Chapter 2: The Contract
1215 Words
The diamond ring sparkled under the office lights.
,
Ava stared at it as though it were a venomous snake.
"I won't wear that," she said firmly.
Damien didn't flinch.
"You don't have to wear it today."
His calmness only fueled her anger.
"You think you can buy everything with money?"
"No."
"I buy businesses."
"I earn trust."
"Love isn't something I buy."
A bitter laugh escaped Ava's lips.
"You've certainly bought my future."
Before Damien could reply, another loud bang echoed through the building.
The office lights flickered.
Ava instinctively stepped back.
"What was that?"
Damien pressed a button beneath his desk.
His head of security answered immediately.
"Sir, several unidentified men entered the lobby."
"They're asking about Miss Lawson."
Ava felt the blood drain from her face.
"Me?"
Damien's expression darkened.
"Keep every entrance locked," he ordered.
"No one gets to this floor."
"Yes, sir."
The call ended.
Silence settled between them.
Ava searched his face.
"You knew this would happen."
"I suspected it."
"You knew someone was following me?"
"I knew someone would come looking once your father died."
She shook her head.
"None of this makes sense."
"It will."
"But not today."
Damien picked up a thick document from his desk.
"The marriage contract."
"I don't care about your contract."
"You should."
"It's the only thing standing between you and bankruptcy."
Ava reluctantly accepted the file.
The first page listed several conditions.
One-year legal marriage.
No public scandals.
Attend official business events together.
Live in the Blackwood Mansion.
Her eyes widened.
"I'm not living with you."
"You'll have your own wing."
"I don't care if I have my own country."
"I'm not moving into your house."
Damien almost smiled.
"You'll be safer there."
"I don't need your protection."
"You do."
"And you're too stubborn to admit it."
Ava slammed the contract onto the desk.
"I'd rather lose everything."
"Would you?"
His voice was suddenly sharp.
"What about the two hundred and forty-three employees working for Lawson Interiors?"
She froze.
"What about their families?"
"What about the children whose school fees depend on those salaries?"
His words struck her like a slap.
She had spent the last week trying to reassure every employee that everything would be fine.
But the truth...
She wasn't sure anymore.
Damien walked toward the window.
"I've already transferred enough money to cover three months of salaries."
Ava blinked.
"You...what?"
"They'll receive their pay tomorrow."
She stared at him.
"You expect me to thank you?"
"No."
"I expect you to understand that I'm not your enemy."
She folded her arms.
"Then tell me who is."
For the first time, Damien hesitated.
"There are people powerful enough to destroy both our families."
"My father discovered something before he died."
"He never had the chance to tell you."
Ava remembered the fear in her father's eyes during his final weeks.
He had become withdrawn.
Nervous.
Always checking over his shoulder.
At the time she thought it was because of the company's debts.
Now...
She wasn't so sure.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
Damien's assistant entered the office.
"Sir."
"We've identified one of the men downstairs."
Damien looked up.
"Who is it?"
The assistant swallowed.
"He works for Victor Lawson."
Ava's heart stopped.
"My uncle?"
"That's impossible."
"He'd never hurt me."
The assistant placed several photographs on the desk.
They showed Victor meeting secretly with men Ava had never seen before.
One photograph showed a suitcase full of cash.
Another showed signed contracts.
The dates stretched back almost four years.
"No..."
Ava whispered.
"This has to be fake."
"It isn't," Damien replied quietly.
"I hired investigators months ago."
"I was trying to protect your father."
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
"Because your father begged me not to."
Tears filled Ava's eyes.
Everything she believed was beginning to crumble.
If Damien was telling the truth...
Then she had hated the wrong man.
Ava forced herself to breathe.
Her mind raced as she stared at the photographs spread across Damien's desk.
One image caught her attention.
Her father was shaking hands with Damien outside a hospital.
They weren't arguing.
They were smiling.
She picked it up with trembling fingers.
"When was this taken?"
Damien glanced at the photo.
"Three years ago."
"My father came to thank me."
Ava frowned.
"Thank you? For what?"
"For saving his life."
She looked at him in disbelief.
"What are you talking about?"
"He had a heart attack during a board meeting."
"I happened to be there."
"I got him to the hospital before the ambulance arrived."
Ava searched Damien's face for any sign of deception.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"You don't have to."
"The hospital records still exist."
She remembered her father telling her he'd been rushed to the hospital by "an old friend."
He had never mentioned a name.
Her stomach tightened.
"What else didn't he tell me?"
Damien remained silent.
"There were things he wanted to protect you from."
"Or maybe he wanted to protect you," Ava snapped.
A flicker of pain crossed Damien's face.
"If hating me helps you survive what's coming, then hate me."
His answer caught her off guard.
For a moment, she saw something beyond the cold billionaire everyone feared.
He looked... exhausted.
As though he had been carrying a burden alone for years.
Before she could ask another question, the assistant returned.
"Sir."
Damien looked up.
"What now?"
"The CCTV system is back online."
He immediately turned one of the computer monitors toward Ava.
The security footage showed the building's main entrance.
Five men dressed in black walked through the revolving doors.
Their faces were hidden beneath baseball caps.
One of them spoke briefly to the receptionist before another shoved the security guard aside.
Within seconds, panic spread across the lobby.
Employees ran for cover.
Another man pulled out a metal baton.
Ava covered her mouth.
"They're attacking people."
"They're looking for you," Damien said quietly.
"Why?"
"I've never seen those men before."
"You don't have to."
"They know who you are."
He zoomed in on the screen.
One of the men held up a photograph.
It was Ava's passport photo.
Her blood ran cold.
"How did they get that?"
"They've been watching you."
"For how long?"
"I don't know."
Damien picked up his phone.
"This changes everything."
He dialed a number.
"Prepare the safe house."
"We're leaving through the underground garage."
He ended the call.
Ava shook her head.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"You don't have a choice."
"I always have a choice."
"Not if you want to stay alive."
His words hung heavily in the room.
Before Ava could respond, the lights suddenly flickered once...
...twice...
Then the entire floor went black.
The emergency lights failed to switch on.
Only the distant flashes of lightning outside illuminated the office.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Ava could hear nothing except her own heartbeat.
Then...
A metallic click echoed from the hallway.
Someone had unlocked the emergency stairwell.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Getting closer.
Damien moved in front of Ava without saying a word.
His body shielded hers.
She noticed something for the first time.
He wasn't protecting himself.
He was protecting her.
The footsteps stopped outside the office.
The silver door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then...
Very slowly...
The office door began to opened
- Writer
