Playing Both Sides

Harrison strolled towards the office, his body relaxed and his mind the happiest its been in years.

It has been so long since he had a carefree day to himself and he had enjoyed it thoroughly. All thoughts of work and stress had melted away while he caught up on his romance dramas.

He peered up through the clear lenses of his glasses at the blue cloudless skies above him. Birds chirped in the cool morning air.

Nothing could dampen his day. He thought merrily as he whisked through the doors of Night Corp.

He smiled with joy as he approached the front desk.

Sara sat at the desk, her eyes puffy and red. She had thought she had escaped Madam Night's wrath the evening before, but she was wrong.

Sara had come back down in the elevator to an empty lobby. She was thrilled that she wouldn't be chewed out by Madam Night as she exited the elevators, only to feel a glacier chill to her left.

She had felt pure terror, as she slowly glanced to her left to find Madam Night waiting for her with folded arms and arctic cold eyes.

Madam Night had chewed her out up one side and down the other. When Sara had explained how she got food poisoning twice, Madam Night had prohibited her from eating out from now on.

Sara had felt years of her life sucked away from the beratement of the strong old woman.

Sara looked up from her puffy eyes at Harrison.

"Good morning Sara." He sang.

Sara sighed, jealous of his sunny disposition.

"Good morning Harrison." She handed him the documents she had prepared for Harrison last night, detailing the events of the day before.

Harrison took them, noting Sara looked a bit downtrodden. He liked the receptionist very much, they were close in age and he found her bubbly personality magnetic. He gave her a smile.

"You look a bit down this morning Sara. How about I treat you to lunch later? I heard there is a new restaurant down the street. " Harrison offered happily.

Sara paled as thoughts of her food poisoning and Madam Night's lecture came back into her head. Her mood decreased even further as she wasn't able to go out for lunch anymore. She picked up a meal replacement bar.

"I have lunch for today thanks." She replied pitifully, cursing her bad luck.

Harrison frowned.

He was rejected.

"Oh alright." He responded, feeling a bit dejected.

They were the same age, although his appearance had aged from the stress he had been under. Bits of his dark locks had turned gray from the years of hard work.

He was half a year younger than Silas, yet somehow he looked older than ever. He silently cursed his boss for his youthful appearance.

"I wonder if it's the gray hair." Harrison mumbled, vowing to pluck them all when he arrived home.

He quickly arrived at the top floor, bypassing his desk to enter his boss' office.

"Good morning Sir." Harrison bubbled, his happiness still powering him like a supercharged battery.

Silas glanced over at him. Harrison looked better today and recharged. All Harrison had needed was some time off Silas noted with approval.

The Adonis beckoned the short man over and handed him some documents.

"I need you to call Adelina and schedule a time to sign the contract. She's perfect for the position. I also need you to prepare the contract. Cancel my meeting for this afternoon, I'll be meeting with Vivian to discuss what we talked about before." Silas listed with apathy.

Harrison nodded.

He was surprised his boss wanted to tell Vivian about the contract already when he had yet to pick a candidate. Harrison made a mental note that he would need to finish the list of wife candidates by the end of today.

"Right away sir!" He gathered the documents quickly and exited the office.

He had already scoped out some possible women who would fit what Silas was looking for. He just wasn't sure if they would agree to a contract marriage, especially one where an heir was required.

Harrison quickly got to work on all of his tasks for the day.

Adelina hung the phone up in excitement. She had the appointment to sign her contract with Night Corp in the afternoon and she couldn't believe her luck.

"I got it!" She cheered to herself in triumph.

She quickly ran to search her closet for a suitable outfit.

She had to look her best today, she thought with her perfect white smile.

"Darling!" Vivian ran towards Silas with a bright smile.

Silas looked up from his computer and gave her a soft smile. It had been a long day so far and this conversation with Vivian was going to be difficult.

"Hello Vivian." He greeted, standing up from his desk.

"I was so happy to hear you wanted to see me. Although, you know how much I hate meeting at your office. We should have gone out to lunch." She huffed throwing her red hair over one shoulder.

"Oh or we could have gone back to that store. You promised me you would come with me last time." She pointed out with hurt eyes.

Silas sighed. "I actually needed to speak with you about something. Something private." He explained. Silas gestured for Vivian to take a seat on one of the leather couches.

Silas sat on the couch opposite of her. He hated himself for having to do this to her, but it was the only way.

Inside he was worried about her reaction, but he maintained his cool composure.

Vivian furrowed her brows. Why did he sound so serious.

"What's this all about darling?" Vivian inquired warily.

Silas sighed as he began.

"Vivian you know you are the only one for me." He started.

Vivian bit her cheek.

Why did this sound like a break up then?

She had a bad feeling about this.

"Yes darling. I know that and you are the only one for me. You were my first and last, as I am yours." The snake gushed with her poisonous smile.

Silas frowned and put a hand over his face.

She was smiling so happily, he felt like he was committing a crime by what he had to do to her.

"Vivian. I love you. Please understand where I am coming from." He uttered through clenched teeth. His hand fell from his face as his eyes gazed into her own.

"I need to get married." He spoke softly, searching her eyes for the hurt he knew he would find.

Vivian hesitated.

Was he asking her to marry him?

She was flattered of course. I mean why wouldn't he want to marry her? She was beautiful and a flower of society.

But she didn't want to marry him, she already had someone she was head over heels for.

The same man who had asked her to become close to Silas.

"What. I mean- Darling I would love to but-" Vivian stuttered, trying to find a middle path that wouldn't show her hidden intentions. "Don't you think it's too soon? I mean we're not prepared yet. Plus don't you think you should ask me in a more romantic way. Maybe with roses, a ring, and oooh a quartet." She laughed, the humor not reaching her eyes.

Silas stared at her with confusion. Realization set in and made him feel even guiltier.

"You misunderstood me Vivian. I will marry you one day and you will become Mrs. Night. But what I meant was that I must marry someone else." He explained, guilt tearing at him from inside.

Vivian paused.

She felt relief for a moment before it turned to anger.

"What?" She roared her green eyes turning poisonous. "What do you mean you are marrying someone else?" She hissed.

Silas dropped his eyes. He deserved her wrath.

"Explain yourself. You are tied to me. You vowed to take responsibility. Are you backing out now? How would your mother feel if she knew?" Vivian tore at the man.

Every word that came out of Vivian's mouth was a knife that lodged deeper into his heart. When she spoke of his mother his entire body went cold.

His mother and his promise.

How would his mother even look at him.

He closed his eyes as the will flashed in his mind. He didn't have a choice.

"I'm sorry Vivian. I have a reason and it is a contract marriage that is only temporary." Silas eventually responded.

Vivian felt injustice.

"I demand an explanation." She pressed.

Silas sighed. He decided he could trust Vivian with the truth.

"My grandfather's will." Silas stated coldly.

Vivian's rage drained and her eyes sparked with interest. This had been the information she was waiting for. The information her lover had wanted.

"His will? I thought it wouldn't be released until your next birthday?" She interrogated.

"Yes. I got a hold of it." Silas growled. "It requires certain conditions be met in order for me to fully inherit the company."

"What does that have to do with marriage?" Vivian pressured, trying to squeeze more information.

Silas gazed into her eyes. He knew this would hurt her more than anything and for the life of him, he didn't want to tell her.

He grimaced.

"I need to procure a legitimate heir within a time frame." He confessed.

Vivian looked puzzled for a moment before pieces began to fall into place.

For all he knew, Vivian was infertile and couldn't have children. Her eyebrows raised in shock at how cunning her accomplice was and she inwardly sneered.

So that was the reason.

She noticed Silas gazing at her in remorse and began to force false tears from her eyes.

"Ah I see. So I'm not good enough." Vivian sobbed.

Silas felt his heart squeeze at his girlfriend's heartbreak.

"Vivian, you know you're the only one for me. Don't cry please." He tried to coax her.

Vivian looked up with tear filled eyes.

"It will only be for awhile until my contract wife bears an heir. Then we will divorce, I'll assume full custody of the child and you will even become that child's mother." Silas exposed his full plan to the crying woman.

Vivian put a hand up to hide face. She curved her lips into a wicked grin.

She now knew his plan and he was a fool if he believed she would ever want to be that abomination's mother.

She was excited to tell her accomplice about all the things she learned today. She drooled at the thought of the reward she'd receive for her information.

She glanced back at Silas and could practically see the guilt eating him alive.

Her opportunistic tendencies flared.

She could play both sides. She dropped her grin as more tears fell from her eyes.

"How could you do this to me though. What happens to me while you're off with your new wife? Will I be forgotten?" She wailed.

Silas quickly shook his head.

"I could never forget you Vivian. You are my one and only. The girl I'm marrying is nothing but a desperate and empty vessel for my child. You will be it's mother and my true wife." He comforted her.

"However, I won't be able to see you as often while I am married. I need this marriage to seem legitimate which means our relationship will have to remain secret from everyone. Especially the contract wife. She must not know we are together. I don't want her to get custody of the child through the excuse of infidelity." Silas continued regretfully.

Vivian perked up at this. If she played her cards right, she could get his money and not have to spend time with him.

A win win scenario.

"So you are abandoning me? You can't even go out in public with me now? Infidelity? Have I become your mistress?" She spewed venemously.

"No. You are the future Mrs. Night. No one can replace you Vivian. Unfortunately I can't be seen with you, but we can always meet in private." Silas responded, almost reaching out his hand to console her.

"You even promised to bring me to the shop next time." She cried out in betrayal.

Silas sighed and reached in his pocket and took out a shining gold card.

"I can't come with you next time but I'll make sure that you have everything your heart desires." He stated while handing her the card.

Vivian cursed inside her head. She was hoping he'd give her his black card. The gold one had daily limits. She hesitantly took the card, drying her tears with her sleeve.

A thought occurred to her.

"Who is going to be your contract wife?" She asked, acting pitifully while pocketing the card.

Silas paused.

Vivian was already distraught, and if she found out who he had decided on, she may become even more upset.

His lips curved downwards. Adelina was the best option and after everything was finished, she wouldn't be able to even look at Vivian the wrong way. It was for the best he decided.

He would hide it for now.

"I'll tell you when it is the right time. I am signing the contract and this will be the last time we can meet openly like this." He responded, the finality in his words expressing he would not release that information.

Vivian frowned. She was hoping to get more information, but it looked like that was all she would get for now.

"Okay." She looked down towards the floor as she stood.

"I'm very tired today, so I'll take my leave now." She hiccupped in sadness.

Silas walked her to the elevators. She refused to look at him as the doors closed.

He ran a hand through his raven hair. He had finally told Vivian, but his heart felt anguish.

"She'll be okay." He reassured himself as he turned to walk back to his office.