THE CEO RUN AWAY BRIDE

THE BLACKWOOD WIFE

One month later.

The contract was over.

The money hit my account at exactly 9:03am on a Tuesday. 5 million naira. The notification sound made me jump.

The passport came 2 days later in a plain brown envelope. New. Clean. With my real name on it.

The lawyer said "New name if you want it. New country if you want it. New life."

But I didn't want any of that.

Because I was standing in Adrian Blackwood's kitchen at 7am, barefoot in one of his oversized shirts, making pancakes, while he tried to steal them from the plate behind my back.

"Stop," I laughed, slapping his hand away. "Those are for Kemi. He has school in an hour."

"I'm hungry too," he muttered, wrapping his arms around me from behind and resting his chin on my shoulder. He smelled like coffee and his cologne. "CEO needs fuel to run a billion dollar company, you know."

"CEO can order room service," I teased, flipping another pancake. "Or better yet, CEO can cook."

Adrian gasped dramatically. "The audacity. After everything I've done for you."

"After everything YOU did TO me," I corrected, smiling.

The back door burst open and Kemi ran in, backpack bouncing, hair everywhere. "Mommy! Mommy! Can we go to the park today? Please please please? Mrs. Aisha said I could bring a friend!"

"After breakfast, baby," I said, kissing his messy hair. "Wash your hands first. And yes, you can invite Tunde."

Adrian picked him up like he weighed nothing and tossed him in the air. Kemi shrieked with laughter. "Park. Then ice cream. Then maybe we go see those puppies at the pet store. Deal?"

"Deal!" Kemi yelled, grinning with two missing front teeth.

This was our life now.

No cameras. No Damian. No contracts. No lawyers waiting in the living room with thick folders.

No pretending.

Just us.

It felt unreal sometimes. Like I would wake up and be back in that wedding dress, running down the aisle with rain in my face. Sometimes I still checked the locks twice at night.

My father called once. Just once. I let it ring until voicemail. I haven't listened to it.

Damian tried to sue Adrian for "emotional damages and defamation." It got thrown out in 2 days by a judge who apparently hated him.

The news called me "The Blackwood Wife." The runaway bride. The CEO's mystery girl. The woman who said no.

I hated the title.

But I loved the man.

For 30 days we pretended. For 30 days we followed rules and counted days.

Now there were no rules. Just late night talks on the balcony until 2am. Just him teaching Kemi how to ride a bike in the driveway and falling off too. Just Sunday pancakes and fighting over the remote and him stealing all the blankets.

Tonight was different though.

Adrian came home at 8pm. Late. He looked nervous. Which was impossible because Adrian Blackwood didn't get nervous. He faced board meetings and hostile takeovers and angry shareholders without blinking.

"Kemi's asleep," I said, setting down my book on the couch. "What's wrong? You look weird. Did something happen at work?"

He didn't answer. He just took my hand and led me outside to the garden.

The garden was glowing. There were candles. Hundreds of them, lining the stone path all the way to the fountain. Fairy lights in the trees. And roses. Red ones. My favorite. The same ones from the church that day, but this time they didn't feel like a trap.

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

"Ella," he said. His voice was rough. He cleared his throat. "I don't do romance. I don't do grand gestures. You know that. I'm terrible at this."

"I know," I smiled, squeezing his hand. "You're good at other things."

He actually blushed. Adrian Blackwood blushed.

"But I do you," he said quietly.

He stopped in the middle of the candles, right by the fountain, and got down on one knee.

I stopped breathing.

The night was quiet except for the crickets and the water.

"I fell in love with a runaway bride," he said. "With a woman in a ruined dress who looked me in the eye and chose herself. With a mom who fought for her son. With the most stubborn, brave, infuriating, beautiful person I've ever met in my entire life."

He opened a small black velvet box. The ring inside was simple. A thin gold band with one solitaire diamond. Elegant. Perfect. Not flashy. Not 10 carats. Just classic. Just like me.

"Ella Thompson," he said. "Will you marry me? For real this time. Not for business. Not for protection. Not because of a contract or because Damian is watching. Because you want to. Because you choose me. Because you love me."

Tears were falling down my face and I couldn't stop them. Big ugly crying tears.

All the pain. All the running. All the "no's" I said in my life.

It led to this "yes."

"Yes," I whispered. Then louder, laughing through the tears. "Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes. Of course yes."

He slid the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly. Like it was made for me. Then he stood up and kissed me like the world was ending and beginning at the same time.

His hands were in my hair. Mine were on his chest. And for the first time, kissing him didn't feel like breaking a rule.

It felt like keeping a promise.

Later that night, after Kemi was asleep and the candles had burned low and the roses smelled like heaven, we sat on the balcony in silence.

"Are you happy?" he asked quietly, pulling me into his side and wrapping a blanket around us.

I looked at my ring. At our home. At the life we built from one single "no" in a church.

"I've never been happier," I said truthfully. "Not ever. Not even close."

He kissed my temple. "Good. Because I'm not letting you go. Ever. You're stuck with me, Mrs. Blackwood."

I laughed. "I'm not a Blackwood yet."

"You will be," he said, certain. "In 3 months. Big wedding. Small guest list. Just people who love us. And Kemi will be the ring bearer."

I leaned into him. "I like the sound of that."

The stars were out. Kemi was safe upstairs. And I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Ten years ago I ran from a forced marriage.

Tonight I chose one.

And I would choose it every single time.

---

THE END

Thank you so much for reading Ella & Adrian's story ❤️

If you loved them, follow me for Season 2: "The Blackwood Wife"