Episode 8: "Standing At The Gate"
200 Words
Elena's POV
I stood at the gates of Hartwells Empire, checking the time for what felt like the hundredth time. Thirty minutes had already slipped away. It was almost ten o’clock.
Panic crawled into my chest.
How would I explain this to the director? The producers? Would I miss my first scene .my first real chance as an actress, the opportunity I had prayed for all these years? My hands tightened around my bag as fear mixed with frustration.
If my family’s company hadn’t collapsed… if my brother wasn’t lying sick in a hospital bed… I would never be here. I would still be independent, peaceful, living life on my own terms.
Instead, I was about to sign a contract marriage.
A five-year agreement with a man I had never met.
No love. No emotions. No courtship. Just ink on paper binding two strangers as husband and wife starting today.
The towering structure of Hartwells Empire only made everything feel heavier. The wealth. The power. The silence. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice someone approaching.
“Hey.”
The deep male voice jolted me out of my daze.
My heart skipped.
Slowly, I turned around....
- Writer
