Livia greeted the Taurus house receptionist, a woman from Lupus house that Lars had recommended to Gaius. Livia had always found her extremely helpful and professional and this time was no different.

She greeted Livia with a smile. “How are you, Miss Fabius?”

Livia smiled back. “I’m well. How are you Tabitha?”

“I’m also well.” She gestured smoothly with her hand. “Gaius said to send you right in so don’t keep him waiting.”

Livia nodded. She felt strange just opening the closed door to his office so she knocked lightly.

“Is Livia here?” he called.

Livia opened the door. “I’m here.”

He stood to greet her. “How did finals go?”

Livia nodded. “I passed all my classes.”

“Excellent, now you still wish to write up papers with Corvin?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Gaius gestured for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his office desk. Walking behind the desk, he started to explain as he sat down, "A match contract has three main parts. First, the length of the contract--how long you intend the agreement to extend. Second, the property clause determines guidelines for gifts. Third, breaches of contract, or the conditions under which you're released from the agreement.”

“Wait.” Livia sat forward. “What about illegitimacy clauses?”

Gaius sighed and steepled his fingers together. “That’s a common addendum. It is not required. I’d really advise you to keep it as uncomplicated as possible.”

“Well, what’s required then?” Livia asked.

“Name the length of the match period.” Gaius said. “How much time do you think it would take you to get to know Corvin enough to consider an engagement?”

“A year,” Livia said firmly.

Gaius wrote that down. “Next, the property clause. What monetary amount are you willing to invest in the relationship without a chance to recoup it?”

“Is there a standard amount?” Livia asked.

“$1000 is fairly common.”

Livia’s jaw dropped. “What could you possibly buy someone for that much?”

“An iPhone,” Gaius lifted an eyebrow. “Jewelry, concerts, expensive clothing--”

“Okay, okay,” she lifted her hands. “$1000 dollars is way too much to lose. I can’t afford that.”

“What do you feel like you could afford?” Gaius asked.

“$300 dollars,” Livia said. “I mean that is reasonable. That covers a birthday, Christmas, and something small for other little holidays.”

Gaius looked thoughtful. “Let’s see what happens…” then he wrote it down.

He continued. “The breach of contract wording isn’t negotiable. The Senate standardized it. If you want to have the option to easily break up for other reasons you’ll need to forego a match contract all together,” Gaius said.

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“What are the reasons?” Livia asked.

“Infidelity, abuse, neglect, criminal behavior, and addiction to illegal substances.”

“Illegal,” Livia repeated.

“Illegal,” Gaius confirmed. “Can’t quit a match contract on someone for smoking.”

“Drinking?” Livia asked, rubbing her palms across her thighs.

“Nope,” Gaius said. “Unless it causes the relationship to become abusive.”

Livia leaned back and gripped the arms of her chair. “That’s pretty...restricted.”

“Indeed,” Gauis agreed. “So, you may want to ponder if a year...is genuinely the length you wish to have your choices curtailed.”

“What is the typical length?” Livia asked.

“Six months,” Gaius said.

“That’s hardly any time,” Livia said anxiously. “What do you do if you’re not ready to decide if you want to marry someone in that amount of time?”

“Well, you could decide not to sign a match contract,” Gaius said. “Then there are no rules. You can do what you like. You can add in an addendum that either party can end the contract at will for a certain amount of financial compensation. Then you have to pay someone to end the relationship, Livia. It’s rather ridiculous.”

Livia rubbed her brow, aggravated. “Okay. That’s...extreme.”

Gaius smiled. “It’s possible you could get Corvin to agree to the minimum fee which is $150 dollars. But most want to be compensated for the legal and processing fees which in sum are around $2000.”

“Wait--what’s the processing fee?” Livia asked, alarmed.

“I will pay all of it with house funds. It is not your concern,” Gaius said. “However, I will not pay for an early termination of the contract. So, it must be an amount you can cover on your own.”

“This is all...a lot of money,” Livia said.

“Indeed,” Gaius said. “It’s more of a way to prove your status these days than anything else.”

“What about children?” Livia asked.

Gaius sighed and shook his head. “Livia, I’m two minds about this. You’ll have to decide what strategy you want to pursue. If you refuse to allow an illegitimate clause, he’ll, in theory, one, assume the match will be platonic and two, conduct himself in manner that doesn’t risk him having an illegitimate child with no protections in place. If you allow an illegitimate clause, it opens the possibility of the relationship to produce a child but at the same time allows you to discuss opinions on serious topics that would make you incompatible upfront.”

“What would you do?” Livia asked.

Gaius shrugged. “My opinion should be obvious. Postpone the clause until the betrothal contract. Matches should not be so serious. They’re about becoming acquainted, not playing at cohabitation. But I cannot make this decision for you. I am not going to have to live by the contract.”

“Can I have time to think about it?” Livia asked.

“I will have the House lawyers draw up what we’ve decided so far. One year. $300 dollars. Correct?” Gaius drawled with one eyebrow raised.

“Put in the addendum for financial compensation for early termination to the contract,” Livia said.

“For $150 dollars?” Gaius asked.

Livia nodded to confirm.

“It’s not likely they’ll agree to that,” Gaius said. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather agree to six months?” Gaius asked.

“What if I want more time?” Livia asked.

Gaius insisted, “Six months is enough to know. If it is right, you’ll know.”

“How?” Livia asked.

“You just do,” Gaius said.

“Did you know with Lauretta?” Livia asked.

Gaius looked away. “To be honest? I didn’t care.”

“You didn’t care?” Livia asked.

“She met all the basic requirements and agreed to marry me. I thought...I didn’t need more than that.”

“But you did,” Livia said.

“Obviously.” Gaius turned and looked Livia straight in the eyes. “Livia, I hope if you’re doing this it means you really like him.”

“I do,” Livia insisted. “And that means I’m going to do this right. One year. Early Termination addendum.”

Gaius sighed, resigned. “It will be done as you direct, Livia. What about the illegitimate clause. Shall we leave it out?”

Livia hesitated. “I’d like to think about it.”

“You’ll let me know?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then make an appointment with Tabitha when you come to your conclusions,” Gaius said.

Livia took that as a dismissal and left. Livia drove home, thinking deeply. She wanted other opinions besides Gaius’ but she couldn’t very well consult Corvin’s family. That left Hyrum, who’d never done a match, Justin and Flavia, who she’d have to consult without Bella knowing; and the Halls?

One thing was certain, Livia needed a job. She didn’t have cash floating around so she if she was going to go through with this match thing she needed to have the funds to end the match contract in case it went south.

Livia thought about removing the option to opt out of the contract. There was something comfortable about binding Corvin to her. The guarantee of his commitment eased deeply buried fears of being abandoned by him again. She could arrange it so that he couldn’t leave her for an entire year. She reveled in that thought a moment.

Then disgust welled up in her. Wanting to force someone to stay with her for selfish emotional reasons was wrong. Agreeing to that would make her exactly like her mother. The opt out was non-negotiable. Livia wasn’t going to manipulate Corvin into a relationship even if the idea of him leaving terrified her.