Chapter 2: Twenty-Four Hours
1315 Words
Ava didn’t remember leaving Kane Group.
One moment, she had been standing in Alexander Kane’s office, staring at the most absurd proposal she’d ever heard.
The next, she was back at St. Catherine Hospital, clutching a contract that could save her mother’s life.
Or destroy hers.
“Miss Moretti?”
The nurse’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“Your mother is asking for you.”
Ava slipped the thick envelope into her bag before forcing a smile onto her face.
When she entered the room, her mother’s tired eyes brightened.
“There you are.”
Ava sat beside her bed, taking her frail hand in hers.
“Did something happen?” her mother asked softly.
“No.” The lie came easily. “I just had an interview.”
“What kind of interview?”
The kind that ended in marriage.
“The… complicated kind.”
Her mother chuckled weakly.
“You’ve always carried the world on your shoulders.”
Ava bit the inside of her cheek.
“If anything happened to me,” her mother began.
“Stop.” Ava squeezed her hand. “Nothing is happening to you.”
“Sweetheart—”
“No.” Her voice cracked. “You’re getting better. I’ll figure something out.”
She had to.
Even if it meant signing away three years of her life.
That night, Ava sat alone in her tiny apartment.
Rain battered the windows.
The contract rested on the table like a loaded weapon.
She opened it again.
Contract Marriage Agreement
Duration: Three years.
Compensation: Full payment of all medical expenses related to Mrs. Elena Moretti’s treatment.
Conditions:
The marriage shall remain confidential regarding its contractual nature.
Both parties shall maintain the appearance of a genuine relationship.
Neither party shall interfere in the other’s personal life.
Emotional attachment is strongly discouraged.
Ava snorted bitterly.
Who put “emotional attachment is strongly discouraged” in a legal document?
Then she reached the final page.
Penalty for breach of contract: $5 million.
“What?!”
She nearly dropped the papers.
A knock sounded at her door.
Three sharp raps.
Her heart jumped.
It was almost midnight.
Slowly, she approached the door.
“Who is it?”
“Delivery.”
She frowned.
“I didn’t order anything.”
“From Mr. Kane.”
Ava froze.
When she opened the door, a man in an expensive suit handed her a garment bag.
“Mr. Kane requests your presence tomorrow at nine a.m.”
She blinked.
“I haven’t agreed.”
The man offered a polite smile.
“He asked me to say this.”
His expression turned serious.
“Miss Moretti doesn’t seem like the type to abandon family.”
Then he left.
Ava stared after him.
Her fingers tightened around the garment bag.
She hated that he’d said exactly what she was thinking.
The next morning, Ava arrived at the hospital before sunrise.
She found two doctors standing outside her mother’s room.
The expressions on their faces stole the breath from her lungs.
“Miss Moretti,” one began gently.
“Your mother’s condition has deteriorated.”
The world tilted.
“We need to move the surgery forward.”
“How much time do we have?”
The doctors exchanged glances.
“Not much.”
Ava stepped into the empty stairwell before finally breaking down.
The tears came fast.
Violent.
Unfair.
She pressed trembling fingers against her lips.
She had done everything right.
Worked hard.
Stayed honest.
Sacrificed.
So why wasn’t it enough?
Her phone rang.
Unknown Number.
She already knew who it was.
“You have terrible timing,” she whispered.
“Actually,” Alexander Kane replied smoothly, “I think my timing is perfect.”
Anger surged through her grief.
“Did you send someone to my apartment?”
“Yes.”
“You assumed I’d say yes.”
“No.”
His voice remained maddeningly calm.
“I assumed you’d make the decision best suited to your priorities.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.”
Something about the certainty in his tone unsettled her.
“Meet me at Kane Group in one hour.”
“I’m at the hospital.”
A pause.
Then—
“One hour, Miss Moretti.”
The line disconnected.
Ava stared at her phone in disbelief.
Did billionaires know basic manners?
Apparently not.
Alexander Kane looked exactly the same as he had yesterday.
Cold.
Perfectly dressed.
Entirely unaffected by the fact that he’d upended her life.
“You came,” he noted.
Ava resisted the urge to throw the contract at his face.
“You already knew I would.”
For the first time, amusement flickered in his gray eyes.
“Sit.”
She remained standing.
“I have questions.”
“Three.”
“What?”
“You may ask three questions.”
Ava hated him immediately.
“Fine.”
She lifted the contract.
“Why me?”
Alexander’s expression didn’t change.
“Because you’ll fulfill your role effectively.”
That wasn’t an answer.
“Second question.”
“Do you actually intend to honor your end of this agreement?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Her stomach twisted.
“Third question.”
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, she asked:
“What happens after three years?”
Something unreadable crossed Alexander’s face.
“Then we’ll go our separate ways.”
Simple.
Clean.
Like she wouldn’t matter.
Ava should have felt relieved.
Instead, disappointment flickered through her.
Ridiculous.
She barely knew the man.
Alexander slid a pen across the desk.
“I need your answer.”
Ava looked down at the contract.
Then she thought about hospital corridors.
Unpaid bills.
Her mother’s smile.
Twenty-four hours ago, this decision would have been impossible.
Now?
She didn’t have a choice.
Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for the pen.
Alexander noticed.
He noticed everything.
“You can still walk away.”
The words surprised her.
Ava lifted her gaze.
“You’d let me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His expression hardened.
“Because I don’t force people to stay.”
The irony nearly made her laugh.
Slowly, she signed her name.
Ava Moretti.
The room fell silent.
Alexander took the contract.
Then he extended his hand.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Kane.”
Ava stared at it.
Then shook it.
His fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Steady.
Dangerous.
The contact lasted only seconds.
Yet something shifted in the air.
“You’ll move into the mansion today,” Alexander said.
“What?”
“The wedding is in two weeks.”
“The what?”
His brow lifted.
“You didn’t think I’d marry you without a wedding.”
“I thought this was fake.”
Alexander stepped closer.
Close enough for her to catch the expensive scent of his cologne.
Close enough for her pulse to betray her.
“Our marriage may be contractual,” he said quietly.
“But to the rest of the world—”
His gaze locked onto hers.
“—you will be my wife.”
A knock interrupted them.
Alexander’s assistant entered.
“Sir.”
“What is it?”
The assistant hesitated.
“It’s regarding Miss Sophia.”
For the first time since Ava had met him…
Alexander Kane looked annoyed.
“Handle it.”
“I’m afraid she insists on seeing you.”
A beautiful woman swept into the office before anyone could stop her.
Designer heels.
Perfect makeup.
Rage blazing in her eyes.
She stopped when she saw Ava.
Then looked at Alexander.
“Tell me this isn’t true.”
The temperature in the room dropped.
Sophia pointed directly at Ava.
“You’re replacing me with her?”
Ava’s grip tightened on her bag.
Alexander’s expression turned glacial.
And for the first time since signing the contract…
Ava realized becoming Mrs. Kane might be far more dangerous than she’d imagined.
- Writer
