Signed To Seduce

CONTRACT MARRIAGE

Days pass without Camille going to work. She tells her mum and Ava that Xavier gave her a few days off but she didn't know how long she could keep that lie going.

Xavier, on the other hand, hasn't been good without her. He really needed her but he couldn't re-hire her. It didn't work that way.

One day, he arrives at work later than his usual time. He looks dishevelled and as if he hasn't slept properly in days. He locks his office door once he gets in and tells the receptionist he doesn't want to see anyone.

Hours later, the receptionist calls and tells him that his mother is downstairs. He tells her to let his mother in.

"Xavier, son", his mother says sweetly as she enters his office. He gets up and walks over to her, hugging her. She holds him for a while before letting him go.

"How are you?" she asks, sitting on the chair opposite his.

"Tired mama" he says.

"I can see. Are you eating and sleeping well?"She asks calmly, worried about her son's health.

"Mama, don't worry about me. Why are you here?" he asks her, taking her hand in his, stroking it slowly.

His mother's mood immediately shifts because she knows how much he hates talking about what she's about to say. "Your uncles are contesting son" she says

"Mama, not this again" he says to her, putting her hand down.

"You need a wife, Xavier or your father's will will go to your uncles"

"Mama" he sighs

Ï'm serious, son. You need a wife and soon. Stop being childish"

"Childish? you know what Victoria did to me, mama and how I don't trust women," he claps back.

"I need to hear you have a wife the next time I visit" she says.

"Yes mama" he says with a sigh.

As she leaves, he flops on his chair with a heavy sigh. He hated this plan but he knew how much it meant to his mother .

After hours of thinking, he decides to plan a fake proposal. Just for the public eye and of course his father's inheritance. He cant let his uncles win and he knows the perfect person for the job. Camille.

He paces around his room for a few minutes wondering if she's going to agree to it as his finger hovers over the call button. She's his only hope at the moment.

Camiller didn’t pack her things immediately. She lingered in her apartment, telling herself she’d find another job, another way out. But the city was cruel and expensive, and opportunities didn’t fall into laps.

Two days later, her rent reminder blinked on her phone. The balance in her account was humiliatingly low. Her mother’s medical bills stacked higher each week, the calls from the clinic growing sharper, less patient.

She pressed her palms to her face. She hated this—being cornered.

That evening, a black car rolled up to her building. Xavier stepped out, crisp in his tailored suit, eyes as unreadable as the night sky.

“You’re not easy to replace,” he said without greeting.

She crossed her arms. “I’m not coming back sir.”

“I’m not offering you your job.” His gaze flicked over her, cool and assessing. “I’m offering something else.”

Her stomach tightened. “What do you mean?”

“A contract marriage,” he said simply, like he was negotiating another business deal. “You’ll play the part of my wife. In return, your debts vanish. Your mother’s bills, taken care of. Comfort, security. All handled.”

Camille laughed, but it sounded brittle. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You’d be convenient. Obedient when I need you to be. And I trust you not to humiliate me again.”

Her cheeks flamed. “You can’t buy me.”

“Then walk away,” he said with a shrug. “See how long you last.”

She slammed the door in his face.

But his words clung to her like smoke. By the third night, she was staring at the unpaid bills scattered across her kitchen table, her chest tight, her pride wrestling with survival.

By the fifth, she called him.

Her voice trembled, though she tried to sound strong. “Fine. I’ll sign it. The contract. Your wife.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, then his voice—smooth, certain, satisfied.

“I knew you’d come around.”

Camille set her phone down with shaking hands. She told herself it was temporary, just business. But deep down, she knew stepping into Xavier Hale’s world would never be something she could escape unscathed.

She calls Ava and begins to tell her all the crazy s**t that has happened in just 2 weeks.