Be My Girl

Brian stared at the woman, he didn't have the slightest desire to tell her in detail what happened to Elise or else the woman would know that right now he was going to take advantage of her.

 “You don't need to know what happened, you only need to know one thing. As a consequence, when you left me at that time, I had to go to face my parents."

The answer is actually less satisfactory for Elise. "If it's because of what happened that night, I will explain to them that it was all my fault and I will apologize. Really, I won't hold you accountable for what happened that night."

 "You're trying to negotiate with me, huh?"

 The woman nodded slightly. "Yes-"

 “Sorry, negotiations failed. The decision can no longer be reversed, you must become my lover and meet my parents. End of discussion."

"But how long will this agreement last? Come on! My fault is not that big! There's no way you're going to keep me in this predicament for too long, right?”

 Brian tried to think for a moment. He needed quite a long time, at least until his parents really stopped matchmaking him. "I'm not sure, let me think about it. Maybe until the work contract you signed ends–”

 "You are really nuts!"

 "Thank you."

 Elise was speechless. If she had to pay for it, she didn't have that kind of money. Even the bills have piled up and must be paid immediately, while the remaining money she has will not be enough if she just stops working.

Her mother's treatment cost a lot, until the mother finally died and she could not end up in debt, even though she had sold the only house they owned. She just needed to survive at least until the debt was paid off, also until she could find a way to get away from a strange man like Brian–she thought.

The man drove his car so fast, until they finally arrived at a luxurious mansion belonging to the Regan family. Elise swallowed her saliva, the mansion was even bigger in area than she had previously imagined.

Several maids came to welcome them, as well as an old husband and wife who she believed were Brian's parents. "You want to introduce me to them in person? What should I talk to them about? What if I misspeak later?” she asked, panicked when Brian was about to get out of the car.

 “Do it as naturally as possible.”

 “Gosh… you really have gone mad.”

 Brian got out of the car first, he then opened the door for Elise. The woman gets out of the car awkwardly, especially when she sees the happy expressions of the two parents who are now in front of them.

 “Gosh… who is this pretty girl?” asked Margaret, Brian's mother.

 “Mom, is this how you welcome Mom? Can we go in first?”

 “A-ah, I'm acting impolite because of being too happy. Come on in."

 Margareth ordered the maids to serve food and drinks to welcome the only woman Brian invited to visit. Meanwhile, her husband, Immanuel, only watched Elise from head to toe.

 They sat on a comfortable sofa. From the west, the view of the vast garden of tulips spoiled the eyes. Elise was still amazed, this is the first time she had visited the house of a rich man like them.

 "So, who is this Miss? So what does this have to do with our son, Brian?” Immanuel asked impatiently.

 Brian hugged her tightly. "She's my girlfriend, Elise Galloway."

 Immanuel and Margareth were surprised and happy because, finally, their only son finally introduced a girl to them. Of course, they dispelled all accusations that if Brian was gay, they would prove to everyone that their son was normal.

 However, Immanuel is still suspicious, especially seeing Elise's awkward attitude. “Are you really my son's lover? If he drags you here to pretend to be his girlfriend, then you can go now.”

 Elise was taken back, but what is clear right now is that she is feeling scared because Brian looked at her cynically. There is no way he would open her voice if this was actually just a scenario. The old man in front of her would not necessarily guarantee that the crazy man who was currently embracing her would no longer disturb her life.

I-I am awkward to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Regan.”

 “Darling, you are looking at him too cynically, of course she will be awkward,” Margaret defended while nudging her husband. “Forgive us, Miss Elise. My husband is a little old-fashioned.”

 “A-ah, it’s okay, Ma'am.”

 The conversation continued, but all of that was only between Margareth and Elise. While Immanuel was still the same, he kept watching as if he was looking for an opening. Brian, who felt uncomfortable and worried that Elise would be uncomfortable and even scared, invited his father to talk alone in the garden.

 It had been a long time since they had talked together like this, walking leisurely under the shady trees and the beautiful garden in the mansion. “So what did you want to talk to me about?” asked Immanuel, who did not want to mince words.

 “Stop watching my lover like that–”

 “Are you sure it’s your girlfriend? You’re not tricking me and your mom, are you?”

 That guess wasn’t entirely wrong, but of course, Brian won’t going to be telling the truth. “It’s up to you whether you want to believe it or not, but she is my girlfriend. Then, the reason I don’t want an arranged marriage was because I was waiting for her to return to Way Street. We have been in a long-distance relationship for 8 years, only this time we met again. I think Father should have known the reason we were able to separate, because at that time Father forced me to go abroad to continue my studies,” he sneered.

 Due to a misunderstanding 8 years ago, Immanuel did send Brian abroad and only allowed him to return to Way Street after he felt qualified to lead the company. However, he didn’t know that his decision had made his son so angry on that day.

 “Are you annoyed at your father for separating you from your lover?”

 Hearing the question made Brian even more annoyed. He stopped in his footsteps and glared at his father. “Are you asking because you really don’t know or are you just pretending you don’t know? Shouldn’t you know the biggest reason I hate you right now?”

 Immanuel is silent. Of course, he already suspected that the reason his son hated him must not only be because of his lover, but other reasons that were truly unforgivable. However, he has no other choice because Brian is the only hope he has.

 “Brian, it’s not that you don’t understand, but a situation that forced you to bury your dreams. Please understand and try to open the door of your heart to forgive your father–”

 “My purpose in coming home is not to discuss this. In essence, I stopped setting up with girls because now my women are back and going to work at the company. Don’t let her get jealous and leave me!”

 Brian left Immanuel, who watched him leave guiltily. He couldn’t get mad because it was all his fault. If he could lower his selfishness just a little and give Brian a chance, maybe the man wouldn’t hate him as much as he does now.

 Brian immediately returned to the living room, where his mother seemed so happy talking to Elise, as well as the woman. He stopped his steps for a moment. Unfortunately, all of this was just a lie, but he felt grateful that Elise was useful at a time like this and he hoped that his parents would stop bothering him again in the future.

 “Let’s go back to the company, honey.”

 Hearing the man call her affectionately made Elise shudder in horror. “Y-yes, alright.”

 Margaret actually tried to stop them from leaving, but because Brian insisted, in the end, she couldn’t do anything but hope that with Elise’s presence, Brian would come home more often.

 The two of them got back into the car. Brian immediately drove his car out of the luxurious mansion that was more like a golden cage. He seemed annoyed at the thought of his father, to the extent that he suddenly slammed on the brakes and almost hit the two of them, especially Elise.

 “Hey! What are you doing? Have you –” the woman’s words stopped when suddenly Brian pulled her and bit her lips, making her scream.

 Elise tried her best to fight back, but Brian, who was angry, couldn’t fight her. However, when the man felt the tears of despair of the woman he was courting, guilt slowly set in.

 He slowly released her and rubbed her face roughly. “Sorry I did not mean to-“

 “Am I that insulting to you just because of my mistake that night?” asked Elise, without even daring to look at Brian.

 She really felt humiliated by that treatment, even though what happened 8 years ago was not entirely what she expected, or you could say she also regretted it for the rest of her life..

Seeing that, Brian became even more uncomfortable. However, he was too tongue-tied to say the words sorry. “Jeez, stop crying!” she snapped, but that just made Elise sob even more. “I know what I did was wrong, but you’re over reacting it. Stop it! It’s just a kiss, you have to get used to it because you’re my girlfriend now.”

Hearing that, Elise immediately looked at him sharply. “You really have no feelings.”

“Okay, shut up. Let’s go back to the company to discuss our agreement.”

Elise didn’t want to argue, she just wanted to dissolve in her sadness. She hoped that some miracle would take place where she could free herself from an annoying man like Brian.

***

Upon arrival at the company, their arrival became the center of everyone's attention. How come? Brian, who had taken the woman away before, had made them speculate that maybe the woman had a problem with him. However, seeing them back together, made them wonder what really happened to them.

The man took Elise to his room. When he got there, he immediately grabbed a blank piece of paper and wrote down the points of the agreement he wanted. "Read it first, you have the right to ask for two wishes."

Elise took the paper and read it carefully. Her eyes widened when she saw how many lists Brian had made, while she was only given two. "This is not fair! The amount must be the same. Then, why should I live with you?”

 “Hey … you're too greedy too. Come on, out of all the lists out there, it's not all that complicated, so it's worth it. Think carefully about what you want. Regarding living together in agreement, I want you to be my personal servant too. Not only in the office, but also at home. A couple living together, that's only natural," he replied indifferently.

Elise was really pissed off, but she didn't think it might be better to take advantage of this situation instead of losing money. She grabbed the pen that was on Brian's desk, jotted down her first point.

 "First, I don't want physical touch, let alone sexual harassment like before," she said firmly.

 Brian chuckled a little. "Yes, depending. If you want it first, I'll be happy to serve you," his teasing irritated Elise.

 "You wish!" The woman re-wrote the last point of the agreement. “Secondly, I want you to pay off all my debts.”

 Brian nodded slightly. “Wow... apparently you're pretty smart too. All right, so do we agree now?"

 Even though it feels heavy, Elise doesn't think there's anything wrong either. After all, the amount of money she will get is quite large and she only needs to work as a man's personal assistant, as well as be a paid lover.

 This is her feeling of hopelessness in facing life's difficult problems, especially since the due date of the debt she has to pay is numbered. Yes, although still in her heart she cursed herself for being so cheap and materialistic at the moment.

She quickly scratched the pen on their agreement, signed it and handed it back to Brian. "Your turn."

Brian took the paper back and smiled, satisfied that he had won her over. He signed it too, then gave a copy to Elise. "I'll give you time to pack up this afternoon, then come with me."

"No way!"

"Why?"

"At least, give me time to talk to my best friend first. She'll be very worried if I don't tell her earlier and suddenly walk out of our apartment."

Brian wasn't the kind of guy who would give in to a woman, but seeing Elise begging for his mercy, he felt sorry for her.

"Well, then I'll pick you up in the morning, so make good use of your time, darling," he teased.

Hearing that, Elise could only shudder. "Damn! You scared me."

Instead of getting angry, Brian laughed. He was so happy to see Elise upset like that, she was adorable--he thought.

"I have another one, do you want to hear it again?"

Elise shook her head softly. "No, you're ridiculous, boss."