My Contract With The Beast

Chapter 2

Chapter 6: The Party

I couldn't sleep all night.

Adrian's words were ringing in my ears. Tomorrow night, you will be mine. Only mine.

In the morning when I opened my eyes, the room was empty. But on the bed, there was a very big black box.

There was a small note on it. In Adrian's handwriting.

"For my wife. Tonight you will not just look like a Cross. You will be one. - A"

I opened the box. Inside was a red dress. Very beautiful. Very expensive. The kind of dress I had only seen in movies.

In the evening, when I was getting ready, Adrian came into the room.

He was in a black suit. His hair was set. He looked more handsome than any movie hero. But his eyes... his eyes were only on me.

He came closer to me. He moved my open hair to one side and put a necklace on my neck. A diamond necklace.

His fingers were touching my neck. I was shaking.

"Why are you shaking, Mia?" He whispered in my ear.

"I... I am scared," I told the truth.

"No need to be scared," He turned me towards the mirror. "Look. How beautiful you are."

In the mirror, there was a different girl. Not that scared Mia. She looked like a rich, confident woman. Mrs. Mia Cross.

"Remember," He held me from behind, his hands on my bare waist. "At the party, everyone will look at you. Every man will start wanting you. But you have to look at only one person. Me."

I nodded.

"And if someone touches you, even your hand..."

"Then what?" I asked.

"Then I will break his hand," He said so lovingly as if he was saying something sweet. "Understood?"

Before I could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

"Mr. Cross, the car is ready. Everyone is waiting for you."

Adrian held my hand. His hand was warm.

"Ready, Mrs. Cross?"

I took a deep breath.

"Ready."

And we started walking into that trap, from where coming back might not even be possible.

To be continued...

Chapter 7: Jealous

The party had already started.

A big hall. Thousands of lights. Big people everywhere. Flashes of cameras.

As soon as we entered, everyone's eyes stopped on us. All talks stopped.

Adrian held my hand even tighter. In front of everyone. With ownership.

"Mia, breathe," He said softly.

His grandfather was standing in the middle. He smiled. But that smile was fake.

"Finally. Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Cross are here."

Everyone started clapping.

One by one people started coming to meet us.

Then a tall, handsome guy came towards us. Blue eyes.

"Mia? Mia Johnson? Is that you?" He said in surprise.

My breath stopped. It was Ethan. My friend from college.

"Ethan? You here?" I said happily. I was about to hold his hand.

But before that, Adrian came in between.

Adrian took my hand out of my hand and put it in his own pocket.

"I'm sorry, you know my WIFE?" Adrian's voice was colder than ice.

Ethan forwarded his hand for a handshake. "Yes! We were in college together! Mia, I can't believe..."

Adrian did not shake his hand. He just looked at Ethan from top to bottom.

"College is over. She is a married woman now. And she doesn't touch strangers."

Ethan's face turned red with shame. He stepped back.

I looked at Adrian in anger. "What was that? He was my friend!"

"Rule number 7, remember?" Adrian said in my ear, but his eyes were still on Ethan who was going away. "You are only MINE. You are not allowed to see or touch anyone else. Anyone."

"You're crazy!" I whispered.

"Yes," He grabbed my waist and pulled me even closer to him, in front of everyone. "For you. Only for you."

His grandfather was watching everything from far. And he was laughing.

He was enjoying it. He had found out what Adrian's weak point is.

Me.

To be continued...Chapter 8: The First Dance

The music started.

Everyone moved to the dance floor. Adrian didn't ask me. He just pulled me.

"Everyone is watching us," I whispered.

"Let them watch," He said, his hand tight on my waist. "This is what they came to see."

He was so close. His cologne was driving me crazy. One hand holding my hand, other on my bare back.

"You did well," He said.

"With Ethan? You almost broke his hand," I said angrily.

"Jealousy looks good on me, Mia. But it looks even better on you."

I stopped dancing. "I am not jealous."

"No? Then why are your eyes red?"

Because I was hurt. Because he treated me like a thing in front of my friend.

Adrian saw my tears. His angry face softened.

"Mia... I..." He wiped my cheek quickly so no one would see. "I can't see anyone near you. I go crazy."

Before I could reply, a loud voice came from the speakers.

"And now, let's welcome Mr. Robert Cross!"

The music stopped. Everyone looked at the stage. His grandfather was standing there with a mic.

"Thank you all for coming. Today I have an announcement. As you know, my grandson Adrian got married in secret. So I wanted to test if his wife can handle the Cross empire."

He looked straight at me.

"Mia, my child, come here on stage. Let's see if you are really a Cross."

My legs became weak. This was a trap. I looked at Adrian. His face was pale. He didn't know about this.

My heart was beating so fast.

To be continued...

Chapter 9: The Test

I walked to the stage. My red dress felt too heavy.

Robert Cross smiled and gave me the mic.

"So, Mia. Tell us. What does a Cross bride do?"

I didn't know what to say. I looked at Adrian. He was giving me a signal. Say something.

"I... I..."

Suddenly a woman from the audience shouted, "She doesn't even know our family business! She is a gold digger!"

Everyone started whispering. Cameras flashing.

My hands started shaking again.

Then I heard Adrian's voice. He came on stage and took the mic from my hand.

"My wife doesn't need to tell you what a Cross bride does," He said loudly. "She just needs to be by my side. And she is."

He put his arm around me.

"And for those who think my wife is a gold digger," He looked at that woman. "My wife refused to take a single dollar from me before the wedding. So check your facts before you open your mouth."

Everyone became silent.

His grandfather laughed. "Good. Very good. You protect your wife. But can your wife protect you?"

He turned to me again. "Mia, one last question. If Adrian loses everything tomorrow, will you still stay with him?"

This was not in our contract. This was real.

I looked at Adrian. His grey eyes were scared. For the first time, he was scared of my answer.

I took the mic. My voice was shaking but clear.

"If he loses everything tomorrow, then he will still have me. And I will still be his wife. Not because of a contract. But because I want to be."

Adrian froze. He looked at me like he couldn't believe what I just said.

And for the first time, I saw tears in his eyes.

His grandfather said nothing. He just clapped. Slowly.

"Welcome to the family, Mia Cross."

Adrian pulled me off the stage. He didn't take me to the party. He took me straight outside, to the garden where no one was.

And then he kissed me.

Not like a contract. Not soft. Desperate. Possessive. Like he had been waiting for years.

To be continued...

Chapter 10: The Real Kiss (More Romantic Version)

It was dark in the garden. The noise of the party was far away, but here there was only the fragrance of night flowers and our breaths.

He pinned me against the wall, but very softly. Like I was glass that would break.

"Mia," He whispered. He touched my cheek, with his thumb. "Do you even know how beautiful you looked on stage just now? Everyone was looking at you. But you... you were only looking at me."

My breathing became fast. His face was so close to mine that I could see my own reflection in his eyes.

"Adrian, someone will see us..."

"Then let them see," He said. "After today, everyone will know whose you are."

He placed one hand on my waist and pulled me closer. With his other hand, he tucked my hair behind my ear.

Then he kissed me.

At first slowly, with so much love. As if he was asking, can I stay here? Then when I grabbed his shirt, as if I gave him an answer, the kiss became deeper. Desperate. Possessive.

His lips were cold, because of the night air. But his touch was warm.

I forgot the world. The party, the people, his grandpa, the contract... everything. I could only feel his heartbeat, which was beating at the same speed as mine.

"Adrian..." I said his name in the middle of his kiss.

"Hmm?" He kissed my forehead, then my eyes, then my cheeks. As if he was writing his name everywhere.

"This was not in the contract," I said trembling.

"To hell with the contract, Mia," He said in my ear, his voice filled with deep love. "The contract is over. Now what we have is you and me. Real."

He placed his forehead against mine again. Both of us were breathing heavily.

"My wife," He said, as if this word was his favorite.

In that moment, I felt, I had truly become Mrs. Cross. From the heart.

To be continued...Chapter 11: The Photo

We returned from the garden, and his grandfather was waiting for us. He had the camera in his hand.

He had caught that waiter.

"What a beautiful photo," Grandpa showed the camera screen. In it, we were kissing. In the darkness of the night. A very romantic photo.

My soul left my body.

Adrian's face became hard. "Grandpa, delete that. Now."

"Delete? Are you crazy?" Grandpa laughed. "Tomorrow morning this photo will be on every newspaper, every news channel. The headline will be - 'Playboy Adrian Cross is finally in love with his secret wife'. Our company's shares will go up because of this."

"This is our personal life!" Adrian shouted.

"Nothing is personal in the Cross family, Adrian. You know that."

I was standing silently. I felt like I was being used.

Grandpa came close to me. "Mia, dear. You did well. You have proved that you are perfect for this family."

He gave the camera to his assistant. "Send it to the media."

Adrian held my hand. "Mia, let's go home."

The whole way in the car was silent.

After reaching home, I took off his jacket. "Adrian, will we always stay like this? Like a show?"

Adrian was holding a glass of wine. He looked at me.

"What happened in the garden, was that a show, Mia?" He asked.

I couldn't answer.

He came closer to me. He placed the glass on the table.

"No. It was real. And what will appear in the newspaper tomorrow, that will also be real. I..."

He stopped.

"What about me, Adrian?" My heart was beating fast.

"I don't want to lose you," He said. "Not even after the contract ends."

That night, we didn't sleep in separate rooms. He slept in my room, on the sofa. Just to stay close to me.

And in the morning, when I woke up, the whole city was looking at our photo.

To be continued...