Chapter 3: A Contract Marriage Proposal
1137 Words
Ariana Cole spent the next few days trying to rebuild the pieces of her life.
After the disaster of her wedding, she expected the pain to disappear quickly. She thought staying busy would help. She returned to her event planning work, answered messages from clients, and continued designing clothes late into the night.
But everything felt different.
Every place reminded her of Ethan.
The restaurant where they had their first dinner.
The park where he proposed.
The apartment where they had planned their future.
Memories that once brought happiness now carried a painful reminder of what she had lost.
Still, Ariana refused to let one person destroy everything she had worked for.
She had built her career with determination, and she was not going to give Ethan Carter the satisfaction of seeing her fall apart.
One afternoon, while reviewing a new design collection in her studio, her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Damien Blackwood.
Her expression changed.
She had not expected to hear from him so soon.
After a moment of hesitation, she answered.
“Hello?”
“Ariana.”
His voice was calm, as always.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
“I need to speak with you.”
She looked at the sketches on her desk.
“About what?”
“Something important. Can you come to Blackwood Tower?”
Ariana frowned.
“Is this about Ethan again?”
“No.”
The seriousness in his voice made her sit up.
“Then what is it about?”
“You’ll understand when you arrive.”
She disliked unanswered questions, but something told her this was important.
“Fine. I’ll come.”
Later that day, Ariana entered Damien’s office again.
This time, she noticed something different.
He looked more serious than before.
Not the confident CEO who controlled a company.
Someone dealing with a difficult decision.
“Sit down,” Damien said.
Ariana took the chair across from him.
“What’s happening?”
Damien placed a document on the table.
“I need your help.”
She looked surprised.
“My help?”
“Yes.”
Ariana almost laughed.
“You’re Damien Blackwood. You have thousands of employees and endless resources. Why would you need my help?”
“Because this is not a business problem.”
She became more curious.
“What is it?”
Damien was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, “My family believes I am going to announce my engagement soon.”
Ariana blinked.
“Your engagement?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“They expect me to marry someone who benefits the Blackwood family.”
Ariana understood.
A powerful family wanted a powerful match.
“But what does that have to do with me?”
Damien looked directly at her.
“I need you to become my wife.”
Silence filled the room.
Ariana stared at him.
For a moment, she wondered if she had heard correctly.
“Excuse me?”
“A marriage.”
She stood up immediately.
“No.”
Damien remained calm.
“I haven’t explained the arrangement.”
“I don’t need an explanation. I was betrayed by my fiancé days ago, and your solution is for me to marry a stranger?”
“It would be a contract marriage.”
Ariana looked at him in disbelief.
“That does not make it better.”
Damien opened the folder.
“Listen first.”
She hesitated but remained standing.
“My family is trying to control my personal life. They believe I need a marriage alliance to secure certain business relationships. If I announce that I am already married, those plans will end.”
“And you chose me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Damien paused.
“Because you need protection, and I need someone my family will not expect.”
Ariana crossed her arms.
“So this is convenient for both of us?”
“Exactly.”
She laughed quietly.
“You make marriage sound like a business deal.”
“For this situation, it is.”
Ariana looked away.
A contract marriage.
The idea sounded impossible.
But then she remembered Ethan.
The man she trusted had turned her wedding day into a public humiliation.
Maybe love was not the safety she thought it was.
Still, she couldn’t simply agree.
“What would I get from this?”
Damien seemed prepared for the question.
“Financial security. Protection from anyone trying to damage your reputation. Support for your business and designs.”
Ariana shook her head.
“I don’t want someone to buy my problems away.”
“I know.”
His answer surprised her.
“I know you are not that kind of person.”
She looked at him.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
The confidence in his voice annoyed her.
“You don’t know me, Mr. Blackwood.”
“Maybe not completely.”
He leaned back.
“But I know you walked away from a wedding in front of hundreds of people instead of begging someone who betrayed you to stay.”
Ariana became quiet.
“You know what people would do in that situation?”
“They would be hurt.”
“Yes. But many would still choose comfort over dignity.”
His words stayed with her.
Damien continued.
“You are stronger than you realize.”
For a moment, Ariana forgot he was offering a business arrangement.
She saw a man who understood something about her that others didn’t.
But she quickly reminded herself.
This was not love.
This was a contract.
“I need time to think.”
Damien nodded.
“Take three days.”
“Three days?”
“Yes.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then nothing changes. I will still help you with the information about Ethan.”
Ariana studied him.
He wasn’t forcing her.
He was giving her a choice.
She picked up the contract and stood.
“I’ll read this.”
“That’s all I ask.”
As Ariana walked toward the door, Damien spoke again.
“One more thing.”
She turned.
“If you agree, the world cannot know it is a contract.”
She frowned.
“You want everyone to believe it is real?”
“Yes.”
“That means pretending.”
“Yes.”
Ariana looked at the document in her hand.
A fake marriage.
A new identity.
A new life.
Everything about it sounded impossible.
But her old life had already collapsed.
When she stepped outside Blackwood Tower, she looked up at the building.
She had entered Damien Blackwood’s world searching for answers.
Now she was being offered a place inside it.
Three days later, she would have to decide whether to walk away…
Or become the hidden bride of one of New York’s most powerful men.
- Writer
