🖤 Chapter 1 – The Contract
The day my life ended didn’t feel dramatic.
There was no thunder. No warning.
Just a piece of paper… and a choice I couldn’t refuse.
“Sign it,” my stepmother said, her voice cold and impatient.
I stared at the document in front of me. My name was already printed neatly at the bottom, waiting for my signature like a trap I couldn’t escape.
Marriage Contract.
One year. No emotional attachment. Absolute obedience.
My fingers trembled. “This… this isn’t real.”
“Oh, it’s very real,” she replied, leaning back with a satisfied smile. “And if you don’t sign it, your brother doesn’t get the surgery he needs.”
My heart stopped.
Ethan.
His weak smile flashed in my mind. The way he tried to act strong, even when he could barely breathe some days.
“You wouldn’t…” My voice broke.
She leaned forward, her eyes sharp. “Try me.”
The room suddenly felt too small. Too suffocating.
This wasn’t a choice.
It was a sentence.
“Who is he?” I whispered.
“A man powerful enough to solve all your problems,” she said. “And destroy you if you disappoint him.”
A chill ran down my spine.
I picked up the pen slowly. My hand felt heavy, like I was signing away more than just my name.
“Good girl,” she murmured.
The ink touched the paper.
And just like that—
My freedom was gone.
I didn’t know it yet…
But the man I had just agreed to marry—
Was the one who hated my family the most.