Contracted To Love

                                                            *****

The Smith Favre wedding was the event of the year. Sarah and Taggert, as well as Michelle and her husband, made it their business to invite all the bigwigs in the business world as well as a few celebrities that they’d befriended over the years. The 800-guest wedding—planned by the Three Wise Men, an events and public relations company run by the Mikhailov twins and their friend Samantha Simons— was a fairy tale in more ways than one. From Michelle’s custom long sleeved sheer mermaid wedding dress with silver embroidery that traced a curvy pattern to her lower back, to David’s Italian tailored suit. The whole wedding had a simple theme: angelic. That was the only way to describe the whole event. Everyone was required to be in white.

When David saw Michelle walking down the aisle, he was able to take in just how beautiful she was. And not just beautiful. Sexy. Gorgeous. It was hard not to see the s*x appeal oozing from her,and all the men in attendance agreed with him. Some women too. He hadn’t realized that he’d completely been swallowed up by the magic of her beauty. The spell was only broken when he said the words ‘I do’.

*****

“I cannot believe this place,” Vickie said excitedly on one Saturday afternoon. She’d come over to visit her best friend and even though she’d been to the house countless times before, her reaction was almost always the same. Pure marvel as she took in the scenery.

“Perhaps we should be outside sipping on some wine by the pool. Maybe some margaritas,” Vickie said and Michelle laughed, shaking her head.

“No, it looks like it’s about to rain. How about the spa?” Michelle asked.

“I always forget that you have a spa here… I mean, why do you even leave this place. I wouldn’t,” Vickie said excitedly.

“I have a job, you know,” Michelle pointed out and Vickie snapped her fingers.

“That’s another thing I don’t understand about you. You’re worth more zeroes than I could ever count and you still choose to work.”

Michelle laughed. Vickie had been saying the same thing for the longest time. Always wondering why she wasn’t like other rich kids who lived their lives in the fast lane on social media, and Michelle had always told her the same thing.

“The reason I’m here is because my parents worked hard. I would be failing Andrea if I didn’t work even harder.”

Michelle refilled their glasses and leaned back.

“I’ve missed this,” she said, smiling. “It’s been too long since we had some quality time together.”

Vickie nodded.

“I know, but then again, you’ve been a little busy bee over the last few weeks. I had to give you and the new husband some time alone.”

Michelle forced out a laugh.

“What? What’s that laugh about?” Vickie asked and Michelle emptied the contents of her glass into her mouth. “No way,” Vickie said as she looked at Michelle as she refilled her glass.

Vickie was the only other person, apart from the two families, who knew the specifics of David and Michelle’s arrangement. However, Vickie had always been convinced that everything would change with time. But that laugh, hat cynical laugh from Michelle told Vickie a different story.

“But you were in the tropical islands for two weeks.” Vickie shook her head. “What exactly did you do there for all those days?”

Michelle shrugged.

“Explored the islands, got hot stone massages and David even went snorkelling.”

“And you didn’t fu*k?” Vickie was obviously finding the whole thing hard to believe. “Did you at least wear a a two-piece swim suit?”

Michelle shrugged.

“This was all about opportunity. For him, for me. It’s working for us.”

Vickie was still not convinced.

“So, do you have some… some kind of arrangement to satisfy your needs? Because God knows everyone needs release every so often,” she said, and Michelle laughed.

“That’s the weird thing about David. He told me that his playboy days were over and that he would never do anything that would have me publicly disgraced, and that includes being caught with another woman,” she said proudly.

Vickie put her glass down and looked at her best friend in disbelief.

“So, none of you are getting a fix but you won’t get it from each other?” she shook her head. “This is fu*ked up.”

Michelle laughed.

“Where is he anyway?” Vickie asked.

“Las Vegas. Business.”

“You let him got to Sin City all alone?” Vickie rolled her eyes. “Michelle Smith, are you kidding me?”

“I’m not in any hurry with this marriage. I still have a lot to get over before I let any man degrade me as Jean did.”

Vickie took a long sip of her wine.

“I get it,” she said in a soft voice. “I mean, it’s still crazy as fu*k not to want to rip the clothes off that man. I mean, he’s gorgeous! But I get it nonetheless.”

Michelle laughed.

“Honestly, Vickie, there are days I wake up and wonder if I’m crazy for doing all this. But then I remember that it could get worse. It could be worse…. It was worse. This is different now. This is life on my terms.”

Vickie needed to be reminded of how terrible her situation had been at some point. She’d lived a hard life, a life that was almost like slavery with Jean. But now, this was a life better than anything she could ever imagine. With her influence and the backing of the Favre name, there was absolutely nothing that she wouldn’t dare try. She was unstoppable.

“So, why don’t we go to the spa already?” Vickie asked. “I’m going to make sure I make the best of my weekend here.”

“I’ll ask my housekeeper to get the room ready,” Michelle said before she stood up and walked out of the room.