CHAPTER TWO: THE SIGNATURE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
1259 Words
Lena stared at the contract, as though waiting for the universe to assure her she’s making the right decision, the paper feeling heavier than it should.
The mysterious man watched her calmly, hands buried in his pockets, knowing exactly what she’d do, picturing her brother Noah in the courtroom right now, scared… Alone.
She picked up the pen hesitantly, concluding.
The pen scratched across the paper.
Everything else felt like a haze.
fully focused on the paper right in front of her, the sound of scribbling louder than the courtroom itself, she didn’t know what it was about but relief washed over her instantly, the moment she dropped the pen,
“You made the right decision”, the man in a suit assured her.
Lena exhaled handing over the contract to him.
Almost instantly, things began moving strangely fast: the man in a suit made a call in front of her, and Lena stood still, calm…observing, He spoke quietly but confidently, mentioning her brother’s case to the stranger at the other end. Within a few minutes, Lena received a message from the court. She stared at her phone, eyes wide open… she couldn’t believe it.
“This hearing has been delayed unexpectedly” written in bold letters, “w…what?”, she mumbled quietly.
“This can’t be real, I must be dreaming”.Lena thought as she read the message, it was at that moment that she realized that this stranger had real power.
“Alright, I hear you”.
He concluded with the person on the phone, his left hand digging his phone into his pocket calmly, Lena stared at him with questionable eyes, turning the screen of her phone towards him, “w…what’s going on?”, she asked…really curious staring sternly at him.
His lips twitched upwards at the corners, almost like a smile.
“I know you’ve got a lot of questions, I’ll start by introducing who I truly am, Miss Hart” he added.
Her eyes lit up, and, as he held her gaze, he extended his right hand towards Lena.
“ My name is Daniel Reyes, I’m the personal attorney for the man you just agreed to marry”.
Lena felt a mixture of confusion and dread, she hadn’t even met the man whose name she had just signed herself to.
“You’ll meet him shortly”. “Shortly?”, Lena echoed, “What does that even mean?”
“It means”, Daniel sighed, “that my client prefers to discuss matters personally”. He replied calmly
Daniel gestures towards the courthouse exit,
Lena hesitates, “And my brother?”
“He’s gonna be just fine”, he assured her
“But for now we need to leave”,
“Leave?, Where?”, “To meet your fiancée”, He responded.
“Like…right now?”, “My client doesn’t like wasting time”. She never expected it all to be happening so soon.
Daniel began walking to the exit but paused when he noticed Lena hadn’t moved an inch. “You’re coming, aren’t you” he asks.
Lena looked down at her trembling hands for a moment before lifting her head again.
“…I guess I don’t have much of a choice”.
Daniel gave a faint nod, He whispered
“No…you don’t”.
Lena walked carefully behind Daniel through the hallways leading to the exit, As soon as they reached the exit, a sleek black SUV parked right in front of them, They both got into the backseat, within the next minute, the SUV pulled away, the ride was quiet and tense, the gentle humming of the car engine, as they drove by different buildings and people going about their daily lives, Lena stared out the window, lost in thought and wondering about the so called contract,
“Who even is this man?”, what does he gain from this and why does he need a contracted marriage?”.
The thoughts kept flowing in, she couldn’t put the pieces together, her thoughts were then interrupted by Daniel who sat inches away from her.
“Now I’d love you to know this about my boss, he does not repeat offers, if he’s gonna ask you once and you decline he won’t repeat the same offer, he values loyalty especially relating to your relationship”, For someone who’d settle for a contracted marriage he sure has a lot of rules. Lena chuckled inwardly.
Daniel continued,
“And for some reason, he chose you personally for this”. “He chose me?, That’s strange” Lena wondered, “Does he know who I am?” Lena wondered.
The car halted in front of a towering building, it looked somewhat corporate in a luxurious estate, as Lena stepped out she could feel the intimidation, she looked around taking it all in, it felt so polished and powerful, “Her stomach tightened in absolute disbelief, Everything about the place screamed influence and money, A part of her wanted to walk away, but another part kept seeing Noah alone in the courtroom. She shook her head, she couldn’t step back. not now.
“This way”, Daniel stated drawing her attention back. She followed quietly behind.
The place was buzzing, phones rang endlessly, secretaries typed rapidly behind their desks, lawyers moved briskly through the hallways with files tucked under their arms, They had reached the top floor, walked through a short hallway, and then stood in front of a large black wooden door, Lena tightened her fists, The lawyer knocked, a minute later there was a sharp
“Come in”.
which sent chills down her spine, as Daniel pushed the door handle, the room which stood before them was so huge, like an entire house in one space, Lena scanned around, the large room till she saw a really tall figure standing near a window overlooking the city
“Mr. Hayes”.
Daniel called out, and the figure turned slowly.
Calm.
Composed, observant.
The kind of presence that fills the room without raising his voice.
“Mrs. Hart is here”.
He approached slowly, signaling to be left alone with her. As soon as Daniel left, He walked directly towards Lena, stopping only a few meters before her.
Lena found herself frozen, his features were sharp and composed, the kind of face that looked carved with quiet confidence, Dark eyes studied her carefully beneath slightly furrowed brows, his jawline strong enough to make his expression appear naturally serious.
“So you’re the woman who signed my contract”. His voice is deep and composed.
Lena then realized this man already knows everything about her.
“I…I did what I had to do for my brother Mr. Hayes”, her voice trembling.
“Call me Adrian”.
Her heart raced, her fingers tightening around her strap bag.
He studied her, an eyebrow slightly raised
“That’s why you agreed, that’s why you’re here”
In that moment, Leah realized signing the contract didn’t give her control, it gave him the upper hand.
“Do you understand what you’ve agreed to?” His voice was low and deliberate
Lena’s throat went dry, one word
“Yes”.
Even as the word left her lips, a chill ran down her spine, She had thought she was saving her brother, She was about to discover how little control she had.
Adrian smiled…
- Writer
