Chapter 12: Chapter 12

"DO you really think we can find him here?" Marcus asked me as we stepped out of his car.

We were at the parking lot of Tribe Lounge, the bar where I met Adam. I already went to his apartment yesterday, but he wasn't there. The landlord told me it's been a month since he last saw Adam. Then I remembered he told me that he likes traveling.

Damn. I needed to find him and present him to my parents this weekend. That's what I had promised to my mother.

"Are you pregnant, Claire?"

I shut my eyes before I slowly nodded to my mother. "Yeah… I just found out the other day…" I took a deep breath before I opened my eyes. I saw my mother's half confused and half troubled face.

"H-how did this happen?" Mom gasped for air. "I mean…w-who's the father of that child, Claire?"

"I…" I wanted to tell her the truth. That this was just a result of a reckless one night stand. But I couldn't disappoint my parents. Not now.

"I have a boyfriend, Mom," I swallowed as I looked down. I couldn't meet her gaze. "I'm sorry for keeping this to you, but I'm seeing someone."

"What's his name, Claire?"

I bit my lower lip. "H-his name's Adam. And we've been together for almost a year now."

I heard my mother sigh. "And now you're pregnant. What are your plans? You know this is a very crucial time for us, Claire. The public can't know that you're pregnant out of wedlock."

I looked at my mother. She was facing back and forth the study as if thinking of something. "My political opponents would feast on it." She turned to me. "And what will your father say? You know how conservative he is."

I sucked in a breath. "Don't worry, Ma. Adam and I already talked. He said he'd face the family and would ask for your permission to marry me."

I bit my tongue after saying the biggest lie I've ever told in my life.

"Oh. That's good. Invite him for dinner this weekend."

"Come on, Claire." Marcus looked at me. "Let's get inside."

I shook my head as I remained leaning on the body of the car. "I can't. I can't handle the cigarette smoke."

"Fine. Give me a picture of him and I'll try to ask around."

I pursed my lips. "I…I don't have his picture."

"What? You didn't even get his picture in those three days you spent with him?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "We were busy fucking, Marcus. Do you think I'd bother to ask for a picture?"

My cousin winced. "Fine. Just tell me what he looks like."

"Tall around 6 feet, slightly long and wavy hair." I cleared my throat. "He has a tribal tattoo on his left arm and a dragonfly on his collarbone."

I waited for Marcus for almost an hour before he went back outside.

"What?"

"The bartender knows him but he isn't there."

I let out a deep breath. "Let's go." I opened the door of his car.

"Where?"

"We have one more place to go."

"Eclipse Ink?" Marcus read the name of the tattoo shop in front of us. "Is this where you got his tattoo?"

"Yeah," I said. "The owner of this shop is friends with Adam. I already went the other day but only the assistant was here."

The moment we entered the shop, I already spotted Arthur.

"Welcome to Eclipse—Hey, Claire, right?" He smiled when he saw me.

I managed to smile at him. "Y-yeah." I didn't expect he'd still remember me.

"Are you getting another tattoo?"

"No. I'm actually here to talk to you."

"Why are you looking for Adam?" Arthur asked me, his arms crossed while leaning on a table. We were inside his private office. "Did he commit any crime?"

My eyes widened a bit as I shook my head. "No. I just needed to talk to him. Do you happen to know where he is? I already went to his apartment but he wasn't there."

"I'm sorry, Claire. Adam's in Tokyo right now. He went there two weeks ago."

"Tokyo? What's he doing there?"

"I heard he's attending a sports conference."

"Doesn't he work or something?"

The man frowned at me. "Adam and I co-own a bar together?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was outside of the country most of the time, attending different sports events. Motocross, paragliding, surfing, name it."

So, that's what he does. Aside from being an adventurer, he's a sports enthusiast.

"Do you have any idea when he'll be back?"

"I don't know, Claire. You see, Adam's spontaneous."

I bit my lower lip as I took out a calling card on my bag. "Can you give me a call when he's back? Please. I just really need to talk to him." And I hope he comes back this week.

"Alright." He smiled at me as he picked up my card.

"TEN million dollars? You're gonna pay that man ten million dollars just to marry you?" Marcus asked me, his head shaking in disbelief.

He was here in my office, sitting on my couch, his laptop was on the coffee table. He even brought his work here in my office just to talk to me.

"Well, I don't have a choice, Marcus. I can't tell my parents that I got pregnant from a one night stand, can I?"

My cousin frowned at me. "You can just be honest with them, Claire."

I shook my head. "I can't, Marcus. You know Dad's condition, right? And Mom! She was running for senate. Our family can't afford any scandal right now."

I had already told Mom about Adam. That the man's my boyfriend and that we're already planning to get married.

Marcus gave me a disappointed look. "You can't fix your mistake by creating another mistake, Claire."

I looked at him. "This isn't a mistake, Marcus."

"And what about that guy, Adam? Are you sure he can be trusted?"

"He's the father of my child, Marcus. I may not know him and we may not love each other but I can guarantee you that he's not a bad person." I said in a certain voice. "Besides, this is only for a year. Once my baby is born, I will file for a divorce."

I remembered everything Adam and I had talked about the other night.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked, concerned in his voice as he scanned my face.

We were in a Chinese restaurant near the bar where I found him.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I picked up the glass of water in front of me and sipped from it. "My nose was just sensitive to smell."

He looked at me. His eyes went down to my belly.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier." He sighed before his eyes drifted back to me. "I just… I couldn't believe I'd see you again and the first thing you'd said to me is that you're pregnant."

I nodded and gave him a small smile. "It's okay. I understand."

"So… everything you've said earlier. Is that true?"

"That I'm pregnant and you're the father? Well, yes."

"No." He interrupted. "That you're going to pay me just so I marry you?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yes. That's true. I'm willing to pay ten million dollars."

The frown on his handsome face came back. "Explain. I need to understand, Claire." His hand went to his stubble chin. He already had a five o clock shadow on his face. I also noticed that his hair was a bit longer than the first time we saw each other.

I took a deep breath and tried to explain my situation.

"My parents already knew I'm pregnant. And I lied to them. I told them I have a boyfriend… and that is you."

His thick eyebrows almost crossed in one line. "What? Why did you do that?"

I bit my lower lip as I met his stares. "You see. I can't upset my parents. My dad… his health's not good. And mother… she would be running for a government position. Admitting to them that I got pregnant out of a one night stand would surely be a scandal…"

He raised his brow. "You have a very primitive family."

I managed to smile sadly. "Yeah. But they're my family and I love them. I don't want to disappoint them."

He shook his head and pursed his lips as he continued to look at me. "What happened to finally doing the things that you love? You just found out you're not dying and now you're back to your goody two shoes self?"

I frowned. "You don't understand. I'm not being a goody two shoes. I just don't want to upset my parents at this crucial time."

"Alright." He said after shaking his head. "Tell me your plans. When are we tying the knot?"

"You're really agreeing to marry me?" I asked, wanting to make sure what I'm hearing from him.

He raised his brows. "Well, I can't refuse the ten million dollars."

I nodded confidently. "I am really gonna pay you, Adam. Five million after we got married and another five after we filed for divorce."

"How long are we going to stay married?"

I showed him my business face. "Only for a year, Adam. After the election, we would already file for a divorce."

I explained everything to him about my plan. Of course, I had already thought about this. Even before talking to Adam, I had already planned everything out. I just needed him to say yes to me.

"The baby will stay with me. But you could have shared custody, if you want of course."

His brows furrowed. "Of course, I want to. That's also my child, Claire. I know that you can very well provide for the baby's needs but I still wanted to share the responsibility."

I cleared my throat. "Alright." Well, it's good to know that he wanted to take part in our baby's life.

Adam nodded. "Now, what's the plan?"

I pursed my lips. "We'll have dinner tomorrow at my parent's house. They wanted to meet you."

"Do I need to prepare for something?"

I shook my head. "Just make sure to be there on time."

"Sure."

"Tomorrow, I'll send you the contract." I gave him a smile. "Thank you for doing this, Adam. I know this is so absurd…and given your free spirited nature–"

"Claire," he cut me off. The corner of his lips were curled up in a smile. "The ten million dollars was more than enough payment."

"Well, then…" I cleared my throat and met his gaze. "Let's just consider this as another business transaction."