Chapter 4: The Contract Between Us
1330 Words
The message stayed on Serena's screen.
Because now you're no longer protected by being Adrian Blackwood's wife.
She read it twice.
Then she locked her phone.
Whoever had sent it knew about the divorce.
That wasn't unusual. By morning, half the business world would probably know.
But the wording bothered her.
Protected.
Protected from what?
Serena walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Her hands were steadier now, but the ache in her chest hadn't disappeared.
She hated that part.
She had expected anger after leaving Adrian.
Instead, there was this hollow feeling that seemed to follow her from room to room.
Her phone rang again.
Daniel.
She answered.
“Tell me the acquisition is moving.”
“It is,” he said. “But there's a problem.”
Serena leaned against the kitchen counter.
“What kind?”
“The transaction is large enough to attract attention. If the Blackwood board discovers the buyer before the market opens, they could try to block it.”
“Can they?”
“Not legally.”
“Then let them try.”
Daniel was quiet for a moment.
“You sound different.”
“I got divorced yesterday.”
“That'll do it.”
Despite herself, Serena smiled.
“Send me the final documents.”
“They're already in your secure folder.”
“Good.”
She ended the call.
Her gaze fell on the small suitcase still sitting beside the sofa.
For a moment, she considered putting everything away and pretending tonight had never happened.
Then she laughed quietly.
That was impossible.
Adrian had spent three years believing their marriage was simple.
A contract.
Three years.
Separate rooms.
No interference.
No expectations.
And, eventually, divorce.
That was what they had agreed to.
But agreements had a funny way of changing when people developed feelings they hadn't planned for.
Serena walked back to her desk.
She opened the old digital copy of their marriage contract.
The first page appeared.
PRIVATE MARITAL AGREEMENT
She stared at it.
The document took her back to the day she had signed it.
Three years earlier.
Adrian had been sitting across from her in his grandfather's study.
He looked exactly as he always did when he was working.
Perfectly composed.
Almost impossible to read.
Serena had picked up the contract.
“You really wrote all of this?”
“Yes.”
She flipped through the pages.
“Separate bedrooms.”
“Yes.”
“Separate finances.”
“Yes.”
“No public arguments.”
“Yes.”
“No interference in each other's careers.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“And no romantic expectations.”
Adrian's eyes briefly met hers.
“That should be obvious.”
Serena had laughed.
“Right.”
She continued reading.
Then she found the final clause.
“If either party wishes to terminate the marriage after three years, the other party shall cooperate without objection.”
She looked up.
“That's your favorite part, isn't it?”
“It keeps things simple.”
“Nothing about us is going to be simple.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“We haven't even started.”
“You're right.”
She signed.
Adrian signed afterward.
That should have been the end of it.
Except it wasn't.
Serena remembered their first night at the Blackwood mansion.
They had stood outside their separate bedrooms.
Adrian had loosened his tie.
“You can take the room on the left.”
She had looked at him.
“That's it?”
“What were you expecting?”
“I don't know.”
He had almost smiled.
“You're the one who agreed to the contract.”
She remembered staring at him.
Then saying:
“Goodnight, husband.”
He had paused.
“Goodnight, Serena.”
That was how their marriage had begun.
Cold.
Formal.
Safe.
Until it wasn't.
Serena closed the file.
She didn't want to remember the good moments.
They made the bad ones harder to accept.
Her computer chimed.
The acquisition status had changed.
97% COMPLETE.
She sat forward.
Daniel called almost immediately.
“Serena.”
“I'm looking at it.”
“There are people trying to identify the buyer.”
“Let them.”
“They've already contacted two of our intermediaries.”
Her expression hardened.
“Cut contact with both.”
“Already done.”
“Good.”
Another notification appeared.
99%.
Serena held her breath.
The final transfer went through.
TRANSACTION COMPLETED.
She stared at the screen.
For three years, she had quietly protected Adrian's company.
Now she owned a significant part of it.
Not enough to control everything.
But enough to make him listen.
Enough to make him wonder.
Enough to make him regret underestimating her.
Daniel called again.
“Congratulations.”
Serena leaned back.
“How much?”
“Thirty-eight percent.”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
Thirty-eight percent.
She had become Blackwood Industries' largest individual shareholder.
Adrian didn't know.
Not yet.
“Prepare the board notice,” she said.
“You're calling an emergency meeting?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Daniel hesitated.
“You're going to tell him?”
Serena looked at the divorce agreement still open on her laptop.
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“I want him to find out in front of the board.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“I was worried divorce had made you bitter.”
“I am bitter.”
“Good.”
Serena smiled for the first time that night.
“Just not stupid.”
The call ended.
She closed the laptop.
For the first time since leaving the Blackwood mansion, she felt something other than heartbreak.
Control.
She walked toward her bedroom.
Her phone buzzed.
She stopped.
Another unknown number.
She opened the message.
You bought 38% of Blackwood Industries. Congratulations.
Serena's blood ran cold.
A second message appeared.
But you should ask yourself why Adrian was so desperate to divorce you.
She stared at the screen.
A third message arrived.
The woman you're blaming isn't the real reason.
Serena frowned.
Victoria.
Pregnant.
Adrian's supposed new love.
If Victoria wasn't the reason, then why had Adrian divorced her?
She typed a reply.
Who are you?
The message showed as delivered.
No response.
Serena waited.
Nothing.
She placed the phone on the table.
Then picked it up again.
She hated uncertainty.
And she hated secrets even more.
Especially when they involved Adrian.
Her mind returned to the strange expression on his face when she had asked whether he loved her.
He had looked like answering hurt him.
But then he had said no.
Serena pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“Why would you lie?”
The question escaped into the empty room.
Her phone vibrated.
She nearly dropped it.
This time, it wasn't the unknown number.
It was Adrian.
Adrian: Are you home?
Serena stared at the message.
Her heart betrayed her before her mind could stop it.
She still cared.
Of course she did.
Three years couldn't disappear because of a signature.
She typed:
Serena: Why?
The typing indicator appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Finally:
Adrian: I need to see you.
Serena's pulse quickened.
Serena: For what?
His reply came almost immediately.
Adrian: There's something I should have told you before you signed the papers.
She stared at the screen.
Her fingers went cold.
Then another message appeared.
Adrian: The divorce wasn't supposed to happen this way.
Serena read it several times.
A bitter laugh escaped her.
He was three years too late.
She typed:
Serena: You got exactly what you wanted.
His response took longer this time.
When it arrived, her breath caught.
Adrian: No, Serena. I got exactly what I was trying to prevent.
She stared at those words.
For the first time since their divorce, doubt entered her mind.
Maybe Adrian hadn't been leaving her.
Maybe he had been trying to save her from something.
But if that was true, one question remained.
What was he protecting her from?
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