Chapter Two: The Contract
1569 Words
Amara stared at her signature at the bottom of the contract.For a moment, she couldn't believe she had actually done it.She had just agreed to marry a man she barely knew in exchange for fifty million naira.
The thought sounded completely absurd when she put it that way.
She slowly lifted her gaze.
Alexander was watching her.
His expression was unreadable, but there was something about his eyes that made her wonder if he had expected her to sign all along.
“You're really doing this?”
Amara frowned.
“You're the one who offered.”
“I know.”
“Then why do you sound surprised?”
“I wanted to see if you would actually go through with it.”
She leaned back in her chair.
“You tested me?”
“I needed to know what kind of woman I was dealing with.”
Amara gave him a skeptical look.
“And?”
Alexander's eyes moved over her face before settling on hers again.
“I'm still deciding.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Well, I'm still deciding whether I regret this.”
“You will.”
His answer came so quickly that she blinked.
“What?”
Alexander reached for the contract and gathered the papers together.
“You'll regret it.”
There was no teasing in his voice.
No smile.
Just certainty.
Amara's stomach tightened.
She had expected arrogance from him, but something about the way he said it made her uneasy.
“What exactly am I getting myself into?”
Alexander stood.
“Everything you need to know is in the contract.”
“I want to hear it from you.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“You'll move into my house tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“You're joking.”
“I don't joke about business.”
“I'm not moving into a stranger's house tomorrow.”
“You're marrying a stranger tomorrow.”
Amara opened her mouth, then closed it.
He had a point.
Unfortunately.
Alexander walked toward the window and looked out at the city below.
“The wedding will be private. Only immediate family and a few close associates will attend. After that, we'll announce the marriage publicly.”
“Why the rush?”
“My family is impatient.”
“Your family?”
“My grandfather.”
Amara folded her arms.
“What does your grandfather have to do with this?”
Alexander's jaw tightened slightly.
“Everything.”
She noticed the change in his expression.
For the first time since meeting him, she sensed something beneath his controlled exterior.
Something he didn't want to discuss.Before she could ask another question, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression immediately hardened.
“Excuse me.”
He stepped away and answered.
Amara couldn't hear the person on the other end, but she watched Alexander's face change as the conversation continued.
“No.”
A pause.
“I said no.”
Another pause.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
“She has nothing to do with this.”
Amara's eyebrows lifted.
Who was he talking about?
Alexander ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes.”
“You don't look okay.”
“I said it's fine.”
His voice had become colder.
Amara studied him.
She knew a dismissal when she heard one.
“Fine.”
She stood and picked up her handbag.
“When do I get the money?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
She stopped.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“You're actually going to transfer fifty million naira into my family's account?”
“Yes.”
Amara couldn't hide her surprise.
She had expected him to make her wait, perhaps use the money as leverage.
Instead, he was prepared to pay immediately.
“Why?”
Alexander looked at her.
“Because once you're my wife, your problems become my problems.”
Something about those words made her uncomfortable.
She didn't want to be his problem.
She didn't want to owe him anything beyond what was written in that contract.
“I don't need you solving any other problems.”
His expression softened for the briefest moment.
“You will.”
Before she could respond, the door opened.
A tall man in a dark suit entered the room.
“Sir.”
Alexander nodded.
“Jacob.”
Jacob glanced at Amara, then at the contract in Alexander's hand.
His eyebrows rose slightly.
“So this is her?”
Amara looked at Alexander.
Her?
As if she were a business acquisition.
Alexander gave Jacob a warning look.
“Not another word.”
Jacob immediately nodded.
“Of course.”
Amara narrowed her eyes.There was clearly a lot she didn't know.
And she hated that.
She turned to Alexander.
“I'll see you tomorrow.”
“You'll be picked up at nine.”
“I can drive myself.”
“You won't.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You don't get to control everything I do.”
“Not yet.”
Amara stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
But Alexander had already turned away.
She shook her head and walked out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The drive home felt strangely quiet. Amara sat in the back seat of the taxi, staring through the window as the city lights blurred past.She should have been relieved.
Her family was going to be saved.The company wouldn't be taken from them.Her mother wouldn't have to watch everything her husband built disappear.
That should have been enough.Yet instead of relief, Amara felt a growing sense of unease.
She pulled the copy of the contract from her handbag and read through it again.
One year of marriage.
Separate finances.
Public appearances when required.
No romantic relationships outside the marriage.
No disclosure of the agreement.
No divorce before the one-year period ended unless both parties agreed.
And one final clause that she hadn't noticed earlier.
Any breach of the agreement would result in immediate termination of financial support.
Amara frowned.
That seemed straightforward.
Until she reached the final paragraph.
Her eyes stopped.
The wife agrees to remain in the marital residence for the duration of the contract.
She leaned back.
“So that's why he wants me living with him.”
She continued reading.
There was another clause.
One that made her sit upright.
The wife must comply with reasonable requests concerning the husband's public image and family obligations.
Amara stared at the words.
“Reasonable requests?”
That sounded dangerously vague.
She considered calling Alexander.
Instead, she locked her phone and shoved it into her bag.
She had already signed.
There was no point panicking now.
When she arrived home, her mother was waiting in the living room.Amara could tell from her expression that she had been crying again.
“How did it go?”
Amara sat beside her.
“I found a solution.”
Her mother stared at her.
“What solution?”
Amara took a breath.
“A man is going to pay the debt.”
Her mother's face brightened.
“Who?”
“Alexander King.”
The smile disappeared.
Her mother's expression changed so suddenly that Amara noticed immediately.
“Mom?”
Her mother stood.
“Why would Alexander King help us?”
Amara frowned.
“You know him?”
Her mother didn't answer.
“Mom.”
“I don't know him.”
“You just reacted like you do.”
Her mother turned away.
“It's nothing.”
Amara stood.
“No. It's not nothing.”
Her mother's shoulders stiffened.
“Amara, please.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”She stared at her mother.
“First you borrow fifty million without telling me. Then a billionaire suddenly offers to pay it. Now you're acting like you know something about him.Her mother slowly turned around.
“You need to stay away from that man.”Amara's heart skipped.
“Why?”
Her mother looked frightened.“Because men like Alexander King don't do anything without a reason.”
The words stayed with Amara long after her mother went upstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across the city, Alexander stood alone in his office.The city stretched beneath the glass walls, glowing against the darkness.
Jacob stood several feet behind him.
“You should tell her.”Alexander remained silent.
“She deserves to know.”
“She doesn't.”
Jacob frowned.“You're bringing her into your house. You're marrying her. Eventually she'll find out.”
Alexander turned around.His expression was cold.
“Then she'll find out when I'm ready.”Jacob sighed.
“This is dangerous.”
“I know.” “You don't even know if she has anything to do with—”
“I said enough.”The room fell silent.
Alexander walked toward his desk and picked up the photograph lying beside his laptop.It was old.
The edges were worn.A younger woman stood in the picture, smiling at the camera.
Alexander stared at her face.For years, he had tried to bury the past.
Now, somehow, the past had walked straight into his life. In the form of Amara Williams.
His fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Why her?” Jacob asked quietly.Alexander didn't answer.
Because he didn't know. Not yet.
But there was one thing he was certain about.
He hadn't chosen Amara by accident.And she had no idea what she had just married into.
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