My Contract With The Beast

Chapter 3

Chapter 12: The Morning After

I woke up and Adrian was not on the sofa.

I heard noise downstairs. I went down in my pajamas.

The entire living room was full of journalists. Cameras, mics. And in the middle, Adrian, in a perfect suit, was smiling.

"Yes, I am very much in love with my wife," He was saying to a reporter.

I froze on the stairs.

His manager saw me and shouted, "There she is! Mrs. Cross!"

All cameras turned to me. My hair was messy. I had no makeup.

Adrian looked at me. His smile disappeared for a second. He quickly came up the stairs.

"What are you doing here? Go back to your room!" He whispered angrily.

"You didn't tell me about this interview!" I whispered back.

"Grandpa arranged it. We have to do it."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me downstairs. In front of the cameras, he put his arm around my waist.

"As you can see, my wife is so beautiful even without makeup," He said to the cameras.

The reporters laughed.

I forced a smile.

After one hour, when everyone left, I burst out.

"How could you do this, Adrian? Without asking me? You made me a joke in front of everyone!"

"It's business, Mia! Do you think I like it?" He shouted back.

"No, you love it! You love attention!"

Adrian stared at me. Then he took out his phone and showed me.

His company's shares had gone up by 30% in one morning. Because of our photo.

"See this? This is because of you. Because of us. My grandpa was right."

I looked at the numbers, then at him.

"So I am just a tool for your shares?"

He didn't answer. He knew he was wrong.

I ran to my room and locked the door.

After some time, there was a knock.

"Mia, please open the door."

"Go away!"

"Mia, I am sorry. That photo... that garden kiss... it was not for business. It was real for me. Please believe me."

My hand was on the door handle. Should I open it?

To be continued...Chapter 13: The Apology

The knocking on the door was still happening.

"Mia, please. At least listen to me."

I was standing leaning against the door. My heart was telling me to open the door, but my mind was saying no.

"I hurt you, I know. But I was helpless. Grandpa called all the reporters at 6 in the morning. If I had refused, he would have removed you from this contract. And... and I didn't want to lose you."

Hearing these words, my hand trembled.

I slowly opened the lock.

Adrian was standing outside. His perfect suit was now messed up. His tie was loose. His eyes looked tired.

"Mia..."

Without saying anything, I let him in.

He came inside and sat on the bed, holding his head in his hands.

"I am tired, Mia. Of doing this drama every day. Of being the perfect husband in front of the camera, and behind the camera... staying away from you."

I went near him. "Then why do you stay away?"

He looked at me. "Because if I come close, I won't be able to go back."

In that moment, in his eyes there was no playboy Adrian. There was a tired boy, who was now starting to understand the meaning of love.

I sat down on my knees in front of him. "Then don't go."

He touched my cheek.

Just then, Grandpa's voice came from downstairs. "Adrian! Mia! Come down! There is a surprise for you!"

We both looked at each other.

"What new drama is this now?" I whispered.

Adrian held my hand. "Come, let's see. This time we will face it together."

We went downstairs and saw, with Grandpa, a beautiful girl was standing. Tall, like a model.

Adrian's face became white.

"Sophia?"

That girl smiled at Adrian. "Hi, Adrian. Long time no see. Grandpa called me. You must remember your old fiancée, right?"

My breathing stopped. Old fiancée?

To be continued...Chapter 14: Sophia

Silence fell in the living room.

Sophia... she really looked like a model. Red dress, perfect makeup, and she was looking at Adrian as if he still belonged to her.

Grandpa was laughing. "Mia, dear, this is Sophia. Adrian's childhood friend. And ex-fiancée. She has just come back from London. I thought you should meet her."

Adrian's hand, which was holding my hand, became even tighter.

"Grandpa, what kind of joke is this?" Adrian said, his voice was cold.

"It's not a joke, it's business," Grandpa said. "Sophia's father is our new investor. And he thinks that Mia... is not right for your status."

It felt like someone had slapped me on my face.

Sophia came close to me. She looked me up and down. I was still in my pajamas.

"Oh, so you are the famous secret wife," She said with poison in her sweet voice. "Cute."

I said nothing. I just looked at Adrian.

Adrian stepped forward and stood in front of me. "Sophia, be respectful. Mia is my wife."

"Wife? Or contract wife?" Sophia laughed. "Grandpa told me everything, Adrian. A 6-month contract, right? 2 months are already over."

My world shook. Did Grandpa tell her about the contract?

"Grandpa!" Adrian shouted. "What have you done?"

Grandpa shrugged. "It was necessary to tell the truth. Sophia is worthy of being the real daughter-in-law of this house."

I couldn't stand there anymore. I started climbing the stairs.

"Mia, stop!" Adrian called out.

I turned back and said, "No, Adrian. Maybe Grandpa is right. I am not right for your status."

I went to my room and closed the door.

After some time, I could hear Sophia's laughter and Adrian's shouting from outside. Then a loud sound of a door closing.

Then a knock on my door.

"Mia, she is gone. Please open the door. I told Grandpa clearly, I will stay only with you."

I didn't open the door. Only one thing was spinning in my mind - is all of this just a contract? Or is there something real too?

At night, when I looked out of the window, Adrian was sitting alone in the garden. At the same place where he kissed me for real for the first time.

To be continued...Chapter 15: The Decision

It was 2 AM. Adrian was still sitting in the garden.

I was watching him from the window. The cold was increasing, but he was sitting right there.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I took a shawl and went downstairs.

"Adrian, come inside. You will catch a cold."

He looked at me. His eyes were red.

"You came?" He said.

"I can't leave you here like this."

I sat next to him. We were on the same bench where he had kissed me.

"Mia, do you know why Sophia was my fiancée?" He said softly.

I shook my head - no.

"Because Grandpa told me to. For business. At that time I was 22 years old. Sophia cheated on me, left me for someone else. Since then I had stopped believing in love. Then you came."

He held my hand. His hand was as cold as ice.

"The contract... it was just an excuse to keep you near me. From the first day itself. When you came for the interview, you asked for a job for your mother's medicine, there were tears in your eyes... since then."

Tears came to my eyes. "Then why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I was scared. That if I told you the truth, you would leave. That you would think I am a liar."

I took his cold hand in both my hands and warmed it.

"Adrian, tomorrow morning I will talk to Grandpa. I will leave this house. If I leave, Sophia's father will invest, and your company will be saved."

"No!" He said loudly. "You are not going anywhere. To hell with the company. I only want you."

He hugged me. His body was shivering from the cold.

"Mia, will you... will you after the contract ends... still be my real wife? Without any contract?"

I was shocked. Was this a proposal?

Just then, there was a sound of clapping from behind.

We both turned back.

Grandpa was standing there, with his phone in his hand, and tears in his eyes.

"Wow, Adrian. Finally you had the courage," Grandpa said, smiling. "I called Sophia only so that you would realize how much you love Mia. This was my test. And you passed."

I and Adrian started looking at each other.

"What do you mean?" Adrian asked.

"It means the contract is over. From now on, your relationship is real. And Sophia? I paid her to come and act!"

There was complete silence in the garden, then we both started laughing.

Adrian hugged me so tightly that I couldn't breathe.

To be continued...