Livia observed herself in the mirror, her hair in braids and makeup done. She liked the results. Aurelia put both hands over her shoulders, and Livia’s eyes shot up to meet Aurelia’s eyes in the mirror’s reflection.

“Livia, Lars would like to talk with you about papers,” Aurelia said. “You have two hours to sort things out.”

Livia stiffened, and she couldn’t hide the alarm on her face. “Two hours?”

“They arranged a video call with Leon, the lawyer that Gaius fired, so you could consult with him.”

“Who will pay for that?” Livia asked.

“They’ll submit a request to Gaius to use House funds. If he rejects the request because you’re banished, Hyrum and Corvin agreed to split the cost.”

“What? It should be my responsibility,” Livia insisted.

“Then you’ll need to work that out with Hyrum and Corvin,” Aurelia said.

Livia huffed. She rose to her feet. “Where’s Lars?”

“He’s in the front room. Your call will take place in the den.”

Livia went downstairs and found Corvin and Lars waiting for her. Lars approached and gave her a paper.

“Livia, this is the contract we wrote up. It is no longer a match agreement or a full marriage contract. Since this is an elopement, it’s an agreement to protect your assets until a marriage contract is agreed upon and signed.”

Livia took the papers and started to read them. She was immediately overwhelmed. Corvin had a lot of assets, and there were things about the public lands that Gaius had made her conservator over. Livia had yet to learn what her responsibilities were regarding those. She looked at Lars in panic, afraid she’d agree to something she’d regret later.

“We recommend you review them with Leon before you sign them. His schedule is clear to advise you for the next two hours. Would you like me to set up the call with him?”

“Yes,” Livia said. Even if she had to separate the bill into payments for several years, it was worth the money.

Lars gestured to the den. “Leon was provided the papers last evening and then given revisions this morning. So he is already familiar with the document.”

When the video call connected, Lars left the den and shut the door. So, Livia was left to speak with Leon alone.

“Morning, Livia,” Leon said. “I hear congratulations are in order. I hope you have a beautiful wedding.”

Livia blushed. “Thank you.”

“We don’t have much time, so let’s get to the papers. I’ll tell you my overall impression of them first—”

“That’s good,” Livia said.

“I find them to be fair and written in good faith. You may want to be aware that several provisions are slightly manipulative—”

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Livia’s heart raced. She was going to have to fight with Corvin on her wedding day. She clenched her teeth. “Which ones?”

Leon brought a version of the document up on the screen and had three sections highlighted. “These phrases are deliberately written to reward you for staying in the marriage for over a year—”

Livia blinked. That wasn’t what she expected. “Wait, what?”

“They state that if you stay in the marriage for over a year, you’ll receive certain benefits and assets from the house and Corvin’s portfolio.”

“I-I…is that bad?”

“It’s a sign that the Tullian family would like your marriage stable and strong. So they are very supportive provisions. The first gives you a monetary award for completing a degree if your marriage to Corvin remains intact. This award will be paid from the education budget of Lupus House.”

“Okay—”

Leon highlighted the second phrase. “The second, on your third anniversary Corvin has stipulated that you will be placed on the records as co-owner of his townhouse. According to the documentation provided, the house will be paid for that year. So, there will be no responsibility to pay for the mortgage. There is a provision that in the case of a divorce, the house will be put in your children’s name. Without children, it will be sold, and the funds will be split between you. However, it makes an allowance that either of you can buy out the other’s half for sole ownership. As a result, a court will not award the house in a divorce to either of you without the other being financially compensated.”

“Okay,” Livia said, surprised at the generosity in that gesture.

“The third phrase regards your children. On the birth of your first child, Corvin will sell one of his stock portfolios and put that money in an education trust specifically for that child. The funds can only be accessed once they turn 18. The estimate of the sum at that time will be around $300,000.”

“Oh,” Livia whispered. She hadn’t ever thought that far ahead. She’d barely considered marriage. She hadn’t considered children and the costs associated with them. It did, however, seem impossible that she’d ever find the means to provide that much for a college education for her child. To know that Corvin could provide that left her a little breathless. She wanted her children to have a better life than she’d had. The number of resources Corvin could provide to accomplish that goal made her feel more secure in moving forward.

Leon summarized, “So, Corvin has displayed with these phrases that he has an interest in you completing your degree, staying with him long-term, and having his children.”

“Is there…anything in there you think I shouldn’t agree to?”

Leon looked thoughtful. “The contract stipulates a timeline for the completion of your marriage papers. You must negotiate those details and sign the contract by your first anniversary. This document stipulates that the deadline for your marriage contract’s financial portion should be negotiated in three months. I find that to be a little optimistic, considering the complications of your conservatorship over public lands. I’d recommend we put the timeline out to 6 months.”

“Okay,” Livia nodded.

“That’s it. Lars and Corvin made no negotiations for access or influence over your land conservatorship which is a good sign that Corvin hasn’t married you for access to those. That also means your marriage into Lupus House won’t risk those lands being taken from Taurus House, which is good.”

Livia sighed in relief to hear that. “Nothing in the papers is a threat to the interests of Taurus house?” Livia asked.

“No,” Leon said.

“This seems a lot easier than signing match papers,” Livia observed.

“Match papers are tricky,” Leon agreed. “It’s easier to negotiate a marriage contract because all parties come under the authority of one Paterfamilias and part of one House. Whereas in matched papers, each party retains their own Paterfamilias and House. That’s difficult to navigate, especially when you bring modern sensibilities about relationships into the mix. A marriage grants a woman more freedoms under our laws, so you also enter the contract with more inherent rights, which means there is less to negotiate.”

“I should never have insisted Corvin sign match papers,” Livia muttered. “He warned me but…I didn’t understand.”

“Is there anything else you want to understand about this contract?” Leon asked.

Livia asked a few more questions until she understood everything that was going on in the papers. It took an hour and a half, and then she was ready to sign them with Leon’s single change.

Lars and Corvin agreed to the change and had the papers altered and reprinted. However, they had to wait to sign them until Hyrum and Justin arrived to sign with Livia. That meant it was time for Livia to get dressed for the ceremony.