Against all odds (anchored by you)

Chapter 5: signed in chains

Amilia pov

It was a long night.

I didn’t regret my choice, at least, not yet, but the weight of it pressed hard against my chest. Sleep refused to Come. The nightmares wouldn’t let me breathe. Each time I closed my eyes. I was dragged back to Ethan’s lifeless body. to the blood on my hands. to the coldness of that cell.

But finally. morning arrived.

Today was different. It felt different. For the first time in weeks. there was something to look forward to, freedom. Or at least something that looked like it.

I sat on the edge of my cot, fingers twitching. heart pounding as if it were waiting for the rest of me to catch up. I didn’t eat. I didn’t speak. I just waited.

And then… footsteps. Steady. Measured. Familiar.

The cell door swung open with a loud creak. Charles stepped inside, flanked by two guards. He didn’t bother with pleasantries or small talk. Instead. he tossed a file at me like it was nothing more than a grocery list.

“Sign these. Quickly,” he ordered, voice cold and sharp.

My fingers shook as I picked up the file. I flipped it open and scanned the first page.

Marriage contract.

But it wasn’t Ethan’s name at the bottom.

It was Mark Montgomery.

Ethan’s uncle. Charles’ older brother. A man I had seen once at a gala, well into his sixties, maybe even seventy. Stern. Traditional. Wealthy beyond measure. Old enough to be my grandfather.

I stared at the name, the bold letters blurring on the page. My throat went dry.

“What the hell is this?” I whispered, eyes darting to Charles.

“This is your way out,” he replied, calm and collected like he was discussing the weather. “You made a deal. Now follow through.”

“I thought, ” I stopped myself. I didn’t even know what I thought anymore. Hope flickered inside me, begging for a chance to ask about Ethan. see him. But the cold look in Charles’ eyes told me I wouldn’t get answers, not here, not now.

“Young woman, I don’t have time to waste,” he snapped, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.

And so, with trembling hands, I signed it.

Because something inside me. maybe desperation, maybe survival. convinced me that I’d find a way out once I left these walls. That this wasn’t the end of my story.

After I signed the marriage contract. the release papers followed. I scribbled my name like a machine. Numb. Silent.

The guards led me out. Step by step. the prison behind me shrank. The sunlight hit my face. and for a brief second. I let myself believe this was a new beginning.

And then I heard it.

A TV mounted on the lobby wall played live news coverage. I would’ve ignored it… if not for the name that echoed through the screen.

“Breaking News: The President’s daughter to wed Ethan Montgomery. heir to the Montgomery empire.”

I stopped in my tracks.

Turned to the screen.

There he was.

Ethan.

Alive. Whole. Smiling. Dressed in a designer suit. standing beside a stunning woman with camera flashes surrounding them.

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. My breath caught in my throat as my heart shattered into a million pieces.

I had just signed away my freedom to marry a man four decades older…

While the man I loved stood next to another woman. getting married.

My knees buckled. but I didn’t fall. I couldn’t afford to. Not now.

Tears burned my eyes. but I blinked them back.

I didn’t know what game Charles was playing or what lies Ethan was living.

But one thing was clear. I had been betrayed.

And this time, I wasn’t going to be quiet about it.