Mia’s apartment light was surprisingly on when Savannah opened the door. It was almost four in the morning and Mia was awake, waiting for her.
"Finally!" Mia said, the moment she saw Savannah and walked to her. "I’ve been calling you for two hours. Why is your phone off? And why did you go alone? Why didn’t you wake me up?
"My phone died," Savannah replied, yawning.
"Your phone is always dead when you’re doing something stupid," Mia pulled her inside and shut the door. "Tell me everything. Why did Ansel Locke call you to his estate at midnight?"
Savannah sat on the couch and put the copy of the contract on the table.
"He agreed," Savannah said quietly.
"To what?"
"The marriage."
Mia, who had been talking constantly, fell silent instantly. It took her a few minutes to speak again.
"Okay," Mia said slowly, sitting beside Savannah. "But how? Because of the video you showed him?"
Savannah nodded and told her everything that had happened between Ansel and her. When she finished, Mia looked worried instead of being happy.
"Is this the contract?" Mia asked, pointing at the folder on the table.
Savannah nodded, confused. Mia got up and came back with a red pen.
"Mia..."
"Don’t disturb me right now. I’m working."
Mia opened the folder and began reading, moving the pen as she read.
"Separate rooms. Fine. Whatever," she circled the clause. "No personal claim on the Locke name or estate beyond the listed shares. Fine. He is rich and paranoid, I expected that."
Then suddenly her pen stopped.
"What in the name of every court in this city, is clause seven?"
Savannah didn’t have to look to know about that clause. She had read it three more times in the cab.
"’The second party shall offer a public apology for slapping the first party, at a venue of the first party’s choosing, before everyone..’" Mia read in a horrified voice. "He wants you to publicly grovel? What is this? Seventeenth century? Do we need to bow to him? Do we wash his feet first?"
Savannah laughed.
"It’s just an apology," Savannah replied. "I’ve survived worse."
"The fact that you consider this survivable is what worries me the most," Mia muttered, flipping another page. "Cold treatment in public till marriage. What does that even mean? He..."
She stopped suddenly.
"Savannah...." Mia’s voice dropped. "Did you read clause eleven?"
"Yes! It’s about the shares allocation, right? What about it?" she asked, curiously.
"No...it’s more than that," Mia said and handed her the contract. "Read it carefully."
The five percent share allocation shall be registered in the second party’s name upon execution of the marriage certificate and shall constitute second party’s sole and absolute property, irrevocable and non-conditioned upon the continued existence of the marriage.
"It means even if the marriage fails and even if you two divorce on the second day of your marriage... those shares are yours the moment the certificate registers. He can’t take them back." Mia said.
Savannah looked at her, at a loss of words.
"Savannah, every prenup I’ve ever seen protects the money from the spouse. But this one is the complete opposite."
Savannah read the clause again. Mia was right.
Why would he do this?
Mia leaned back and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"This man surely knows how to write a fair deal," she admitted. "I hate the apology clause. But the share structure, and the exit terms are clean. But again men like him write such contracts because they like winning clean. Not because they are kind."
"Absolutely," Savannah agreed. "There’s no way a man like Ansel could be kind to me."
Mia capped the pen and put the contract aside.
"Come on, let’s go to bed," Mia said. "You haven’t slept a second!"
"Goodnight," Savannah said and left for her room.
They went to the mall the next afternoon because Mia kept insisting. Because according to Mia, after everything they needed a day to relax. They had been planning constantly for days, and now when they had finally gotten what they wanted...they needed a day off.
They both were arguing about a scarf’s colour when they passed a bridal boutique. Savannah happened to turn around and saw Celeste standing on a pedestal, wearing an ivory wedding dress.
Her mother was standing beside her, her eyes stinging with tears.
"Savannah, look, that dress is..." Mia followed her gaze and stopped mid-sentence when she saw Celeste. "What the hell is she trying on a wedding dress for? Oh...I forgot, she still thinks she is getting married to Ansel."
She laughed.
"Sshh! Quiet," Savannah told her.
Mia turned her head and kept laughing. At that very moment, Celeste turned and saw Savannah through the glass. Her face lit up even more.
She lifted her hand and waved at her slowly as if she was a queen acknowledging her subject. Then she gave her a flying kiss and mouthed:
Thank you.
Savannah understood her message immediately. She was trying to say:
Thank you for leaving. Thank you for refusing Ansel so I could have him.
Savannah looked at the dress one more time and walked away with Mia.
Meanwhile, at Locke office building, Leo entered Ansel’s office looking worried.
"Sir...the second transfer cleared overnight. And the consulting line from the Quinn side has been reactivated. It was dormant for a year, and three days ago it activated again." Leo turned his tablet towards Ansel. "He is accelerating."
Ansel didn’t say anything. He just stood and walked towards the window, looking at the city below.
"Sir," Leo said carefully, "if he’s moving this fast, the deadline is the problem. If the marriage doesn’t happen..."
"It is happening. Very soon," Ansel cut him off.
In Mia’s apartment, Savannah was getting ready for bed when her phone rang.
Dad
She let it ring four times before answering.
"Savannah," Richard said, his voice surprisingly calm. "I hope you’re doing well."
"What an interesting question to ask after kicking me out," Savannah laughed.
"That was..." he paused, "an overreaction. Your mother and I have been thinking about this since you left. And we believe family is family. The Moore situation is behind us. Everything is about to change for our family, and during this time, we should be united. Come back home."
Home. The word didn’t matter to her anymore.
"Where was this family talk when I was being called gold digger by the entire city?" she asked. "Or when the law firm rescinded my job offer."
"That’s exactly why I’m calling, sweetheart," Richard replied, his tone softening. "You’ve had a rough time recently. You’re hurting, and are not thinking clearly about your future. Celeste misses you. Your mother misses you. This house..."
"Is this about Ansel Locke?"
Her father paused for a few seconds before speaking again.
"Victor wants our whole family at Madame Eleanor’s birthday banquet," he said. "It’s a big moment for us, Savannah. Especially for Celeste."
"And?" Savannah asked.
"And it could be a moment for you too. Take this chance to apologize to the Locke family and especially to Celeste for what you said, and how you’ve behaved. One apology, and everything goes back to how it was."
Savannah lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. In her last life, she had apologized for her family on her knees for things she hadn’t done, and it had bought her nothing but the next apology, and eventually death.
"You think an apology will be enough for the Lockes?" she asked.
"Yes," Richard replied, relief creeping into his voice. "Victor too thinks it’s a good idea. Ansel is very close to his grandmother. And if you apologize publicly at her birthday banquet...it will leave a good impression of our family on her."
"So you want to reach Ansel through his grandmother?"
Richard didn’t reply. He was too embarrassed to admit that. He couldn’t admit that his lucky daughter was unable to catch Ansel’s attention despite throwing herself at him and several fake PR articles.
Old Savannah should have felt angry. But this time she felt the cold satisfaction of a card turning over in her hand.
"I’ll do that, Dad," Savannah said. "After all, family is family."