THE PROPOSITION
727 Words
Elena stared at her phone long after the call ended.
A proposition?
She didn’t understand.
Who was he?
And how did he know about what had happened?
She almost ignored the call completely. She had enough problems already without dealing with a strange man on the phone.
But something about his voice felt familiar.
Then she remembered.
The office.
The stranger who had stared at her as if he’d seen a ghost.
Elena’s heart skipped.
Could it be him?
Her phone rang again.
The same unknown number.
She hesitated before answering.
“Hello?”
“It seems you’re having a difficult day.”
Elena’s expression hardened.
“Who are you?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Then why did you call me?”
There was a short silence.
“I have a proposition for you.”
Elena let out a bitter laugh.
“I’m not interested.”
“You haven’t heard it yet.”
“I don’t care.”
She was about to end the call when he spoke again.
“I know about your inheritance.”
Elena froze.
“What?”
“I know the conditions attached to it.”
Her grip tightened around the phone.
“How do you know about that?”
“I did my research.”
“Why?”
“Because I need something from you.”
Elena frowned.
“What could you possibly need from me?”
“A wife.”
She went completely silent.
“A what?”
“A wife.”
Elena stared at the wall.
“You’ve got to be joking.”
“I’m not.”
“You called me on the day my fiancé abandoned me to ask me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
Her anger rose.
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I know you’re Elena Blackwood. I know your family owns one of the largest companies in the city. I know about your inheritance. And I know you’re supposed to gain full control of it once you’re married.”
Elena’s face went cold.
“So you want my money?”
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I need a marriage that serves a purpose.”
She laughed bitterly.
“That sounds romantic.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
Elena closed her eyes.
She couldn’t believe this conversation.
“What exactly are you proposing?”
“A marriage arrangement.”
She said nothing.
“You would become my wife. There would be rules. Boundaries. We would live our lives independently.”
“Then why get married?”
“Because I need the marriage.”
“And what do I get?”
“Freedom.”
Elena frowned.
“Freedom?”
“You want to build something of your own. You don’t want your family controlling your future. I can give you the space to do that.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“How do you know what I want?”
“I told you. I did my research.”
Elena stood and walked toward the window.
“You’re asking a complete stranger to marry you.”
“And you’re considering it.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“But you haven’t hung up.”
Elena fell silent.
He was right.
She should have ended the call.
But something about his offer had caught her attention.
Not because she wanted his money.
Not because she wanted another man.
But because for the first time since Sebastian left, someone had offered her a way to take control of her future.
“I need time to think,” she finally said.
“Take it.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then nothing changes.”
Elena looked out the window.
Her heart was still broken.
Her life had just fallen apart.
And now a stranger was offering her a completely different future.
Before ending the call, she asked one final question.
“Why me?”
There was a pause.
Then his voice came through quietly.
“Because I believe we can help each other.”
The call ended.
Elena lowered her phone.
She didn’t know it yet, but the man on the other end of that call was the same stranger she’d bumped into at the office.
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