The plane landed at O’Hare International Airport at dawn. Avery and I exchanged numbers and parted ways. I immediately recognized my mother at the arrival platform. Her blonde hair, heavy make up, black heels and red dress stood out amongst the crowd. My mother was the only one who would be all dressed up at seven in the morning. She approached me.

“Welcome back.”

“Thank you. Where is father?”

“He is on an overseas trip. He will be back in a month or two.”

I sighed. I should have seen it coming. My father was always at work. I could not even clearly remember how he looked like. My mother guided me to her car parked at the entrance. It seemed like it was brand new. I wondered if our home still looked the same.

As we drove through the city, I took the moment to take in my surroundings. High-rise buildings and skyscrapers covered the landscape. The place looked so different as compared to nine years ago. Everything looked much more developed. It was strange, coming back after so long. It did not feel like home. Sensing my discomfort, my mother looked over. “Don’t worry, you will get used to it soon enough,” she reassured. I sighed and looked down. The modified contract was still in my hands. It would take time, but I was determined to forget about everything that happened in the past two months. My heart ached a little. Slowly, I ripped the stack of paper in half and shoved it into the glove compartment.

My mother parked the car in the garage. I looked up. From outside, the house did not look too different. However, I was sure it had been repainted. My mother gestured for me to enter.

The place had definitely been renovated. It had a similar feel to Yoo Mi’s house. “Your room is still upstairs. You can take your time to unpack.”

My mother guided me to my room. For some reason, my room did not seem to fit it with the house. I thought it looked the same as how it was 9 years ago. It seemed that my mother had preserved the way my room looked ever since I left. It made me feel a little nostalgic. I guess my mother did love me in her own ways.

“We can go shopping for new furniture tomorrow, if you like it,” My mother came up to me. I smiled and nodded. At times, my mother was terrible, but at least I knew she cared about me a little.

“Hey, mother… Do you think I could hang out with a friend I met in Korea? She came to America as well.”

My mother scowled the moment I mentioned Korea. “Suit yourself,” she scoffed before leaving. I sighed. Some things never change.

Sehun’s POV

“So you decided not to find her.”

Chanyeol sat down beside me. I shrugged. It was midnight. Chloe Yoo was probably already on the plane back to America. “I have no more business with her,” I replied.

Chanyeol folded his arms. “You really are an idiot, you know.”

I shrugged again and stood up. “I’m going to bed,” I announced. The next day was going to be a busy day. I had several press conferences to take care of. Of course, it was about Chloe Yoo and the contract. As I entered my room, I noticed something on the table I had never noticed before.

It was a copy of the modified contract. I groaned. No matter how hard I tried not to think about Chloe Yoo, she just had to be somewhere, anywhere. I tore up the contract in anger and tossed it into the bin. I looked down and noticed that there was one part of the contract that was still legible.

5. Both parties are not allowed to love or fall in love with each other

I kicked the bin over and its contents spewed out. Perhaps, the conditions of the contract had already been broken since the start.

Chloe’s POV

I finished unpacking and headed down the stairs. My mother had already prepared breakfast. A delicious scent filled the air. My mother frowned. “You should get dressed. You look horrendous in those sweatpants,” she commented. I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway.

“Listen, young lady. I have arranged a date for us and the Spencer family to have dinner today. You have to dress up nicely. After all, we do not want to look bad in front of them,” my mother said the moment I settled down.

“The Spencer family?”

“Elton, don’t you remember?” I choked. Elton was the man I met at the café in Korea. What exactly did my mother see in him?

“You never change, do you? I know you only want me to marry him for his money,” I snapped. “I will not tolerate misconduct from you! It was already bad enough when you had pretended to date that superstar!” My mother fired back. I could not think of a comeback. My mother was right. I had already upset her so many times, I should listen to her. After all, the things she did were probably for me to enjoy the luxury she loved so much as well. I nodded in defeat.

Sehun’s POV

I was exhausted. I had already went through three press conferences in a day. How much information did these nosy men equipped with notepads and cameras want? I had had enough thinking about Chloe Yoo. Talking about her made it worse. It made me sick.

“Just endure this for a little while longer. We can get back to your promotions again then,” Lee Won pleaded. I grumbled. There was one more press conference to attend. However, this was my responsibility. The other members were under fire because of me. I had to do my best to explain myself and restore the reputation of both my group and my company. I had no time to think about Chloe Yoo.

Chloe’s POV

We were having dinner with Elton’s family. My mother had dressed me up and I did not like it one bit. I could have felt better if it was Yoo Mi who did my make up. My mother had obviously overdone things. I had to remember she was no longer here. I sighed deeply.

“Is something wrong, Miss Yoo?” Elton’s mother asked. I looked up in surprise. I quickly plastered a smile on my face. “No, I am okay. Thank you for your concern.” I had already been used to pretending since I signed the contract, so faking a smile was not a problem for me. I mentally slapped myself. I was thinking about the contract again. I had to stop myself. This was not helping me at all.

“Now that we have finished our meal, would you like the young ones to spend some time and get to know each other better?” My mother asked. I choked. Alone time with Elton sounded like a terrible idea. On the other hand, it seemed to be a different case for Elton himself. “Actually, I would love to know your daughter better,” Elton smiled. This was bad. His parents agreed as well. They all turned to look at me. I did not have any choice. “I would love to,” I said as enthusiastically as possible. A smug smile flashed across Elton’s face. My mother looked pleased at my reaction. “All right. The two of you can take a walk in the garden just outside.” I groaned silently and stood up. Elton did the same and we made our way outside.

As soon as we were outside and the door was shut, Elton’s smug smile was back. He placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me through the garden. I flinched.

“So, I guess your relationship did not work out so well,” he smirked.

“I am afraid not.”

“How did you even agree to sign a contract like that?”

“It is none of your concern.”

“Of course it is my concern. We are getting married when you turn twenty-one, after all. Or are you going to disobey your mother? She seemed pleased just now.”

I had nothing to say. He was right. I had to marry him, if that was what it takes to make my mother happy. Elton stopped in his tracks. “Anyway, did you know? My parents have already ordered the engagement ring. The party will be held in a month.”

I looked up, shocked. “Does my mother know about this?”

Elton shook his head. I was speechless. What could you say if you just learnt that you were getting engaged in four weeks? Elton had the same smug smile on his face. “Maybe we should start calling each other by pet names. What do you think, honey?”

It has only been a day since I moved to America. Things were definitely happening too fast. The past few days had been a blur. However, I remembered vividly that I was the one who made the decision to move to America. I had to be held responsible for my own decisions. This was also for my mother. I had already disappointed her. The least I could do for her was to agree to this marriage.

“Okay, honey.”