Chapter Four
1032 Words
Chapter Four
Elena didn’t sleep.
The house felt wrong after Lucien left. Like someone had opened a window in the middle of winter and forgot to close it. Cold everywhere, even though it wasn’t cold.
Her dad went straight to his room. Her mom kept walking back and forth between the kitchen and the hallway like if she moved enough, nothing bad would happen.
Elena stayed in her room. With the folder.
Black. Heavy. Stupidly expensive-looking.
She didn’t open it right away.
Just sat there, staring at it on her desk like if she didn’t look, it wouldn’t be real.
Outside, it was raining again.
Of course it was.
Eventually she gave up and opened it.
The paper was thick. Too thick. Printed so clean it looked fake. Every line spaced perfect, like whoever made this knew people would read it twice.
First page: Marriage Agreement.
Her stomach dropped.
She flipped to the next page and stopped breathing.
“Debt Settlement Clause.”
All of it. Gone. Cleared. Transferred.
But then she saw the date.
Purchased. Five years ago.
Elena frowned, read it again slower. That didn’t make sense. Five years ago her family was fine. Struggling, sure, but not drowning. Not like this.
Her fingers tightened on the paper.
She kept reading.
Residency. Public conduct. Communication. Travel.
Approval for everything.
It wasn’t a marriage contract.
It was a leash.
And at the bottom of page six, she found it:
“Termination Clause: Divorce is not permitted under any circumstance.”
She stared at the line until the words stopped making sense.
No divorce. Not even if
She shut the folder fast, like closing it would un-read it.
“No,” she muttered. “No way this is legal.”
The chair scraped loud when she stood up.
“Elena?” Her mom’s voice came through the door.
Elena didn’t answer. She grabbed the folder and went downstairs.
Her dad was at the kitchen table again. Not working this time. Just sitting there, hands folded, head down. Like he’d been waiting for her.
“Elena,” he said quietly.
She dropped the folder on the table. It hit hard.
“What is this?”
He didn’t look at it. That was answer enough.
“What is this?” she said again, louder.
Her mom stepped forward. “Let him explain.”
“Explain what?” Elena’s voice cracked. “That I’m supposed to marry some guy to fix your mess?”
Silence.
Her dad finally glanced at the folder, then looked away.
“I didn’t know it would go this far,” he said.
Elena laughed. It came out ugly. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
“The truth is….
“No.” She cut him off. “Tell me the real truth.”
He sighed, stood up.
“I signed something years ago. An investor deal. It wasn’t supposed to involve you.”
Elena went cold.
“Years ago?”
He nodded.
Her eyes went back to the contract. Five years.
Same number Lucien said outside.
A coincidence.
Yeah, right.
Her mom tried to jump in. “We were trying to save the company. We didn’t know—”
“Didn’t know what?” Elena snapped. “That I’d end up part of it?”
Her mom flinched.
That was answer enough.
Elena stepped back, gripping the table. Her chest felt tight. Like the walls were closing in.
“So this isn’t about debt,” she said quietly.
No one answered.
She looked down at Lucien De Luca’s name at the bottom of the page.
Clean. Final. Like he’d been waiting.
“Elena,” her dad said carefully, “you don’t have to decide now.”
“Yes I do,” she said.
Because she got it now. This wasn’t an offer.
It was a timeline.
And she was already in it.
---
*The next morning*, someone knocked.
Not a stranger knock. Too confident.
Elena opened the door herself.
The guy outside was different from Lucien. Younger face, softer eyes. But he moved like someone who’d seen things.
“You’re early,” she said.
Matteo glanced past her. “Boss said you’d still be deciding.”
“Elena, let him in,” her dad called from inside.
She didn’t move at first. Then stepped aside.
Matteo came in, set another copy of the contract on the table.
“I’m here for questions,” he said.
Elena sat down across from him, arms crossed. “Where is he?”
“Busy.”
Of course.
“Start talking.”
Matteo nodded. Professional. Calm. Annoying.
“Lucien clears the debt. Your family keeps the house. Your dad’s business gets new contracts. You keep your hospital job. With protection.”
“And the catch?”
“Rules,” he said.
She already knew that part.
“What if I say no?”
“Then nothing happens.”
Elena stared at him. “That’s bullshit.”
Matteo didn’t flinch. “It’s not.”
He looked too sure. Like saying no wasn’t actually an option.
She leaned back. “Why me?”
Matteo hesitated. Half a second. But she caught it.
“I don’t know,” he said.
She didn’t believe him.
But she knew he wasn’t the one with answers.
She stood up. “I want to see him again.”
Matteo blinked. “That’s not standard.”
“I don’t care.”
He nodded once. “I’ll tell him.”
Before he left, Elena stopped him.
“Tell him this,” she said quietly.
“If he thinks I’m just going to sign my life away without knowing why, he’s wrong.”
Matteo looked at her a beat too long.
Then nodded and left.
---
That night, Elena stood at her window again.
Street looked normal. Cars, lights, people walking dogs.
But she knew better now.
Then she saw it.
Black car across the street. Engine off. No one getting out.
She stared at it.
Her heartbeat didn’t speed up. It slowed.
Because she knew.
He was in there.
Not coming out.
Just watching her decide.
And for the first time, Elena wasn’t sure if saying yes or no would actually change anything.
- Writer
