His Forever Bride: Bound by Contract, Kept by Love

On most mornings, Evelyn Hart loved arriving at the office before everyone else. The quiet gave her a chance to think before the endless meetings, phone calls, and emails claimed every minute of her day. She had developed the habit shortly after joining the Hart Group two years earlier. Her father often joked that she had inherited her grandfather's discipline instead of his stubbornness, and she always laughed because she knew there was some truth to it. Unfortunately, discipline couldn't solve every problem. As she unlocked her office and switched on the lights, the neatly stacked files waiting on her desk reminded her that there were some battles even hard work couldn't win. She placed her handbag on the sofa, set her coffee beside the laptop, and stood by the window for a moment. Thirty-two floors below, the city was already awake. Cars crawled through the morning traffic, pedestrians hurried across intersections with paper cups in their hands, and the skyline shimmered beneath the rising sun. From up here, everything looked peaceful, almost perfect. It was strangely comforting because inside the Hart Group, nothing had felt peaceful for months. Every department was trying to stretch a shrinking budget, projects were being delayed, suppliers had become impatient, and banks that had once competed for the company's business were suddenly refusing to answer calls. The newspapers hadn't discovered the truth yet, but within these walls, everyone knew the Hart family was fighting to keep its company alive. Evelyn sat down and opened the financial report her assistant had left on her desk the previous evening. She had promised herself she wouldn't look at it until after breakfast, yet here she was doing exactly the opposite. Her eyes moved slowly over the figures, pausing at the same section they always did. Outstanding loans. Overdue payments. Interest accumulating faster than revenue. She had never been interested in finance while growing up. Interior design had always been her passion, and after graduating, she insisted on earning her place in the company through her own work instead of hiding behind the Hart surname. Over the last few months, however, she had become painfully familiar with balance sheets and debt schedules. She didn't enjoy reading them, but someone had to understand what the company was facing. A knock sounded on the door before she could finish the report. "Come in," she called without looking up. Linda stepped inside carrying a tablet against her chest. She had been Richard Hart's secretary for more than twenty years, and Evelyn couldn't remember a time when the older woman wasn't smiling. Whether the office was celebrating a successful deal or scrambling to meet impossible deadlines, Linda always managed to brighten the room with a joke or a kind word. Today, that smile was missing. She stood quietly near the door, her expression unusually restrained, and that alone was enough to make Evelyn close the file in front of her. "Good morning, Linda," Evelyn said. "Is everything alright?" "I... I'm not sure, Miss Hart." Linda hesitated before continuing. "The chairman has asked if you could join him in the boardroom as soon as possible. The directors have just finished their meeting." Evelyn frowned. "Already? I thought they were meeting until ten." "So did I." Something about Linda's answer made the air in the room feel heavier. Evelyn glanced at the clock. It wasn't even half past eight. Board meetings ending early usually meant one of two things—they had either reached an agreement quickly or something had gone so terribly wrong that there was nothing left to discuss. Judging from Linda's face, she doubted it was the first. "I'll be there in a minute," Evelyn replied, offering a reassuring smile she didn't quite feel herself. Linda nodded and quietly excused herself, leaving the office as silently as she had entered it. The walk to the boardroom took less than three minutes, yet it felt much longer that morning. Employees who normally greeted her cheerfully lowered their voices as she passed. Two managers stopped talking altogether the moment they noticed her approaching. Near the finance department, she caught fragments of a conversation about frozen accounts before the speakers abruptly changed the subject. No one wanted to burden the chairman's daughter with office gossip, but their worried expressions revealed far more than their words ever could. Evelyn acknowledged each greeting with the same calm smile she always wore, though inside, uneasiness tightened steadily around her chest. By the time she reached the executive boardroom, most of the directors were already leaving. The atmosphere outside was unlike anything she had experienced since joining the company. Mr. Walters, the oldest member of the board and a close friend of her late grandfather, paused when he saw her. His weathered face softened with sympathy as he rested a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Take care of your father," he said quietly. Before Evelyn could ask what he meant, he gave her a small nod and walked away. She watched him disappear down the hallway before turning back to the closed doors. A strange feeling settled over her. She couldn't explain it, but it was the kind of instinct that told a person life was about to change in ways they couldn't yet imagine. Taking a slow breath, she knocked gently and let herself inside. Richard Hart was standing by the window with his back to the room, his suit jacket draped over one of the chairs. The conference table behind him was covered with open files, coffee cups, and legal documents that no one had bothered to organize before leaving. He remained still for several seconds after hearing the door close, as though gathering the strength to begin a conversation he had been dreading. "Dad?" He turned at the sound of her voice and smiled, but the expression barely reached his eyes. "You're here." His voice was warm as always, yet there was an unfamiliar weariness beneath it. Evelyn couldn't remember the last time she had seen her father look so exhausted. She walked over and sat beside him instead of across the table. "Linda said you wanted to see me. Is something wrong?" Richard didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached for a blue folder resting near his elbow and placed it gently in front of her. "Before we talk," he said, his fingers lingering on the cover for a brief moment, "I'd like you to read this." Evelyn looked down at the folder, then back at her father. The seriousness in his expression told her this wasn't another routine report or project proposal. Whatever was inside had changed the atmosphere of the entire company in less than an hour. She slowly opened the folder, unaware that the first page she turned would begin a chain of events neither of them could ever take back.