The Rules of Marriage
921 Words
The ink was barely dry when Aria realized there was no turning back.
Her name sat at the bottom of the contract.
A few simple letters.
Yet those letters had just changed the direction of her entire life.
She stared at the paper in Damien Kingston's hands.
The agreement that would save her family.
The agreement that would bind her to a man she barely knew.
For one year.
Damien carefully closed the folder and placed it on the desk.
"Your family's debts will be cleared within twenty-four hours."
Aria looked up.
"That's it?"
He nodded.
"That's it."
No celebration.
No excitement.
No emotion.
Just business.
Exactly what he had promised.
She should have felt relieved.
Instead, she felt strangely empty.
"Do you always do this?" she asked.
Damien looked at her.
"Do what?"
"Make deals with people's lives like they're business contracts."
His expression remained calm.
"Sometimes business is the only language people understand."
"That's a sad way to see the world."
A small silence followed.
Then Damien replied quietly.
"Maybe."
The answer surprised her.
She expected him to argue.
Instead, he accepted it.
And somehow, that made him harder to understand.
---
The ride back to her apartment was different.
The first time she sat in Damien's car, she had been confused.
Now she felt trapped.
The city lights moved past the window, but Aria barely noticed them.
Her mind was somewhere else.
Tomorrow, her mother's hospital bills would disappear.
Her brother would be able to continue school.
Their house would no longer be in danger.
She had achieved what she wanted.
So why did it feel like she had lost something?
When the car stopped, Aria reached for the door.
"Wait."
She turned.
Damien handed her a small envelope.
"What is this?"
"Your new living arrangements."
Her eyebrows pulled together.
"Living arrangements?"
"After the marriage becomes public, you will move into Kingston Estate."
Aria stared at him.
"No."
Damien looked surprised.
"No?"
"I never agreed to move into your house."
"It is part of the agreement."
She quickly opened the contract on her phone.
After reading through the pages, she frowned.
"You added this?"
"I didn't add anything."
"You knew I wouldn't notice."
Damien leaned back.
"I knew you would notice eventually."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
For the first time, she saw something almost like amusement in his expression.
Almost.
"How long do I have?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Aria shook her head.
"You really don't waste time."
"No."
His eyes met hers.
"Neither do my enemies."
The seriousness in his voice made her stop.
For a moment, she remembered what he had said.
People were trying to destroy him.
And now she was part of his world.
A world filled with power, secrets, and danger.
---
When Aria entered the apartment, Liam was awake.
He immediately stood.
"You were gone for hours."
She forced a smile.
"I had something important to handle."
He noticed the tiredness in her face.
"Are you okay?"
The question almost broke her.
Because Liam always saw through her.
"I'm fine."
He looked unconvinced.
"Aria."
She looked away.
"I found a solution."
His eyes widened.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"The debt... it's going to be taken care of."
Relief filled his face.
"How?"
Aria hesitated.
She wasn't ready.
Not yet.
"Someone helped us."
Liam smiled.
"For real?"
"For real."
He hugged her.
And for a moment, Aria allowed herself to breathe.
She had saved them.
That was what mattered.
But when she went to her room later that night, she looked at the ring sitting on the table.
And the reality returned.
She hadn't solved the problem.
She had traded one problem for another.
---
The next morning, the news broke.
Billionaire Damien Kingston Announces Engagement to Mystery Woman.
Aria stared at the headline on her phone.
Her heart sank.
There was her picture.
A photo taken outside Kingston Tower.
A photo she didn't even know existed.
"This can't be happening."
Her phone immediately began ringing.
Messages flooded in.
Unknown numbers.
Reporters.
People asking questions she couldn't answer.
Then another message appeared.
From Damien.
Be ready. The car will arrive in thirty minutes.
Aria stared at the message.
No greeting.
No explanation.
Just an order.
She typed a reply.
You could at least say good morning.
The response came almost instantly.
Good morning, Aria.
She stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
Be ready.
Despite herself, she almost smiled.
Almost.
---
Thirty minutes later, a black car arrived.
Aria stepped outside carrying only a small suitcase.
She looked back at the apartment.
The place where she had fought for her family.
The place where she had dreamed about her future.
Now she was leaving it behind.
Not forever.
But long enough for everything to change.
When she arrived at Kingston Estate, the gates opened slowly.
The mansion beyond them looked like something from another world.
Beautiful.
Expensive.
Unreachable.
A staff member opened the door.
"Welcome, Mrs. Kingston."
Aria froze.
Mrs. Kingston.
The title felt strange.
Wrong.
Before she could respond, Damien appeared at the top of the stairs.
He looked at her calmly.
"Welcome home."
Aria looked around the enormous house.
Then back at him.
"This isn't my home."
Damien held her gaze.
"Not yet."
And for some reason, those two words unsettled her more than anything else.
Because Aria had entered Damien Kingston's world.
And she was about to discover that the hardest part of their agreement wasn't becoming his wife.
It was surviving it.
End of Chapter 4
- Writer
