Chapter 2: Contract Proposal
1465 Words
Ella’s POV
“Adrian?” My voice came out small, but there was no answer.
I grabbed the sheet and held it to my chest, and my heart beat fast as I looked around the room.
He didn’t just step out; he left, and I swallowed, and then my lips trembled a little.
“Really? You just vanish like that?” I whispered to myself.
Last night flashed through my head,
his hands, his voice, the way he whispered my name like he was trying to forget something.
Then the way he shut down right after.
I rubbed my face. “This is bad. Oh God… this is so bad.”
I dressed quickly, and my fingers shook as I zipped my dress, and then I grabbed my purse and rushed out of the room.
My heels clicked sharply on the hallway floor, and I didn’t even breathe until I was inside the elevator.
“Ella, calm down,” I muttered. “It was just one night. He is a billionaire, he won’t even remember your name.”
But the moment I said it… my chest hurt.
__
Days passed, and I tried to forget him. I tried to focus on my event planning job, and I arranged flowers, fixed tables, and answered clients.
But my phone kept lighting up with unknown calls, and I ignored all of them.
Until the same number called five times, and then I sighed and picked it up. “Hello?”
A deep voice filled my ear. “Ella.”
I froze. I knew that voice; the memory of his breath on my neck hit me too fast.
“…Adrian?” I whispered.
“Yes,” he said, and it was like he didn’t need to explain anything. “We need to meet.”
I laughed nervously. “Oh. Um… about that night…I am sorry. I didn’t mean for things to get weird and…”
“I will send a car,” he cut in. “Ten minutes.”
“Wait, what… Adrian, ten minutes?! I am at work!”
But he already ended the call, and I stared at my phone. “What is wrong with this man?!”
My co-worker, Mira, looked at me. “Who was that? You look like you saw a ghost.”
“I… don’t know yet,” I mumbled.
___
Ten minutes later, I stepped outside, and a black car waited, and a driver opened the door.
“For you, Miss Ella.”
I blinked. “Did he warn you I look cheap today?”
The driver hid a smile. “Mr. Adrian only said it was urgent.”
Great, perfect, and wonderful.
I sat inside, and my legs shook during the whole ride, and when the car stopped in front of Adrian’s company building, it was a tall, glassy, and intimidating and I felt like I might faint.
Inside the lobby, people stared at me, and I swallowed and stepped into the private elevator, and then the doors closed.
“Okay, Ella,” I whispered. “Be normal, don’t think about his mouth, or his hands, or his, no, no, stop.”
The elevator dung and the doors opened.
Adrian stood in his office, his hands in his pockets, and he stared out the huge window like a brooding male lead of a powerful empire.
He then turned when he heard me, and our eyes met, and then my stomach flipped.
“Ella,” he said quietly.
“Hi,” I said, and I felt stupid instantly.
He studied me for a moment. “You look nervous.”
“You think?” I whispered.
He then walked to his desk. “Sit.”
I sat slowly, and my palms were sweating.
He didn’t sit; he just stood right in front of me, like he wanted to make sure I couldn't run.
“About that night…” I started.
“It’s not about that,” he interrupted.
“Oh.” My heart dropped for some reason.
“It was a mistake,” he said simply.
I smiled awkwardly. “Right, yes, totally, we can pretend it never….”
“But,” he continued, “it gave me an idea.”
I blinked. “What idea?”
Before he could answer, the door opened, and a man in a suit entered and held a folder.
“Mr. Adrian, the documents you requested.”
The man gave me a kind look. “Hello, Miss Ella. I’m Mr. Halden… Adrian’s lawyer.”
My body stiffened. “Lawyer? Why… lawyer?”
Adrian nodded at him. “Explain.”
Mr. Halden opened the folder and slid a few papers across the desk toward me.
“This is a one-year marriage contract.”
I stared at the papers like they were a bomb.
“What?” My voice cracked. “Marriage? Like… marry you? What?”
Adrian’s face stayed cold. “Yes.”
I immediately choked on air. “Are you insane?!”
Mr. Halden cleared his throat. “It’s a business arrangement, Miss Ella. Mr. Adrian must appear married to secure an important merger, and the board requires stability… a family image.”
I blinked at Adrian. “So you want… me? Why me?!”
“You’re suitable,” he said simply.
“Suitable?” I repeated. “I’m not a shoe size.”
He ignored that. “There will be rules, boundaries, and expectations.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “So romantic.”
He continued like I didn’t speak. “We won’t share a room, we won’t touch, and we won’t act like a real couple unless we are in public.”
My ears burned. “Considering what we already did….”
“That night was a mistake,” he said again, and his voice was flat.
Something inside me twisted and Mr. Halden slid another page to me. “And the payment, this is the amount you will receive monthly.”
My eyes widened. “Wait. What? This many zeros?”
“It’s non-negotiable,” Adrian said, and my breath shook, this money… this money could change everything: my debts, my mother’s bills, and my entire life.
I whispered, “Why me, Adrian? For real?”
He stared at me for a long second, and his voice was lowered. “Because I trust you not to fall in love with me.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse you?!”
“You look like someone who knows how to stay detached,” he said.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “You are unbelievable.”
He stepped closer, and his eyes were cold, but something flickered behind them.
“You have twenty-four hours,” he said, “Take the contract home, think carefully.”
My pulse jumped. “And if I say no?”
He watched me silently, and for a moment, something dark moved in his eyes.
“Then everything stays as it is.” His voice went low. “But I will not ask again.”
I swallowed hard, and the room suddenly felt too small.
Mr. Halden closed the folder and handed it to me, and Adrian’s gaze locked onto mine; it was sharp and unreadable.
“Ella,” he said softly, “make the right choice.”
My breath caught, and I picked up the folder with shaky hands, and then I stood slowly.
He watched every movement, every step, like he was memorizing it, and then I walked toward the door.
But before I reached it…
“Ella,” he said again, and I turned, and his eyes held something I didn’t understand.
Something that scared me a little, and he whispered, “Don’t be late.”
A chill immediately ran through me, and I clutched the folder to my chest and stepped out of his office, and the elevator doors closed, and then my heart kept ringing.
__
I reached my apartment, and I locked the door, and I dropped my bag on the couch, and I stared at the contract on my table.
The numbers on the payment page almost blinded me, and my head spun.
My phone lit up again; it was a new message from Adrian.
“Twenty-three hours left.”
I whispered, “Why do I feel like this is a trap?”
Then I sat down slowly, stared at the first page of the contract, and I froze.
Because at the bottom…
There was a handwritten note in bold black ink, Don’t try to run, we need each other more than you know.
My fingers turned cold, and I looked at the door.
I swear I hear footsteps in the hallway.
The contract shakes in my hands.
My voice comes out as a whisper:
“Adrian… what are you not telling me?”
- Writer
