The Marriage Agreement

Chapter 36: Heartbreak warfare

Tine's POV

"You...you intentionally published our private pictures... from one of my worst nights.. from when I was depressed and vulnerable and blackout drunk... to marry me?" I stared at Sarawat in disbelief. Still hoping for him to correct me somehow.

But he-- he just stared at me. His silence was the answer.

"It was my mom's 50th birthday. She would have been 50 that day.. if she were alive.

And for the first time ever since she died, her birthday didn't make me feel lonely — because you were there. But turns out, you just followed me to that bar to manipulate me, didn't you?

"I didn't follow you to the bar to manipulate you. I came there to ask you out for dinner again.

You were obviously a bit pissed at me for some reason when your Father introduced us. So I wanted to, clear the air between us.

I had no idea there was a photographer following us until the next day."

"But you—you never asked." I looked at him confused. "You never asked me for dinner. You asked me to marry you."

"I—You needed to marry to get access to your inheritance and I wanted to help"

"But lying and blindsiding me?"

"I never lied to you Tine. I just wanted to help you."

I sat down on the sofa abruptly. Head spinning in circle. The life that I knew until this morning was crumbling down. Until this morning, I was making a list of things I wanted us to do together. Now, I wasn't sure there was even an us.

I opened my phone again and that damn article stared at me.

"This article was published 20 days after mom's birthday. Three weeks."

I already knew what it meant but saying it out loud was hurting my heart.

"Three weeks after you showed up at my apartment and asked me to marry you.

Three weeks after I told you I didn't want to marry you just to get my inheritance.

Three weeks after I had convinced my father to pay my apartment rent for the next 12 months so I could find some job to keep going without relying on him or anyone else.

I explicitly told you I wasn't interested in marrying anyone. Why did you force me to do something I didn't want to do?

Sarawat gulped. "I wanted to help you."

"YOU BLINSIDED ME AND MANIPULATED ME, WAT!

You pushed me in a corner until the only option left for me was to get married."

"Is it that bad? Being married to me?"

"You broke my trust. You broke my heart.

I—You were the only one I trusted with my everything, Wat — With my life, with my heart, with my soul."

"How did I break your trust?" Sarawat suddenly got closer to me and yelled. "I have been in fucking love with you since the day we met, Tine. I have never so much as looked at another soul before you. I have never even had the time to go on a date.

I used to work 16 hours a day, come back home as a zombie just to sleep, and then repeat the whole day again. And yet, here I am, getting home by fucking 6pm because all I could think I about the whole day was what I wanted to cook for you for dinner.

You—" His voice stuttered. "You are my life. You are my heart. I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted you to have everything you wished for.

So, when you told me you needed to marry someone to get your mother's inheritance, I wanted to help you get everything you wanted in life. I wanted you to build that law firm you had always dreamed of."