“Miss Isvara, our three-year contract-marriage arrangement ends today.”
Ezra said it calmly. His face remained as cold as ever. Then he set a cup of tea in front of Isvara, his expression as impassive as usual.
Isvara, meanwhile, was also trying to appear calm, even though her eyes could barely hold back her tears. Still, she did her best not to cry in front of the man who was still her husband.
In a matter of minutes, she would be divorced. And it hurt Isvara terribly.
‘So he prepared everything long ago so that, on this date, he could be done with me?’ Isvara could only ask herself.
“This is compensation from me to you.” Ezra slid an ATM card toward Isvara.
“I’ve also bought an office building suited to your field. One luxury house and two apartments. Three cars and a plot of vacant land.”
“All of that will be enough for you to live on. And I’ll make sure your family won’t face any difficulties in the future.”
Every word Ezra said sank clearly into Isvara’s mind. For some reason, her chest felt unbearably tight as she held back the pain.
‘So he thinks these three years were nothing but a joke? A mutually beneficial agreement. And I look like some woman who only cares about money?’ Isvara asked herself.
The sorrow in Isvara’s eyes was unmistakable. But she had to say something to calm the turmoil in her chest.
“Thank you for everything, Mr. Ezra. Our marriage was only a mutually beneficial agreement in which we used each other.”
“I don’t think I need to owe you anything over this matter, so you don’t need to give me anything. I was only doing my part according to our agreement.”
“Please take all those assets back. Even if you force me, I won’t accept them.”
Isvara lowered her face as she spoke her final sentence. She was also avoiding Ezra’s intense gaze.
Ezra was slightly shocked by Isvara’s rejection. He had prepared everything, yet the woman in front of him had flatly refused it all.
Ezra was still thinking about her refusal. His gaze remained fixed on the woman sitting before him with her head bowed. But then, his assistant arrived.
“Sir, it’s getting late. If you don’t leave for the courthouse soon, the divorce will be delayed.”
Ezra immediately clenched his own hand when he heard the words from his assistant. Isvara also raised her eyes at once and looked at the handsome face before her. A few seconds later, she tightly gripped her own wrist.
They were both feeling something strange. Their hearts pounded hard. Neither of them truly wanted to let go. But their egos had too much control, so Ezra ultimately agreed to the divorce he had arranged himself.
“All right. Let’s go!”
The handsome man stood and followed his assistant. But he realized that Isvara was still sitting there in silence. So he called the name of the woman who would soon become his ex-wife.
“Isvara...”
“Yes?” she replied, startled. Isvara drew a deep breath. Then she followed the broad-shouldered man.
As she followed Ezra, Isvara’s mind drifted back three years.
Three years earlier, a grandfather who loved his grandson dearly had wanted to see his beloved grandson get married before he passed away.
So Ezra’s family searched for a bride to marry into their wealthy family as soon as possible. In the end, they chose Isvara Dayana Kumara. This intelligent and talented young woman met all the criteria for Ezra’s bride.
Besides making his grandfather happy, Isvara would also serve as a means of ensuring prosperity for both companies. So Yudistira agreed to let his daughter marry Ezra Davendra.
Throughout those three years, Ezra had treated her well and fulfilled his duties as a husband—except for touching her or having a physical relationship with her. He had never demanded his marital rights because he knew their marriage was only an agreement on paper.
Isvara still remembered clearly how she had first arrived at Ezra’s house as the young Mrs. Davendra. The handsome man had prepared everything she needed perfectly.
“Thank you, Mr. Ezra!” That was all she had been able to say.
There was a thick layer of awkwardness between them, and Ezra wanted to ease it little by little. He knew that three years was no short amount of time.
“We’re married. For the next three years, we’ll always be together. So from this moment on, you can just call me Ezra!”
Isvara was still shy and awkward. She only nodded slowly in response.
Ezra led Isvara to a bedroom and showed his wife all the belongings and expensive clothes inside.
“All of this is yours. You can use whatever you like. If there’s anything you don’t like, I’ll buy you something else.”
Again and again, Isvara only nodded slowly as she glanced at her husband. Ezra held out a black ATM card.
“This card has no limit. Use it to buy whatever you need. I often work without keeping track of the time. You can take it and use it whenever you want!”
Isvara immediately shook her head. She gently refused the ATM card.
“You’ve already done so much for me and my family. You should keep the card. I don’t need anything else.”
Ezra placed the black ATM card on the table. Then he stared intently at Isvara.
“Starting today, you’re my legal wife. Everything here, and everything I own, is yours. Even if this marriage is only a contract, I’ll still fulfill my duties as a husband.”
“Starting tonight, I’ll sleep in the room next door. I sleep from eleven at night until five in the morning. Outside those hours, you can talk to me or look for me whenever you want.”
After saying that, Ezra left Isvara’s room and went to his own. The woman watched her husband’s back as he moved farther away and disappeared behind the wall separating her room from Ezra’s.
“Can I let myself hope that this marriage will last forever?”
Isvara lowered her face, her shoulders sagging beneath the burden of the life she had carried alone. Ever since her biological mother died, she had never truly felt safe.
Today, she had finally begun to feel a sense of safety and comfort in Ezra’s house. But the time limit was only three years. And whether she wanted to or not, Isvara would have to find somewhere else to call home.
The woman closed her bedroom door. Then she explored the room where she would be staying. Everything she could need was already there, and all of it was expensive. Isvara still couldn’t believe that she was now entering into a business arrangement with Ezra.
“If I could choose, I wouldn’t want to be involved in this contract marriage. But my whole life, I’ve had no choice.”
Isvara opened the closet, looking for a change of clothes to put on. But when she opened the closet door, something inside made her heart race even faster.
“What is this?” Isvara picked up the object and looked at it.