Two Hearts

Where Is He?

Laura's POV

I still couldn't believe what I'd just heard.

Three days.

Daniel hadn't contacted anyone for three entire days. He had simply disappeared. Or maybe he had run away. Had all of this become too much for him? Had Eric pushed him too hard?

Questions kept circling through my mind, but there were no real answers.

Eric was saying something, but I barely heard him. I was so lost in my own thoughts that his voice became nothing more than background noise. I could hear the sound of him speaking, but not the words themselves.

"Laura?" His voice suddenly pulled me back to reality.

"Everything alright?" He was looking at me with concern.

"Yes, of course," I answered quickly. "I was just thinking. I hope Daniel is okay."

I tried not to sound worried. The idea itself felt ridiculous. I barely knew the man. Yet no one simply vanished for three days without a word.

The look on Eric's face told me something important. This probably wasn't the first time Daniel had done something like this.

"He'll show up," Eric said calmly. "You don't need to worry about him." His answer was distant, controlled, almost practiced.

I didn't push further. After all, I wasn't really part of this family. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I was simply a stranger who had agreed to fulfill her part of a contract.

Lately, I had been trying to think of it as a job rather than a personal obligation. It was easier that way.

But would I be a convincing actress? Would anyone actually believe that Daniel and I were a married couple?

And what if they didn't? What if Daniel decided he couldn't tolerate any of this and threw me and my children out before the contract ended?

The thought made my stomach tighten. I didn't want to disappoint Eric either.

In many ways, he reminded me of my father. The same warm smile. The same calm presence. The same feeling that everything would somehow be alright as long as he was nearby.

God, I missed him.

My father's death had been so sudden that neither my mother nor I had ever truly recovered from it. When someone becomes sick, you have time to prepare yourself for the inevitable. It still hurts, but at least your heart sees it coming.

Losing someone without warning was different. The wound never quite healed.

Eric and Maria spent the next hour showing me around the house. Every room. Every hallway. Every detail - The bedrooms, the study, the kitchen, the library, the garden, even the storage rooms.

At one point, Eric casually informed me that I wouldn't have to worry about groceries, household supplies, or daily necessities. Maria handled everything.

"If you need anything," he said, "simply tell Maria. She'll take care of it." The statement sounded simple enough.

For me, it felt impossible.

How was I supposed to tell another person what to buy for me? I'd spent my entire adult life doing those things myself.

But arguing with Eric Carter was clearly a losing battle. When he made a decision, it wasn't really a suggestion.

So I simply nodded, smiled politely, and kept my thoughts to myself.

Still, the same feeling remained. None of this belongs to you. The thought kept returning over and over again - The house. The furniture. The staff. The life. None of it was mine.

The children, however, adapted much faster. The excitement in their eyes was impossible to miss. The moment Eric told them they were free to explore the house and the garden, they disappeared like little rockets.

I couldn't even blame them. For children, this place was magical. A huge house. A massive garden. A library bigger than their entire school library. Enough space to run, play, and dream.

The truth was, I had always wanted something like this for them. A backyard. A safe neighborhood. A place where they could simply be children. Life just hadn't been kind enough to make that possible.

Until now.

Whether I liked it or not, a new chapter had begun. And I would have to learn how to live inside it.

Most of our belongings had already arrived before we did. Eric had arranged everything. Boxes labeled with my name had been placed inside my assigned bedroom. Ellie's things were already in her room. Markus's belongings had been placed in his.

The remaining boxes sat neatly in the living room waiting to be unpacked.

I wasn't sure where to put anything. The last thing I wanted was to invade Daniel's space without permission. I didn't know his boundaries. Or whether he even wanted us here.

By evening, the silence inside the house had become overwhelming. The place was simply too large. Every time I walked from my room to the kitchen or living room, I felt like I might get lost.

The children had gone to bed early. It had been a long day. An emotional day. Truthfully, I still hadn't explained much to them.

How could I?

How do you tell your children you're moving into a stranger's house because you've signed a contract to pretend you're married?

The conversation at dinner kept replaying in my mind.

We had been eating quietly. I'd made pasta carbonara—their favorite. I was still amazed by the kitchen. It looked like something out of a magazine.

Then Ellie caught me completely off guard.

"Mom... are we rich now?"

I nearly choked on my water.

"No, sweetheart," I said with a smile. "We're just helping a very good person."

It wasn't exactly a lie. But it wasn't exactly the truth either.

Now I stood alone on the terrace overlooking the garden.

The moonlight painted silver shadows across the grass. Spring had finally arrived. Tiny buds had begun appearing on the bushes and flower beds.

The air felt softer. Warmer. Less lonely. For the first time in months, the world didn't seem quite so gray.

I looked up at the sky. There were so many stars. That was one advantage of living outside the city. No streetlights. No skyscrapers. Just darkness and starlight.

I let out a quiet sigh.

"Daniel... where are you?" The question escaped before I could stop it. I wasn't even sure why I'd said it.

Maybe because the house felt incomplete without him. Maybe because none of this felt real yet. Or maybe because, despite everything, I wanted answers too.

Eventually, I turned away from the night sky and headed upstairs.

The house was quiet.

Far too quiet.

And for the first time since arriving, I felt truly alone.

Daniel's POV

After my father's unexpected visit—and the lecture that came with it—I felt completely thrown off balance.

Not because of everything he'd said. But because of his final words - Two weeks. Then Laura moves in.

Those words refused to leave my head.

So I did what I always did when life became complicated. I worked. Without stopping. Without breathing. Without thinking.

I buried myself in meetings, negotiations, contracts, and expansion plans.

I slept very little. More than once, I spent the night in my office. As long as I stayed busy, I didn't have to think about what was waiting for me outside of work.

Oddly enough, I didn't feel exhausted.

The opposite.The pressure fueled me. I wanted more meetings. More contracts. More distractions.

Then came the message I least expected. Actually, I hadn't expected it at all.

Laura and the children will move in this Saturday. Please be present.

The message was from my father.

I checked the date - Three days. Only three days left.

A thousand emotions hit me at once. For the first time, I realized I wasn't ready. Not ready to see this become reality.

I pressed the button connecting me to my assistant.

"I'll be unavailable until Monday. Move any important meetings. If you can't, give them to Tom. He'll know what to do." That was it.

I grabbed my keys and left.

Sitting inside my car, I stared through the windshield - Now what?

Somehow, without consciously deciding to, I found myself standing outside Dana's apartment. She lived in one of the city's most expensive residential towers. Of course she did.

Her parents were wealthy. They had given her everything she'd ever wanted and ignored almost every poor decision she'd ever made.

She was ambitious. Spoiled. Beautiful. Luxury wasn't something she enjoyed. It was something she considered necessary.

Truthfully, women like Dana usually irritated me. But over the years I'd learned something - Women like her understood the rules. They understood the difference between s*x and love. They knew exactly what they wanted and weren't ashamed to admit it. Money mattered to them, and they never pretended otherwise.

Unlike others.

The ones who acted innocent and sweet until you discovered they cared about your bank account far more than they cared about you.

Before I could change my mind, I rang the bell.

Dana opened almost immediately. A bright smile appeared on her face. She was wearing a black lace nightgown that revealed more than it concealed. Not surprising. Women like Dana knew exactly what they were doing.

"Daniel," she purred. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I'm staying here for a few days." No explanation. No details. Just a statement.

I knew she wouldn't object. I also knew I was breaking my own rules. But at the time, I didn't care.

Several days of distraction. Several days without thinking. That sounded perfect.

Three days passed. Maybe four. Honestly, I lost track. The time disappeared somewhere between parties, alcohol, late nights, and endless s*x.

I woke up to sunlight flooding the bedroom.

Dana's arm rested across my chest. The intimacy bothered me immediately. Too close. Too familiar. Too much.

I slipped out of bed, pulled on my pants, and picked up my phone.

Missed calls. Dozens of them. My father. Maria. Several others. Everyone seemed to be looking for me.

Then I noticed another message. This one was from my head of security. At my request, he had been monitoring the house while I was away.

I opened the message. Attached was a photograph. Beneath it was a single sentence - Mrs. Brown and children have arrived.

I stared at the image - Laura stood in front of the house. Beside her were her daughter and son. All three were looking toward the building. In the background stood my father and Maria, welcoming them inside.

For several seconds, I couldn't look away.

This wasn't some distant arrangement anymore. This wasn't paperwork. This wasn't a contract sitting inside a safe.

This was real.

They were living in my house. My home. And now we were expected to create the image of a family. Even if that family was built on lies.

For the first time, something uncomfortably close to fear crept into my chest.

I shoved the feeling aside immediately. Fear? Ridiculous. I handled billion-dollar negotiations. I dealt with competitors, investors, and crises every day. This was just another business arrangement.

Nothing more. At least that's what I told myself.

Grabbing my keys, I left without saying goodbye. I never said goodbye.

The drive home felt longer than usual. Or maybe I was simply driving slower. Part of me still wasn't ready to go back. But eventually, reality catches up with everyone. Including me.

When I finally pulled into the driveway, everything looked exactly the same - The same house. The same garden. The same front door. Nothing had changed. Or so it seemed.

I climbed the steps, unlocked the door, and walked inside.

The moment I crossed the threshold, it hit me. Like a punch straight to the stomach - The smell. Warm. Rich. Comforting.

Freshly cooked food filled the entire house. My mouth watered instantly. And the scent triggered something I hadn't felt in years.

Home.

For the first time since signing the contract, real fear settled deep inside my chest. Because suddenly I realized something. Laura and the children weren't visitors anymore.

They were here.

And somehow, my house already felt less like mine than it had yesterday.