“How do you explain this?"

Claudia read the fifth clause aloud, "In the course of the marriage, if Party B encounters any difficulties, she must ask Party A for help before anyone else."

It was already indicated at the top of the document that Bennett was Party A and she was Party B.

Bennett remained calm. With a shrug, he said, “That shouldn't surprise you. Although this is a contractual marriage, we are still a real couple in the eyes of the law.

As your nominal and legal spouse, it's my job to help you solve whatever problems you may have. Isn't it expected that my wife should ask me for help first and not keep things away from me?"

After a moment, Bennett Looked at her intently and continued, "Claudia, I hope you will come to terms that this marriage is still a union regardless of what kind it is. While we act as just housemates in here, we have to put up an act in public. You are now Mrs. Dreskin. And as such, whatever happens to you-whether good or bad— affects me."

His tone was extremely serious. There was a hint of dissatisfaction on his face.

The intense stare he gave her made Claudia uncomfortable. She bit her lower lip and said, “I'm sorry. I should have thought well enough before pointing that out."

Claudia was yet to get the hang of this fake marriage thingy. She didn't see the need for such meticulousness, so she thought the clause was a Little ambiguous.

His explanation just opened her eyes to see the need for such a clause. The following clauses were nothing out of the ordinary. Even if she had some reservations, she didn't dare to speak up because of Bennett's reaction to her last objection. After all, he seemed more far-sighted than her.

She decided to read the document as Mrs. Dreskin, not Claudia Marshall. She reasoned that Bennett was reliable. He hadn't tailored the agreement in favor of one party over the other. Nothing in the agreement seemed like it would pose a problem for them later on.

Nonetheless, there was something that didn't sit right with Claudia even after she read it over and over again.

“Apologies if this might seem offensive, but there's something I don't quite understand. Can you explain this?"

Never had Claudia questioned her own level of understanding. This agreement seemed to change that.

Did her IQ reduce all of a sudden?

“The eleventh clause states that during the term of the agreement, Party A is responsible for all the expenses of Party B."

Didn't that mean he was going to cater to her every need for as Long as they were married?

“You shouldn't find that odd too. Since this is a contracted marriage, shouldn't I be responsible for your welfare?”

“What? You're joking, right?"

What was wrong with him? Was this a rich-people thing?

Bennett gave a Lazy wave as though he didn't care.

“It's up to you, Claudia. If you think that clause is inappropriate, it can be edited to

Party A will only be responsible for the expenses Party B incurred because of him."

One thing Claudia would never do was taken advantage of people no matter how rich they were. His latest suggestion sounded more reasonable, so she agreed, "Okay, that modification will do."