Page 21 of Unbreak Me

After a short pause, Jan straightened up a little. "I won’t lie. My uncle pushed me to come here. I didn’t expect much—how can you know a person after a few minutes’ conversation and then make a serious decision? But here I am."

What? The guy had exactly the same thought process as mine, which was a bit eerie.

"Moreover, I don’t have enough money for a marriage contract with an omega closer to my age, so I wandered here by chance, and suddenly saw—"

Nolan raised an eyebrow, his tone skeptical. "How much money are we talking about?" Well, in Nolan’s line of work, the client’s wallet mattered a lot.

"I’ve got $400,000," Jan said plainly.

The room went silent. We all knew the harsh truth: with that amount, there was only one kind of contract he could afford.

The crazy one: Eternal.

Nolan’s eyes widened in surprise.

I’d added this type of contract to my list just in case, after reading about its surprising benefits—people called it ‘a good retirement’. Basically, it gave all the advantages to the contractee and none to the buyer. I never considered using it for real, it was more of a fun option than something I was seriously interested in.

My case guardian stared at Wilson with a gaping mouth, clearly at a loss for words. His reaction was predictable, to be honest. Most people steered clear of these contracts—too many omegas wanted to coast their way into a cushy retirement without lifting a finger.

Wilson noticed Nolan’s reaction. He shrugged lightly and said, "I get that this kind of contract isn’t popular. But I think it’s the most honest deal. If the contractee wants to give something, it’ll be sincere, not forced. Just like real life. No ‘service for a service’ exchange, no obligations—just something from the heart."

Nolan coughed loudly. "I get that, Mr. Wilson. It sounds noble, sure. It’s an interesting take on these contracts, but honestly, a bit…" He paused awkwardly. "…naive. I mean, youdo realize the contractee doesn’t have to do anything for you, right? Meanwhile, you’re obligated to provide everything, plus a monthly payment, and you can’t back out. Not unless you somehow come up with a small fortune—which I assume you don't have."

Jan Wilson smiled ruefully. "I know, Mr. Nolan. I get all that. But… maybe we could at least become friends. Living alone isn’t easy. I’ve got a big house, and it’s empty. Sometimes I go days without anyone to talk to because my uncle’s busy working at City Hall and can’t visit often. My brothers don’t live nearby either. It’s just… unbearable, you know? Every so often, you just want someone around to talk about the weather with."

Nolan tilted his head. "If you’re that lonely, a lot of people recommend getting a dog. Or a cat."

What the hell?

Did Nolan actually say that? It almost sounded like he was trying to discourage Jan from buying my contract, despite his previous crazy insistence that we were ‘a thing’. I frowned but bit my tongue.

Should I even care? I came here with aplan, and I kept reminding myself that Jan was in for a disappointment.

Right?

Though it did baffle me too, how casually this guy approached such a permanent deal.

Rubbing my chin, I studied his handsome face.

Could his seemingly reckless approach stem from feeling the same as I did? This quiet certainty that we were compatible?

So was it, in fact, a LOW-RISK contract in his eyes?

Wilson didn’t seem offended by Nolan’s words. In fact, he let out a soft laugh and smiled, showing off a row of very nice, even, white teeth.

I must say, the guy was kind of stunning. The longer I looked, the harder it was to wrap my head around why he wasstill alone. I mean, his height couldn’t be thatbigof a deal to omegas. It definitely wasn’t to me. My eyes drifted down to his biceps, which strained under his thin black jacket. He wasbuilt.

"Yeah, everyone says that," Wilson agreed, still smiling. "I already have two dogs and two cats. But it’s not the same, you know? Forgive me, ha ha…"

Nolan awkwardly cleared his throat and straightened up, smiling. "Right, of course," he said, shaking off whatever weird stupor he’d fallen into. He shot me an almost apologetic glance before adding, "I’m not trying to discourage you from Day—absolutely not. I do believe you are a perfect match. But as a Fate’s Choice employee, I’m simply obligated to make sure you understand everything about this contract, since many people don’t read them carefully."

He paused to throw me a short but pointed look before continuing, "We’re responsible for your contract. You might not know this, but auction-and-fair houses offer free legal assistance if there are any issues with marital contract obligations. We monitor your affairs for years, helping at every step. So this is simply my duty to ensure both parties are 100% clear about what they’re signing up for." It sounded like he was rattling this off straight from the company handbook.

Jan let out a soft huff. "I appreciate that, really. It’s kind of you to lay it all out and warn me. But it doesn’t change how I feel."

"Good! There’s one more thing," Nolan interrupted, as if suddenly remembering. "Mr. Day expects both of you to be on suppressants. It’s written into the contract. That’s a lifelong obligation as well. You need to keep that in mind."

Wilson’s face twitched slightly at the mention of suppressants, but he nodded. "I understand. The only question left is whether Day would even consider entering into such a contract with me?"

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