Page 1 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

Chapter 1

LUKE

Today is an extraordinary day for me—peaceful and unburdened by the usual chaos of my job. I take a moment to bask in the stillness. It had been a deliberate decision to relocate my office closer to my dad’s, and I revel in the less stressful environment it provides.

The walls are adorned with framed photographs showcasing my father's grand architectural creations, each one a testament to our name and success. The only picture on my desk is a snapshot of my family, taken years ago at my college graduation. My mother, father, stepfather, and brother stand together with beaming smiles, captured in a moment of pure joy and love.

As I close my eyes, a sense of peace washes over me. I barely take a minute before my phone rings with my mom’s ringtone. I sigh. I love my mom, but she’s the queen of hovering. Out goes my quiet moment. I answer the call.

“Hello, Mom,” I say, resting my head back on the chair.

“Luke, I need you to please talk to him. I’m afraid he’s going to get into trouble.” Mom’s voice is shaky, her words jumbled and panicked. “I don’t want him doing anything crazy that involves the government. What he plans to do is fraud,” she says, hysterical. I don’t need to ask who “him” is; only my knucklehead brother Osei would make mom this hysterical. I love him very much, but he sure knows how to get mom’s heart rate pumping fast, which always creates a headache for me. “He’s insisting on getting married right away,” she sobs, her voice cracking with emotion.

I try to remain calm as I respond, “I thought you wanted us to get married.” I hold back my sigh. I was enjoying my quiet moment.

“I do, if it’s for love,” she says.

“It’s not?” What other reason would Osei have for marrying?

“No, he’s marrying to make his friend a U.S. citizen.”Fuck!My head snaps forward as a wave of frustration washes over me, realizing who my brother intends to marry—the woman I’ve secretly desired for months now, though I’ve hidden my emotions behind a stoic façade.

“Mom, I’ll talk to him,” I assure her.

“Please, Luke, I know he listens to you. I don’t want him to go through with this…”

“Okay, Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later,” I interject before she can spiral further.

It’s like a switch flipped inside her, from an emotional outburst to normal family curiosity. “Alright, honey, how’s Simon?”

“Dad is good,” I answer, adding a mental period. Their relationship is complicated, and I can’t get involved. My mom is happily married to my Ghanaian stepdad, who’s the father of my knucklehead brother Osei. My dad is living his lonely life, nowsick and trying to correct all the wrongs he’s done as a ruthless businessman.

“Alright, honey, please update me on your brother. He needs to drop this idea.”

“Bye, Mom,” I say, hanging up and exhaling a frustrated sigh. My emotions are running wild with the information my mom just shared. I can’t let Osei’s plan to marry her come to fruition. That’s the life I want—with her in my arms. It’s not his to have. Like a “got ya” moment, my dad’s words invade my mind: “The worst thing that can happen to you is watching the woman you love pregnant with another man’s child.”It echoes loudly in my mind. I can’t say I’m in love with her, but I want her. And I have an intense yearning for her—a goddamn itch I can’t scratch, because she’s my brother’s girl.

I get off my chair and make a slow pace to the window. My feet can barely hold the added weight I feel in my being. My heart is racing, like I’ve just finished a sprint. Hands in my pockets, I close my eyes and rock on my heels. I let the cool air chill the burn in me, trying to control the fiery jealousy flowing through my veins. I let out a weighted sigh. I rest my heels, open my eyes to view the blue, bright sky with the sun peeping through. The decision is as clear as the sky.

I’m going to marry her. She’ll be my wife—even if I have to cheat and steal her from my brother.

With a clear decision made in my mind, I now need to craft a meticulous plan to persuade my stubborn brother. With anticipation, I call Osei, only to reach his voicemail. Undeterred, I leave him a message and soon receive a text from him.

Osei: Mom called you, right?

One thing is certain—our mom is as predictable as the sun rising in the east. I don’t respond to his text, knowing he’ll call soon enough, and then I’ll have no choice but to answer. Another certainty about Mom and my stepdad is the fact that they’vedroned into us an unwavering constant: we are brothers first. Whenever either one calls, we answer first and ask questions later. Are Osei’s calls annoying and ridiculous sometimes? Yes. But I answer because he’s my baby brother. His arrival into the world brought me both love and responsibility, driving me crazy in the same breath.

Despite the flawed and unfriendly side of me that I present to the world, only with Osei and my four other brothers can I be myself. The only time I was uncontrolled and acted out of character was the night I met her. Ayodele.

Chapter 2

LUKE

6 months ago

A few months ago, during one of Osei’s crazy calls, he insisted that I show up to his Halloween party. I pushed back, but he used the family code of“You call, your brother answers.” I grunted in frustration and begrudgingly agreed to go; besides, I didn’t want him to get in trouble should things go awry at his Halloween party—which, with my brother, was a ninety percent chance.

Mom would not be okay with it, and that’s never a good thing. I have seen first-hand what a “not okay” status for mom looks like, and I have no desire to ever see that again.

So, off I went to the party, with Declan and Bruce, my brothers in everything but blood, laughing at my poor costume choice of just a Venetian mask. They mocked me, saying,“Going as grumpy self with a mask?”I didn’t want any of Osei’s female friends to recognize me. The moment they realize I’m the Luke Blythe of the real estate empire, everything about them changes.That always gets an eye roll from Osei, which is why he sometimes doesn’t want me around.

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