THE WARNING
1350 Words
Emma didn't sign the contract that night.
She took it home instead.
Not because she had changed her mind.
Because something about Alexander Blackwood bothered her.
The money was tempting. More than tempting.
Five hundred thousand dollars could solve almost every problem she had.
But the man offering it was a problem all by himself.
Emma sat at her kitchen table with the contract in front of her, reading the same page for the fourth time.
Twelve months.
Five hundred thousand dollars.
A fake marriage.
No love.
No questions.
No interference.
She stopped at the last rule.
Neither party shall develop romantic feelings for the other.
She shook her head.
“Who puts something like that in a marriage contract?”
Apparently, Alexander Blackwood did.
Her phone lay beside the contract.
She had called Aunt Claire six times.
Nothing.
That scared her more than she wanted to admit.
Claire always answered.
Even when she was busy. Even when she was angry. Even when Emma called at ridiculous hours.
Something was wrong.
Emma picked up her phone again and dialed.
Voicemail.
She ended the call.
A knock sounded at her door.
Emma froze.
It was almost midnight.
Nobody visited her this late.
She slowly stood.
Another knock.
“Who is it?”
No answer.
Emma's heart began beating faster.
She moved toward the door and looked through the peephole.
The hallway was empty.
She waited.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A small white envelope.
Emma opened the door just enough to pick it up before quickly locking it again.
There was no name on it.
No address.
Nothing.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Three words were written in black ink.
DON'T MARRY HIM.
Emma stared at the message.
Her fingers went cold.
She read it again.
Then again.
Someone knew about Alexander's offer.
Someone knew she was considering it.
But how?
She walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside.
The street below was almost empty.
A black car sat across the road.
Emma's stomach tightened.
She couldn't see the driver.
She stepped away from the window.
Her phone rang.
She nearly dropped it.
Alexander.
Emma stared at his name before answering.
“Hello?”
“You received something.”
Her heart stopped.
“How do you know?”
“I was told.”
“Who told you?”
“That isn't important.”
“It is to me.”
“Emma.”
His voice had changed.
It wasn't cold anymore.
It was serious.
“Don't open your door to anyone tonight.”
She looked toward the door.
“How did you know someone came here?”
Silence.
“Alexander?”
“I'll explain tomorrow.”
“No. Explain now.”
“I can't.”
She let out a frustrated breath.
“You expect me to marry you, live in your house and follow your rules, but you can't even tell me what's happening?”
“You haven't agreed to marry me.”
“Maybe I won't.”
“You're considering it.”
Emma frowned.
“How do you know that?”
Another pause.
“Because if you weren't considering it, you wouldn't still have the contract.”
She looked at the table.
He was right.
That irritated her even more.
“You're very confident.”
“I have to be.”
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow morning, I'm sending a car for you.”
Emma almost laughed.
“You're sending a car?”
“Yes.”
“Where am I going?”
“To my office.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“You'll want to see something.”
“What?”
“I'll tell you when you arrive.”
The call ended.
Emma stared at the phone.
“Unbelievable.”
She looked at the contract again.
Then at the warning.
For several minutes, she didn't move.
Finally, she picked up the contract.
If someone was warning her not to marry Alexander, she needed to know why.
And if Alexander knew more than he was telling her, she needed answers.
The next morning, a black Mercedes was waiting outside her apartment.
Emma almost turned around.
She didn't.
She climbed inside.
Alexander was sitting in the back.
He looked up from his phone.
“You came.”
“I almost didn't.”
“But you did.”
Emma sat opposite him.
“Where are we going?”
“My office.”
“I know that. You told me yesterday.”
His eyes moved briefly over her face.
“You look tired.”
“I didn't sleep.”
“Neither did I.”
Emma wasn't sure why that answer caught her off guard.
The car pulled into traffic.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Then Emma noticed a faint cut across Alexander's knuckles.
“What happened to your hand?”
He glanced down.
“Nothing.”
“That doesn't look like nothing.”
“It isn't important.”
She almost smiled.
“You really don't like answering questions.”
“Not when I don't have to.”
“Then we're going to have a difficult marriage.”
Alexander looked at her.
Their eyes met.
For one brief second, neither of them looked away.
Emma felt something strange in her chest.
She broke eye contact first.
“Your contract says no feelings,” she muttered.
“I remember.”
“Good.”
The car stopped in front of Blackwood Enterprises.
Emma stepped out and looked up at the enormous glass building.
Alexander walked beside her.
People in the lobby immediately moved aside.
Employees greeted him.
Nobody looked directly at him for too long.
Emma noticed.
Power followed this man everywhere.
They entered the private elevator.
When the doors closed, Emma finally asked,
“What exactly am I supposed to do if I agree?”
“You'll attend certain events with me.”
“That's it?”
“You'll live in my house.”
“Separate rooms?”
“Yes.”
“No physical relationship?”
“Yes.”
“No questions about your personal life?”
Alexander looked at her.
“You can ask questions.”
“But?”
“I may not answer them.”
Emma sighed.
“You're impossible.”
“You're still here.”
She looked at him.
“Because I need the money.”
Something changed in his expression.
Not anger.
Something closer to disappointment.
“You're not the only one who needs something from this arrangement.”
Emma studied him.
“What do you need?”
The elevator doors opened.
Alexander stepped out.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward his office.
Emma followed.
His office was enormous, surrounded by glass windows overlooking Manhattan.
Alexander walked to his desk and picked up a photograph.
He turned it toward her.
Emma's breath caught.
It was a photograph of her.
Taken outside her apartment.
Yesterday.
Her face went pale.
“When was this taken?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
“Who took it?”
“We don't know.”
Emma looked closer.
She could see herself standing outside her building.
Someone had been watching her.
“How long?”
Alexander's voice was quiet.
“We don't know.”
Emma looked up.
“You said this was about your company.”
“It is.”
“Then why is someone watching me?”
Alexander didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
“Because I don't think they want you anywhere near me.”
Emma's heart pounded.
“And if I marry you?”
Alexander held her gaze.
“They'll know exactly where to find you.”
Silence filled the room.
Emma looked down at the photograph.
Then at the contract.
For the first time, the five hundred thousand dollars didn't feel like the reason she was standing there.
It felt like bait.
She slowly looked at Alexander.
“What aren't you telling me?”
His expression hardened.
“Everything.”
And that was when Emma realized something.
She wasn't being offered a marriage.
She was being pulled into a war she didn't understand.
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