ONE SIGNATURE AWAY
894 Words
The office fell into complete silence.
Damian’s eyes remained fixed on Sophia.
For the first time since they had met, neither of them argued.
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Damian spoke.
“Agreed.”
Sophia frowned.
“You agree?”
“Yes.”
“If either of us falls in love…”
“…the contract ends immediately.”
She searched his face, expecting him to change his mind.
Instead, he picked up the contract and calmly crossed out one sentence before writing another beneath it.
He signed his initials beside the amendment.
“There.”
“It’s official.”
Sophia stared at him.
“You didn’t even hesitate.”
“There was nothing to hesitate about.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You’re making this too easy.”
Damian leaned back in his chair.
“I rarely repeat myself, Miss Carter.”
“If I agree to something…”
“I honor it.”
For reasons she couldn’t explain…
She believed him.
He closed the contract and gently pushed it toward her.
“Take it home.”
She looked confused.
“I thought you wanted me to sign.”
“I do.”
“Then why are you giving me more time?”
“Because I don’t want a desperate signature.”
“I want an informed one.”
Sophia looked at him in disbelief.
“You trust me?”
“I trust that you’ll come back.”
His confidence irritated her.
“You really think you know me.”
“No.”
“I understand your situation.”
“They’re different things.”
She picked up the contract.
“I haven’t agreed.”
“I know.”
“I may never agree.”
“I know.”
She sighed.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
A smile threatened to escape her lips.
She quickly hid it.
“I’ll read everything.”
“I expect you to.”
She turned toward the door.
Just before leaving, she paused.
“If I decide not to sign…”
“You’ll leave my mother out of this?”
Damian answered immediately.
“I gave you my word.”
She nodded once before quietly leaving the office.
Ethan was waiting outside.
He glanced at the contract in her hands before looking at Damian through the glass wall.
“So…”
“No signature?”
Sophia shook her head.
“Not today.”
She walked toward the elevator without another word.
Ethan entered the office.
“I thought she’d sign.”
Damian returned to the documents on his desk.
“If she had…”
“I would’ve known I chose the wrong woman.”
Ethan looked confused.
“You wanted her to refuse?”
Damian smiled faintly.
“I wanted her to think.”
Meanwhile…
Sophia sat quietly in the back of the Rolls-Royce.
The thick contract rested on her lap.
She hadn’t opened it.
She simply stared out of the window as the city rushed past.
Her mind replayed every word Damian had spoken.
“I don’t want a desperate signature.”
No billionaire she had ever heard of behaved like him.
He wasn’t trying to force her.
He wasn’t threatening her.
If anything…
He was giving her every opportunity to walk away.
That made the decision even harder.
By the time she reached the hospital, visiting hours had almost ended.
She hurried toward her mother’s room.
Grace was awake, smiling weakly.
“There you are.”
“I’ve missed you.”
Sophia forced a smile.
“I brought your favorite fruit.”
Grace laughed softly.
“You spend too much money on me.”
“It’s only fruit, Mom.”
“It’s still money.”
Sophia sat beside her bed and peeled an orange.
For a few minutes…
They talked about ordinary things.
The weather.
The neighbors.
The television program Grace had watched that afternoon.
It almost felt like life was normal again.
Until the doctor knocked gently before entering.
“I’m sorry to interrupt.”
“But I’d like a word with you, Miss Carter.”
Sophia’s heart tightened.
She followed him outside.
The doctor’s expression was serious.
“We’ve received your mother’s latest test results.”
“Is something wrong?”
He sighed heavily.
“The medication is no longer enough.”
Her hands slowly tightened around her handbag.
“We can’t postpone the surgery any longer.”
“If we wait…”
“…her condition may become irreversible.”
Sophia felt the world spin around her.
“How long?”
The doctor hesitated.
“Three days.”
The words struck her like lightning.
Three days.
That was all they had left.
She thanked the doctor, though she wasn’t sure how the words left her mouth.
Instead of returning to her mother’s room…
She walked outside.
The evening breeze brushed against her face.
Cars passed.
People laughed.
Life continued as if nothing had happened.
Slowly…
She sat on a lonely bench in the hospital garden.
The contract slipped from her handbag onto her lap.
She stared at it.
Her vision blurred with tears.
“I don’t want this…”
She whispered.
“But I don’t want to lose her either.”
For the first time since Damian entered her life…
Sophia Carter realized she wasn’t choosing between freedom and marriage.
She was choosing between her pride…
…and her mother’s life.
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