping her hands between her legs.
She then tells Lily and Oscar everything about the arranged marriage and their plans for the company. She emphasized the fact that Hans is fine with it and that it’s all for a show.
“Why do you have to get married?” Lily asked, still in disbelief. “You can just ask your father for help. From what I heard, his company is the second biggest in Bree and he also has one in Dale. So money shouldn’t be an issue here if an investment is all you need!”
Oscar let out a sigh. He reached out for his wife’s hand to try and calm her down. “Your mother’s right, Hans. Don’t be too greedy. You can take things slow instead of getting into this kind of setup. Since you’re new to the business, take it one step at a time.”
The couple tried to reason out with Vernice and Hans, but it was as if their pleas fell on deaf ears. They tried to convince them not to go through with their plans, but the couple ignored them.
As Lily ran out of patience, she sneered at Vernice. “If you continue with this marriage, then break up with my son! I didn’t bring him up like this just so he’ll end up with a divorcee!”
Vernice stiffened in her seat and tears started welling in her eyes. “Mrs. Stoke, please, I can’t do that. I can’t break up with Hans,” she pleaded.
Lily cleared her throat before looking straight into Vernice’s eyes. She wanted to be clear about what she was going to say and she wanted the woman in front of her to get the message.
“Marriage and divorce will forever be part of your life. Even if it’s just for a show, the record of marriage and divorce can’t be erased. If you want to stay with my son, don’t marry Tristan De Clarion. If you insist, then make sure to break up with Hans. It’s your choice! Let’s go, Oscar!”
Lily stood up to leave and Oscar immediately followed his wife out. Vernice, on the other hand, started bawling as soon as the couple left.
“What should I do?” he asked Hans, but she didn’t get an answer.
Vernice forced herself to calm down. When her tears stopped flowing, she went up to her room to call Esme.
As soon as she heard her mother’s voice, she started crying over again. She told Esme everything that happened, everything Lily told her and the choices she was given.
“What are you crying for?” Esme asked. “If she doesn’t want you to have a record of your marriage, much more of the divorce, then I can take care of that!”
Vernice’s forehead wrinkled. Although she couldn’t see her mother right now, she could tell that she was wearing a determined look on her face. “What are you going to do?”
“Leave that to me!” Esme simply told her. After ending the call with her daughter, the vicious woman dialed another number.
“Meet me at the café next to the mall in an hour!”