Chapter 62.1

Chapter 62.1

[We only have to stay married for three years. Of course, if we get  divorced, we’ll also sign a prenuptial agreement with the condition that we won’t touch each other’s assets.]

As the waiter brought the bill and presented it, André handed over his credit card without even turning his head and urged her on.

[Continue. So, what do you get in exchange for marrying me for three years?]

Lorraine bit her lip and hesitated. Seeing this, André raised one corner of his mouth and provoked her.

[I hope it’s not me.]

Sure enough, she snorted in amusement.

[Don’t even worry about that. I have absolutely no interest in you.]

[Then why did you propose to someone you have no interest in?]

She swallowed hard, lowered her eyes slightly, and avoided his gaze. She chewed on her thin lips painted with red lipstick, took a deep breath, and then raised her head.

[There’s a man I’m seeing. A poor, unknown artist, for now.]

André knew that Lorraine worked as a gallerist at a modern art gallery in SoHo as a hobby. That’s where she must have met him.

[My parents say that if I marry a penniless artist with no background, it would bring disgrace to the Cabot and Collins families. It’s ridiculous. Am I living in the 19th century? What good are those aristocratic titles and family names in America, with the 21st century just around the corner? Do people of similar status have to marry each other to live without trouble? Ah, is that why both of them had affairs?]

Lorraine glared fiercely, her eyes glistening, and then gulped down her wine.

[It’s funny. Did they think I wouldn’t know? Honor, my ass. They’re desperately opposed because if I marry that man and then get divorced, they’ll have to divide the Collins family fortune with him. In the end, it’s all about money.]

[…So.]

[I’m going to become independent. But if I do that, they’ll cut off my funding first.]

Now he understood. It was something that happened often. In upper-class families, money was the most effective weapon for controlling children according to their parents’ wishes. It wasn’t easy to escape that elaborate web.

[So, there’s a trust fund I can receive if I get married.]

André raised an eyebrow, and Lorraine made an awkward face and excused herself.

[I know, it’s an anachronistic tradition. And it’s pathetic of me to try to rely on it. But the amount in that fund… it would allow me to become independent without relying on my family in the future.]

[But why three years? You could get divorced as soon as you receive the trust fund.]

André pointed out sharply, and Lorraine reluctantly blurted out.

[…I’m supposed to receive half upon marriage and the other half three years after the marriage. And with that much time, he can establish himself in the art world. I’ll make sure of it. He’s a really talented artist.]

What a display of great devotion.

André scoffed.

[But why me of all people? Why not just marry that man and receive the trust fund?]

Lorraine bit her lip with a bitter expression.

[My parents have openly threatened to ruin his career. And they are more than capable of doing so.]

People who collect art for hobby or investment, rather than just a few pieces to hang in their homes, were very few and limited even within the upper class.

The Collins family was so renowned as major patrons in the modern art world that they even had a hall named after them in the Museum of Modern Art. They had the power to bury a poor, unknown artist alive.

She looked at André and smiled faintly.

[Besides… you’re someone who has more to lose than I do. And you have no interest in me whatsoever. So I don’t think you’d try to get anything more out of me by holding the marriage hostage, or refuse to divorce me even after three years, or, in the worst-case scenario, try to do something to me. I don’t think you’d do any of those things.]

André also chuckled and retorted.

[Oh. Should I be honored?]

Then she shrugged.

[Isn’t marriage just a business to you anyway? Frankly, I don’t think you’re the type to passionately love someone and get married. But it just so happens that I need to get married, and you need the Collins family’s shares. It’s a clear give and take, the basics of a deal.]

He couldn’t agree with everything, but it wasn’t entirely wrong. Suddenly, a question arose.

[Does the man you’re seeing know about this plan?]

At André’s question, Lorraine showed raw emotion for the first time, glaring fiercely.