IN HIS VICIOUS EMBRACE

A Contract Written in Ice

Aurora's fingers trembled ever so slightly as she opened the black leather folder.

The first page was a formal legal agreement.

A marriage contract.

For a moment, she thought it had to be a joke.

It wasn't.

Every clause was typed with meticulous precision, every paragraph reviewed by an army of expensive lawyers.

She scanned the first page.

Duration: One year.

Public Status: Legally married.

Financial Compensation: Blackwood Group would immediately settle every outstanding debt owed by Ellington Industries.

Confidentiality: Neither party could reveal the true nature of the marriage.

Aurora's heartbeat slowed—not because she was calm, but because shock had numbed every other emotion.

She looked up.

"You planned this."

Adrian met her gaze without flinching.

"I prepare for every possibility."

"You knew I would come."

"I knew you had no other choice."

The words landed like a slap.

Aurora closed the folder.

"No."

The answer came instantly.

"I won't sell my life."

Silence settled between them.

Adrian didn't argue.

He simply pressed a button on his desk.

A large screen on the wall lit up.

Numbers.

Charts.

Financial reports.

Court notices.

Auction schedules.

Aurora's expression slowly changed.

Ellington Manor.

Ellington Manor.

Factory Number Three.

The company's headquarters.

Every remaining asset her father had fought to protect.

Each one had a date beside it.

Auction Date.

Seven days.

Five days.

Three days.

She stepped closer.

"No..."

"This is impossible."

"It isn't," Adrian replied.

"The banks accelerated the debt after yesterday's hearing."

She turned sharply.

"How do you know all this?"

"I own thirty-two percent of the debt."

Her breath caught.

"What?"

"I purchased it this morning."

The room suddenly felt much colder.

"You..."

"You bought my family's debt?"

"I did."

"Why?"

He remained silent for several seconds.

When he finally spoke, his voice was almost emotionless.

"Because I don't like unfinished business."

Aurora searched his face for some trace of humanity.

Nothing.

No satisfaction.

No anger.

No pity.

Only control.

"You could have helped us," she whispered.

"I am helping you."

"This isn't help."

"It's an opportunity."

She laughed bitterly.

"An opportunity?"

"To become your wife?"

He stood.

The movement was slow, deliberate, commanding.

At over six feet tall, Adrian naturally towered over her.

He walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Manhattan before speaking again.

"The world already believes I'm about to announce an engagement."

Aurora frowned.

"What?"

"My grandfather's will."

He turned slightly.

"If I'm not married before my thirty-second birthday..."

His voice remained calm.

"...I lose control of Blackwood Group."

Now it was Aurora's turn to be silent.

"So that's it," she said.

"You need a wife."

"I need a partner the board won't question."

"And you think that should be me?"

"I know it should."

She folded her arms.

"You don't even know me."

"I know enough."

"You know my company's financial statements."

"I know your university record."

Aurora blinked.

"I know you graduated at the top of your class."

"I know you've rejected three investment firms because they wanted you to abandon your father's employees."

"I know you've been working sixteen-hour days for nearly a year."

"I know you sold your mother's jewelry without telling your brother."

Her face turned pale.

"...How?"

"I investigate everyone I do business with."

For the first time since entering the office...

Aurora felt exposed.

Not because Adrian was threatening her.

Because he somehow knew the parts of her life she had never shared with anyone.

"You had me followed."

"I had information verified."

"That's not the same thing."

"No."

He stepped closer.

"It's more efficient."

The air between them became unbearably tense.

Aurora refused to step back.

"You can buy companies."

She stared directly into his cold gray eyes.

"You can buy politicians."

"You can even buy my family's debt."

"But you cannot buy me."

For the first time...

The corner of Adrian's mouth lifted.

A smile.

Small.

Dangerous.

Almost invisible.

"I wasn't trying to."

He picked up a fountain pen and placed it gently on top of the contract.

Aurora looked at the pen.

Then the contract.

Then back at him.

"What if I walk away?"

"You may."

"And then?"

"Within one week..."

His voice remained calm.

"...Ellington Industries disappears."

She hated how certain he sounded.

Because every instinct told her...

He wasn't bluffing.

Aurora grabbed her handbag.

"I need time."

"You have forty-eight hours."

"No more."

She walked toward the door without another word.

Just as her hand reached the handle

"Ms. Ellington."

She stopped but didn't turn around.

"When this is over..."

Adrian said quietly,

"...you'll realize this marriage saved more than your company."

Aurora left without answering.

The elevator doors closed.

Only then did she release the breath she had been holding.

Her hands were shaking.

Not because she was afraid of Adrian Blackwood.

But because deep inside...

A small, terrifying voice kept whispering the same question.

What if marrying him really is my only way to save everyone I love?