Chelsea Martins rubbed her somewhat weary brow, lifting her gaze to look surprisingly at the handsome man before her. She quickly hid the emotion in her eyes, "Sir, have you looked at my profile?"
The man's mouth twitched slightly upward, giving his handsome face a warm aura. He nodded lightly, his gentle tone instantly breaking the silence, "Mmm, I have."
Chelsea's eyebrows slightly knitted together, "So, sir what do you think about the child?"
Thomas Holmes responded with a soft chuckle, "I don't have specific thoughts." He noticed Chelsea's uneasy expression, paused, and continued, "Actually, I like children. I have also looked through your details, your child is adorable."
The previously expressionless Chelsea now bore a slight smile. "Thank you,." Suddenly, she hesitated slightly, "Anything else you would like to know, sir?"
"Doesn't it feel strange to keep addressing me as 'sir'? You've seen my details too, right?" Thomas's gentle gaze was directed towards Chelsea.
An awkward expression suddenly appeared on Chelsea's face. Truthfully, she hadn't seen his details; she was too busy arguing with her parents when she got the call. Only then did she know about the matchmaking agency's arrangement, this made her rush over. Guilt washed over her.
Thomas seemed to notice her uneasiness, yet there wasn’t the slightest bit of impatience on his gentle face. "Thomas Holmes, that's my name. You can call me Thomas. I wouldn't mind being called Tom either."
Suddenly, Chelsea looked up at his slight smile and the intense look in his clear blue eyes. Strangely, she felt a rush of butterflies in her stomach, as her ears heated up with a blush.
She cleared her throat lightly, “Thomas, you can call me...”
Before she finished, he cut in, "Chelsea Martins, your middle name Laria is quite unique. Chelsea Laria Martins, beautiful name." He said softly.
"Um, thank you!” At his compliment, Chelsea's ears burned. Normally, she wasn't like this. Though only twenty-four, her colleagues always said she seemed and acted much older. However, she never care much about that; it never bothered her.
Today, she felt an inexplicable sense of juvenile shyness. She couldn't help scrutinizing the man before her.
His handsome face was constantly graced with a light smile, and his bright sea blue eyes were filled with seriousness. His nose was straight, and his lips were raised in a slight smirk. She wondered what was going on behind those eyes.
As Chelsea was studying him, Thomas was also studying her. Her look today was somehow different from the usual ponytail, with long black wavy hair falling softly over her shoulders that made her face seem more delicate. Her hazel eyes seemed to have more of a story to tell than she was letting on.
"What do you think of us right now?"
His voice suddenly flowed into her ears, and she realized that she had been lost in thought. A faint blush spreading across her fair little face, her gaze somewhat dazed. "Wait, Thomas, what did you say?"
"I said, have you taken a liking to me?"
Thomas's words made Chelsea choke on the coffee she just sipped, coughing hard.
A trace of apology flashed in his eyes, and he reached out with his handkerchief to gently dab at the corner of her mouth.
She let him clean her up quietly, but quickly remembered something and quickly took the handkerchief from his hand. "Thank you, thank you!" She added, trying not to be rude.
"I was not finished with what I was saying just now. What I wanted to say was..."
he paused for a moment, looking at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "If you find me acceptable, we could try to get along. And of course, if it comes to marriage, I have no objection."
"I hope we can get married as soon as possible," Chelsea's face changed slightly and then she furrowed her brows. "But, may I ask, Thomas, you have such a great background, why would you go on blind dates?"
His eyes darkened slightly, but quickly returned back to normal. He said lightly, "My parents are pressuring me to marry, and I have some physical defects, which resulted in mockery from that woman, so..."
As Chelsea heard his words, she was caught in disbelief, her lips parting in slight shock. "You?"
She bit her lip, seemingly concerned that asking about it may sound offensive, but she found herself feeling sympathy for him. She could not imagine a gorgeous man like him with such a great aura having any defect at all.
Thomas observed her reactions, a smirk playing on his lips as if he found some gratification in her response. He cleared the emotions from his face and stated calmly, "My defect is sterility. If that doesn't bother you, we could consider getting married out of convenience."
"Marriage of convenience?" Hearing about his sterility, Chelsea initially furrowed her brows. Not that she was being selfish, but having their child mattered significantly to her. The saying goes—with the arrival of a stepfather comes the stepmother. However, hearing his proposition of a marriage of convenience piqued her curiosity, so she asked.
Thomas nodded in confirmation. "We could have a sham marriage—we won't interfere in each other's lives and whenever one finds someone they truly love, they're free to leave."
Chelsea pondered for a moment and then nodded, "Alright."
"Since that's the case, Chelsea, do you have any questions?"
"No more." This proposal was really the best she could hope for. Breathing a small sigh of relief, a faint smile finally appeared on her face.
The curved smile suddenly burst into Thomas's view, causing him to linger for a moment, a hint of a smile appearing on his lips as well.
"Let's go get our marriage certificate now,” he continued.
Chelsea nodded and took out her Birth Certificate from her bag to check.
A hint of surprise flashed across Thomas's eyes. Although he knew she was getting married, he didn't expect her to be so anxious, even carrying her Birth Certificate wherever she went. If he had not seen her, she might have casually married herself off.
At this thought, an inexplicable surge of anger welled up in his heart.
Chelsea sensed his displeasure emanating from him and slightly stiffened, her finger that tapped on the documents paused. Could it be that he's having second thoughts? A glimmer of confusion crossed her eyes as she looked up at Thomas.
She bit her lip, "Thomas, do you think it's too soon?" Although the idea of getting a marriage certificate was first brought up by him, perhaps he didn't expect her to carry the Birth Certificate with her, or perhaps he didn't have one and should have prepared for longer. Various reasons were tumbling in her mind.
Thomas paused, dispelling his evident anger, his eyebrows twitching slightly. "How could it be? I also want to get rid of my father's marriage arrangement as soon as possible. You know, marrying a woman who mocks you is a miserable thing."
Chelsea nodded, relieved. If he disagreed now, it would be hard for her to find someone else suitable. And she definitely did not want to go through the pains of looking again.
Upon her relief, she also felt oddly curious. Why did his parents insist on having him marry someone who had ridiculed him? Perhaps they were not aware.
"Let's go!"
