TRAPPED IN THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT

Elena: The first time I realized my life was no longer my own was the day the bank sent the final notice. It arrived in a plain envelope. There was no emotion in it, not even a hint of sympathy, unforgiving numbers staring back at me. Debt was accumulating. This wasn’t even the first letter. The same envelope had been arriving for weeks now, each one heavier than the last. I stared at the paper for a long time, my fingers tightening around it as though squeezing it hard enough could somehow change what was written. But it didn’t. Slowly, I lifted my gaze and looked around the once lively Hart mansion. It felt… too quiet. Back then, Hart Textiles wasn’t just a company. It was a legacy. But now? It is a sinking ship, dragging all of us down with it. “Elena…” My father’s voice came from behind me, breaking through the suffocating silence. I didn’t turn immediately. I wasn’t ready to face him, not when I already knew what I would see. But when I finally did, my chest tightened painfully. Victor Hart stood in the doorway, looking older than I remembered. His eyes no longer carried the fire I had grown up admiring. I swallowed hard. “How bad is it?” He didn’t answer right away. And somehow, that silence told me everything I needed to know. My grip on the letter loosened slightly as dread settled deeper into my chest. “We’re going bankrupt, aren’t we?” I asked, my voice was quiet now. He exhaled slowly, like even breathing had become difficult. “It’s worse than that.” My heart dropped. “There are debts I can’t repay,” he continued, his voice strained. “Investments that failed… partners who withdrew at the last moment.” He paused, running a tired hand through his hair. “Elena… I’ve tried everything.” I believed him. And that was the worst part. Because my father was not a careless man. He wasn’t reckless. He didn’t make foolish decisions. Something about this… wasn’t right. “Then tell me the truth,” I said softly. “What really happened to the company?” He looked away. That simple gesture said more than any words could. I knew my father. And at that moment, I understood he was hiding something. Before I could press him further, he spoke again, cutting through the tension that had begun to build between us. “There’s… one solution left.” My chest tightened instantly. “What kind of solution?” I asked cautiously. His hesitation made my heart beat faster. “A marriage.” For a moment, I thought I had misheard him. The words didn’t make sense. They didn’t belong in this conversation. I blinked slowly, trying to process what he had just said. “What?” “The Valecrest family,” he said carefully, as though choosing each word with extreme caution. “If you marry into the family… they will absorb our debts. They will save this family.” A disbelieving laugh escaped my lips. “You’re joking.” But he didn’t smile. And that was when fear truly set in. Because I knew that look on his face. This wasn’t a joke. This was reality. “No…” I whispered, shaking my head slightly, as if that alone could reject the idea. “Elena,” he stepped forward, his voice breaking in a way I had never heard before, “I didn’t want this. I avoided it for years. But we have no choice anymore.” “No choice?” My voice rose, the shock quickly turning into anger. “So your solution is to sell me off?” “I’m trying to save you!” “I didn’t ask to be saved like this!” The room filled with tension so thick it felt impossible to breathe. My heart pounded violently against my chest, my emotions clashing painfully inside me—anger, disbelief, hurt… and something deeper I didn’t want to name. Then he said the name. “Adrian Valecrest.” Everything inside me stilled. “That’s the man you’re going to marry.” I froze. Of course, I had heard of him. Everyone had. The cold, untouchable, and ruthless bachelor of the city. A man people respected… and feared. A man no one truly knew. “You want me to marry him?” I asked slowly, each word heavy. “Yes.” “For money?” “For survival.” I closed my eyes. Images flooded my mind. My mother… gone. The warmth she once brought into this home is now nothing but a distant memory. My younger brother… still full of dreams, still innocent, still deserving of a future untouched by this mess. My father… standing in front of me, breaking piece by piece. And somehow… Everything rested on me. A long, shaky breath escaped my lips. When I opened my eyes again, something inside me had already shifted. “… Fine,” I said quietly. My father looked up sharply, surprise flashing across his face. “I’ll do it.” The relief that washed over him was immediate. And for some reason, that hurt more than anything else. “But don’t expect me to pretend this is anything other than what it is,” I added, my voice turning cold, distant. “This is just a contract… nothing more.” ***** That night, I stood alone in my room, staring at the engagement ring that had been delivered by the Valecrest family earlier that evening. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours. Just a few hours after the agreement, the ring was already here. As if everything had been planned long before I ever said yes. I picked it up slowly, watching how it glittered under the soft light. It was beautiful, expensive and completely meaningless. A symbol of a future I never chose. A future tied to a man I didn’t know… and wasn’t sure I wanted to know. My fingers trembled slightly as I slipped the ring onto mine. It fit perfectly. Everything about this felt calculated. Just like the man I was about to marry. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing the person looking back at me. I should have felt something. But instead… I felt nothing. And deep down, a quiet, unsettling thought lingered in my mind This wasn’t just about saving my family. I had just stepped into something far more dangerous than debt. And somehow… I knew there was no turning back. As I turned to lay do wn, I saw my father through the window collecting a package from a mysterious person. He was very careful, so that no one could see him. As he heard someone's voice coming from inside, he ran into the house through the back door