One Kiss Before the Contract Ends

Chapter 2: A Mother's Secret

The word "transaction" echoed in the sterile silence of the penalty office, cold and sharp as a surgical blade. Ella felt its edge slice through the careful composure she wore like a second skin. A marriage. He couldn't be serious. And yet, looking into Alexander Blackwood's obsidian eyes, she saw no trace of humor, only a calculating, brutal practicality that stole the air from her lungs.

"Sir," she began, her voice barely a whisper. She cleared her throat, forcing strength into it. "Alexander. What you're suggesting… it's…"

"Logical," he finished for her, turning back to the window, dismissing the monumental weight of his proposition as if discussing a minor acquisition. "You require financial stability, irrevocable and substantial. I require the public image of a stable, committed man. Your daughter provides the necessary… familial touch." He said the last words with a detached curiosity, as if Lia were a beneficial clause in a contract. It made Ella's blood run cold.

Anger, hot and sudden, flared within her. It was the same fury that had fueled her when she'd fought her way out of the haze of addiction, for Lia. It was the fire that made her a genius in a world of mediocre men. But she doused it. She couldn't afford anger. Not here. Not with him.

"My daughter is not a part of any transaction," she said, her voice low but laced with steel.

"Everything is a transaction, Ella," he replied, his gaze still fixed on the city he owned a piece of. "You, of all people, should know that. You trade your time and intellect for a salary. I'm simply proposing a different currency. A more lucrative one."

He was right, and the truth of it was a bitter pill. The memory of last week's panic was still fresh—the desperate, scrambling fear when Lia's school called about an outstanding tuition fee she'd thought was automated. The shame of nearly maxing out her credit card. The ghost of a wine bottle, beckoning from the back of a cupboard, a familiar but dangerous comfort she'd barely resisted.

This contract, as monstrous as it was, was a shield. A fortress. For Lia.

"What are the terms?" The question felt like a surrender.

A slow, satisfied smile touched Alexander's lips, a predator seeing its prey step into the trap. He moved to his desk, pulling out a tablet. "A two-year term. You will act as my devoted wife in all public and family matters. You will live in my residence. In return, you will receive a monthly stipend five times your current salary. Upon successful completion of the term, you will receive a lump sum large enough to secure your and your daughter's future indefinitely. A trust fund for her education will be established immediately upon signing."

The numbers were astronomical. Life-changing. They could erase every financial fear she'd ever had. They could also chain her to this enigmatic, damaged man for two years.

"And the… intimacies?" she asked, her cheeks heating. The R-18 reality of their situation was unavoidable.

Alexander's eyes flickered to her, a brief, unreadable spark in their depths. "The contract is for appearance only. Your private quarters will be your own. I have no interest in forcing myself where I'm not wanted." The cynicism was back, a wall he effortlessly rebuilt. "Our relationship will be a performance. I trust a woman of your intellect can act."

Act. The word grated. She had been acting for years. Acting like she was fine. Acting like she wasn't sometimes terrified. Acting like the sight of a glass of champagne at a business event didn't make her palms sweat.

"And my work?" she asked.

"You remain my assistant. Your genius is part of the package I'm acquiring."

Acquiring. He made her sound like company. Perhaps, to him, she was.

"I… I need to think about it," she said, needing space, needing air.

"You have twenty-four hours," he said, his tone final. "The family gala is in seventy-two. I need an answer by tomorrow. Now, the Shanghai merger awaits."

Just like that, the conversation was over. The world hadn't ended; it had just been irrevocably altered. He had pivoted back to business as if he hadn't just proposed a marital merger with the same dispassionate efficiency.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Ella moved through meetings and drafted emails on autopilot, her mind a chaotic whirlwind. She was still at her desk long after the sun had set, the city lights now a blanket of diamonds below. The open contract document glowed on her screen, a digital crossroads.

Her phone buzzed, breaking her trance. A video call. Lia's face filled the screen, beaming, held by Ella's mother, Grace.

"Mommy! We painted a dinosaur! A purple one!" Lia exclaimed, her joy a tangible force through the screen.

"That's amazing, sweetie! I can't wait to see it." Ella's voice cracked. She saw her mother's sharp eyes narrow, detecting the strain.

"Are you working late again, Eleanor?" Grace asked, her voice laced with familiar disapproval. "A child needs her mother present, not just a bank account."

The words hit their mark with practiced precision. A bank account. She was killing herself to be a good provider, and it was never enough. But Alexander's offer… it was more than enough. It was everything.

After the call ended, Ella sat in the dim light of her office. She pulled a small, silver locket from her purse, opening it to a picture of a younger, more haunted version of herself holding a newborn Lia. That woman had been broken, nearly lost to the bottle and her own poor choices. She had sworn she would build a safe, unshakable world for her daughter.

Alexander Blackwood's world was many things, but it was unshakable.

Her hand trembled as she reached for her bag, her fingers brushing against the cool, smooth surface of a small, hidden flask. A relic of a past she fought daily to forget. She snatched her hand back as if burned.

This contract was a different kind of poison. But it was a poison that came with an antidote—security, safety, a future for Lia.

She picked up her tablet, her thumb hovering over the screen. Taking a deep, shuddering breath that felt like a leap into an abyss, she typed her reply to Alexander.

"I accept. Send me the contract."

The die was cast. The mother's secret was now bound to the heir's demand.