No Way Out.
421 Words
The news broke at 6:03 AM.
“Adewale Marriage a Sham? Insider Claims Contract Wife Exposed.”
Amara woke to her phone vibrating against the nightstand.
87 notifications. Climbing.
Damien’s side of the bed was cold. He was already gone.
She opened Twitter.
A blurred photo of her leaving Café 7 with Chioma.
Posted by an anonymous account.
*Caption:* _“Exclusive: Mrs. Adewale met with Adewale family member hours before ‘intimate’ photoshoot. Sources say marriage is a business deal.”_
The comments were brutal.
_“Told you she was fake.”_
_“Poor Damien, trapped by a gold digger.”_
_“4.2 million naira hospital bill paid 2 days ago. Coincidence?”_
Someone had dug into her father’s medical records.
Illegal. Reckless.
Amara’s hands shook so hard she dropped the phone.
The penthouse door opened.
Damien walked in, suit already on, jaw tight. He didn’t look at her. He looked furious.
“Chioma moved faster than I expected,” he said.
“She leaked my father’s records,” Amara whispered. “Damien, that’s illegal.”
“I know.”
He crossed the room and stopped in front of her.
“There are two ways to handle this,” he said. “We deny everything and let my legal team bury her. Or we get ahead of it.”
“How?”
Damien exhaled.
“We tell the truth. Not all of it. But enough. Press conference in 2 hours. You and me. We say the marriage started as a contract, but it’s real now.”
Amara stared at him.
“You want me to lie to millions of people and say we’re in love?”
“I want to protect you,” he said quietly. “If we say it’s fake, they’ll destroy you. If we say it’s real, they’ll have nothing to chase.”
Amara looked at her phone.
Her father’s name was trending.
She had 2 hours to decide if she could sell the biggest lie of her life to save him.
“What if I say no?” she asked.
Damien’s eyes darkened.
“Then I can’t stop what happens next.”
He walked out, leaving the door open.
Amara sat on the edge of the bed, the headline still burning on her screen:
Contract Wife for the Billionaire.
Her chest felt tight. Her options felt gone.
She could fight and lose.
Or lie and survive.
But either way,
her life would never be hers again.
[To Be Continued…]
- Writer
