MARRIED WHO KILLED MY SISTER

The Contract The envelope was heavy. Not in weight — but in meaning. Thick, cream-colored paper with her name etched in gold ink: Miss Amara Reid. Amara stared at it for a full minute before touching it. Her fingers trembled as she slid it open, heart thudding louder than the hum of the hospital machines beside her. Her mother’s breath wheezed in quiet gasps behind the thin curtain. Each one sounded shallower than the last. The doctor had been clear: They couldn’t afford to wait. Without the surgery, her mother had maybe three weeks. A private hospital could do it. But the cost... It was more than Amara could ever make in three years, let alone three weeks. And now this. Inside the envelope: a letter, a contract, and a check. Her name again, in typed ink: “This agreement confirms your acceptance to enter a civil marriage for a period of 90 days. Upon successful completion, the full sum of ₦100 million will be released to your account.” She read it again. And again. It didn’t change. A marriage. A contract. Ninety days. She flipped to the last page. Groom’s Name: Elijah Thorne Hart Her stomach dropped. Elijah. That name. It slammed into her chest like a fist. It couldn’t be — not that Elijah. Not the one with the storm-grey eyes. The one who disappeared after her sister died. The one she’d chased in her nightmares and daydreamed of confronting. The one her sister had loved… and possibly died because of. Amara’s pulse raced. She hadn’t heard that name in three years — not since they buried Leila. The official cause: suicide. But no one in their family had truly believed it. Especially not Amara. Her sister had been in love. Obsessed, even. She had whispered the name Elijah like a secret prayer. But he’d vanished after her death — no funeral, no condolences, nothing. And now, a contract. A marriage. His name on it. Amara sat still, gripping the papers like they might vanish if she blinked. Was it a trap? A coincidence? Or fate? Her mother coughed, softly, in her sleep. The sound cut her deeper than any memory. She looked at the check again. One hundred million naira. Her breath shook. This wasn’t just a marriage. It was a deal with the devil. And she was going to take it. Cliffhanger Ending: Amara picked up a pen. Her fingers trembled as she signed her name next to his. And in that moment, she didn’t know if she’d saved her mother’s life… Or just destroyed her own.