DON'S CONTRACT WIFE

The Contract  Rain hammered against the windows of the small café. Maya Bennett sat alone at the corner table, staring at the message glowing on her phone. FINAL NOTICE. PAYMENT REQUIRED WITHIN SEVEN DAYS. She locked the screen. For a moment, she simply listened to the rain. Seven days. That was all she had. The café smelled of coffee and warm cinnamon, but none of it reached her. Her fingers tightened around the paper cup in front of her. She had already sold her car. She had taken extra shifts. She had called everyone she knew. There was still nowhere near enough money to save her family's bookstore. Her phone rang. "Hello?" Her mother's voice came through, weak and tired. "Maya, the bank called again." Maya closed her eyes. "I know." "They're giving us until Friday." "I'll fix it." "You've said that every day this week." Maya swallowed. "I'll fix it, Mum." Neither spoke for several seconds. Then her mother whispered, "Your father wouldn't want you carrying this alone." Maya looked through the rain-streaked window. "He's not here to carry it anymore." The call ended quietly. Maya lowered the phone. Her father's bookstore had been in the family for thirty-two years. Shelves of old novels filled its narrow walls. She had grown up between those shelves. Losing it felt like losing the last piece of him. A shadow fell across her table. "Miss Bennett?" Maya looked up. A man in a charcoal suit stood beside her. He placed a black envelope on the table. "Who are you?" "Someone who has an offer for you." She didn't touch the envelope. "I'm not interested." "You should read it first." He walked away before she could ask another question. Maya stared at the envelope. There was no name on it. Only a silver symbol stamped into the paper. A crowned lion. She opened it. Inside was a single sheet. Her eyes moved down the page. Then stopped. MARRIAGE CONTRACT Her eyebrows pulled together. She read the first paragraph. Then the second. By the third, she thought someone was playing a cruel joke. The proposed husband was Adrian Moretti. The Moretti family. Even Maya had heard the name. They owned hotels, shipping companies, nightclubs, and half a dozen other businesses. But behind the legitimate empire was another reputation. People whispered about Adrian Moretti. The Don. A man nobody crossed twice. Maya looked at the final figure written on the contract. Her breath caught. It was enough to save the bookstore. Enough to clear her family's debts. Enough to change everything. But the final line made her stomach tighten. Marriage duration: twelve months. She almost laughed. "You're kidding." "I'm not." The voice came from behind her. Maya looked up. A man stood several feet away. Black coat. Dark hair. Expression unreadable. He didn't look like the monster described in rumors. That was somehow worse. Adrian Moretti pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. Maya quickly folded the contract. "You could have introduced yourself." "You knew who I was." "I've heard stories." "Most of them aren't true." "And the ones that are?" His gaze held hers. "You don't want to know." Rain tapped against the glass between them. Maya pushed the contract toward him. "Why me?" Adrian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced toward the bookstore debt notice beside her coffee. "You need money." Her face hardened. "And you need a wife." "I need a wife who won't betray me." "So you found a desperate woman." "I found someone with a reason to accept." The honesty irritated her more than a lie would have. "What's the catch?" "Publicly, you're my wife for one year." "And privately?" "We live separate lives." Maya stared at him. "No relationship?" "No expectations." "Children?" "No." "Love?" His expression barely changed. "Absolutely not." Something about the way he said it made the word sound like a rule rather than an answer. Maya looked back at the contract. "And after twelve months?" "You walk away with enough money to start over." She picked up the pen. Her fingers hovered above the signature line. "You really expect me to marry a stranger?" Adrian leaned back. "No." He looked toward the rain-covered window. "I expect you to marry a man you don't trust." Maya slowly raised her eyes. "And what's the difference?" "Strangers can surprise you." He stood. "Men like me usually don't." He turned toward the door. Maya looked down at the contract again. Her father's bookstore. Her mother's tired voice. The unpaid bills. Then she looked at the signature line. She hated that he had made the decision so simple. Seven days. One year. A marriage without love. She picked up the pen. "Adrian." He stopped. "If I sign this, you keep your side of the deal." He turned. "Always." Maya signed her name. The ink looked strangely dark against the white paper. Adrian walked back to the table. He looked at her signature, then at her. For the first time, something changed in his expression. Not happiness. Not triumph. Something closer to regret. Maya noticed. "What?" "Nothing." He collected the contract. "Your wedding is Saturday." Her eyes widened. "Saturday?" "Three days from now." "You could have mentioned that before I signed." A faint, almost invisible smile touched his lips. "You didn't ask." Maya stared at him. "You are going to be a nightmare." He slipped the contract into his coat. "You'll get used to me." She watched him walk away. She had no idea that the contract she had just signed wasn't only going to change her financial problems. It was going to place her directly in the middle of a war Adrian Moretti had been fighting for years. And soon, everyone who wanted Adrian destroyed would know exactly where to find him. Through her.