Chapter 1
391 Words
Chapter 1: The Contract Wife*
The elevator doors opened straight into his world.
Arielle stepped into Damian Cortez’s penthouse and immediately felt small. Floor to ceiling glass. City lights below like scattered diamonds. Zero warmth. Just black, gray, and cold steel. Just like him.
Her suitcase wheels clicked against marble. The sound was too loud.
“You get the guest room,” Damian said from the bar. He hadn’t turned around. Whiskey in one hand, contract in the other. Like he was still reading the fine print of her life. “House staff has been informed. You’re Mrs. Cortez now. Act like it in public.”
Arielle gripped the handle of her suitcase until her knuckles went white. “And in private?”
“Clause 4,” he finally turned. That gray stare again. No smile. No pity. “No romantic involvement. Don’t make this complicated, Arielle.”
Right. Because signing her name to a marriage with her ex’s older brother wasn’t complicated at all.
The guest room was massive. King bed, walk-in closet, bathroom bigger than her old apartment. There was a red dress box on the bed with a note: _Gala. Tomorrow. 8PM. Don’t be late._
No signature. He didn’t need one.
She changed into an oversized shirt and crawled under the silk sheets. Too cold. Everything here was too cold.
At 2 AM, she heard footsteps. Then a knock. Soft, but certain.
“Can’t sleep?” Damian’s voice came through the door. Low. Tired. Less CEO, more human.
Arielle pulled the blanket tighter. “I sleep fine when I’m not legally bound to a stranger.”
The door opened anyway. He leaned against the frame in a black shirt and sweatpants. Hair messy. For a second he didn’t look ruthless. He looked 28 and exhausted.
“You snore,” he said flatly.
“I do not.”
“You do. Thin walls.” A pause. “Take this.”
He tossed a small remote on her bed. “Fireplace. It’s freezing. You’ll catch a cold before the gala and ruin my investment.”
Then he left. No goodnight. No apology.
Arielle stared at the remote, then at the closed door.
Clause 4 said no romantic involvement.
It didn’t say anything about him being kind when no one was watching.
And that was more dangerous than the contract itself.
- Writer
