THE MISTRESS OF HIS HEART

Episode 2 : THE WIFE IN NAME ONLY

The pen slipped from my fingers and fell onto the glass surface of the desk with a soft, sharp sound that echoed loudly in the massive, silent office. I stared at the paper in front of me — at my signature, written in black ink, bold and clear, right next to Damian’s own signature. It was done. I had signed my life away. I had agreed to marry Damian Blackwood, the most powerful, terrifying man in the country. I had agreed to be his wife for one year, to live in his world, to pretend to love him, all while knowing perfectly well that to him, I was nothing but a copy. A replacement for a dead woman. A tool to save his empire.

Damian picked up the contract, folded it carefully, and placed it inside a sleek black folder. He looked at me, his expression unreadable, those dark grey eyes of his scanning me as if he were already calculating exactly how to use me. There was no warmth, no kindness, no happiness in his gaze. There was only business. Cold, ruthless business.

“Good,” he said simply, his voice smooth and deep. “Now that we have an agreement, let us make the rules very clear. Rules you will follow strictly, Aurora. Break any of them, and the deal is off. You go back to your old life, your mother goes back to suffering, and you get nothing. Do I make myself clear?”

I swallowed hard, nodding slowly. My heart was still racing, my mind still struggling to catch up with everything that had happened in the last hour. Just yesterday, I was an invisible cleaner, struggling to buy food. Today, I had agreed to marry a billionaire. It felt like a dream. Or a nightmare.

“Crystal clear, Sir,” I whispered.

Damian walked around the desk and leaned against the edge, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked even more intimidating this way — relaxed, powerful, completely in control of everything and everyone around him.

“Rule Number One: This marriage is a contract. Nothing more. It is a performance. In public, in front of my family, my friends, my business partners, the media… you are my beloved wife. You smile, you hold my hand, you look at me with love and adoration, you laugh at my jokes, you act like we are the perfect couple madly in love. But behind closed doors, in this office, in my house, when it is just us… you are nothing more than a stranger I am doing business with. You do not touch me. You do not enter my personal space. You do not ask personal questions. You do not knock on my bedroom door. You stay in your lane, and I stay in mine. Understood?”

Every word he said felt like a cold blade cutting deeper into my heart. I had known it would be like this, but hearing him say it out loud, so coldly, so detached… it hurt more than I expected. I was human, after all. And he was the most attractive man I had ever seen. But I reminded myself quickly: This is for your mother. This is survival. Nothing else.

“Understood,” I said, keeping my voice steady.

“Rule Number Two: You will cut all ties with your old life. You will no longer be Aurora Gray, the poor cleaner. You will be Mrs. Aurora Blackwood. You will live in my world now — a world of wealth, luxury, high society, and very sharp eyes. You will be trained on how to walk, how to talk, how to eat, how to dress, how to behave. You will learn everything Lily knew, everything Lily liked, everything Lily was. Because you are here to be her mirror image. You will act like her, smile like her, speak like her. You will become her. Do you have a problem with that?”

My breath hitched. Become her? The woman he loved. The woman he still mourned. The woman I was just a copy of.

“No problem, Sir. I will learn whatever you want me to learn,” I replied, though my stomach twisted uncomfortably.

“Rule Number Three: There will be absolutely no romance, no feelings, and no expectations from either side. I will not love you. I will never love you. My heart died three years ago with Lily, and nothing and no one can bring it back. You are a placeholder, Aurora. A temporary solution. When this year is over, we divorce quietly, you take your money, and you disappear from my life forever. I never want to see you again after that. And if you ever try to trap me, or try to claim anything that belongs to me or my family… I will crush you. I have destroyed empires for less. Do not think for one second that because you carry my last name, you have any power here. You are disposable. Is that clear enough for you?”

His words were cruel, sharp, and painful. He said them without blinking, without a single ounce of regret or sympathy. He wanted to make sure I knew exactly where I stood. He wanted to break me down before I even started, so I would never dare to hope for anything more than what was written on paper.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I lifted my chin, looked him straight in the eye, and spoke with as much strength as I could muster.

“I understand perfectly, Mr. Blackwood. I know exactly what I am. I know I am nothing compared to you or the woman you lost. I am here to save my mother. That is the only reason I am here. Your heart belongs to someone else, and I have absolutely no interest in it. You don’t have to worry. I will play my part, I will follow your rules, and in one year, I will take my money and disappear exactly as you wish. You will never have to see me again.”

For a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Perhaps he expected me to beg, or to cry, or to act foolishly grateful. But my words seemed to satisfy him. He nodded slowly, a small, cold smirk touching his lips.

“Good. We understand each other perfectly. That makes things much easier.”

He pushed himself off the desk and walked to the door, opening it wide.

“Come. We are going straight to the hospital first. As promised.”

We left the office, walking through the grand corridors of Blackwood Tower. Every employee we passed stopped and bowed their heads respectfully, their eyes widening in shock as they looked at me walking beside Damian. I could feel their curious stares burning into me. They were wondering who I was, how a girl who looked so simple and ordinary could be walking next to the great Damian Blackwood.

We stepped into the private elevator, and as the doors closed, the silence returned, heavy and suffocating. Damian stood at the far end, looking straight ahead, his face an emotionless mask. I stood near the door, clutching my bag tightly, feeling smaller and smaller by the second.

The car ride to the hospital was silent as well. Damian’s driver, a large, serious man named Benson, drove smoothly through the city streets in a luxury car that cost more money than I would earn in a hundred lifetimes. I sat in the back seat, staring out the window at the passing buildings, my mind racing with thoughts.

When we arrived at the hospital, it was not the public hospital I had been struggling to pay for. Damian drove me to Royal Crest Hospital — the most expensive, exclusive medical facility in the entire country. A place where only billionaires and politicians went. A place I had only ever seen on television.

We walked through the shiny, sterile corridors, and when the doctors saw Damian, they almost bowed in respect. He gave orders calmly, his voice commanding and absolute. Within minutes, my mother’s file was pulled, her bills were cleared completely, and she was moved from the small, crowded ward she was in to a massive, private suite with large windows, fresh flowers, and the best specialist doctors available.

When I walked into her room, my heart broke and soared at the same time. She was lying in the large bed, looking pale, thin, and weak, but when she saw me, her face lit up with a soft, tired smile.

“Aurora… my dear… what is happening? Why did they move me here? This place… it is too expensive. How…”

I rushed to her side, holding her hand, kissing her forehead, tears finally spilling from my eyes. I looked back at the door where Damian stood, leaning against the frame, watching us with an unreadable expression on his face. He stayed in the shadows, not stepping closer, not saying a word.

I turned back to my mother, squeezing her hand gently.

“Don’t worry, Mom. Everything is okay now. I… I met someone. Someone who helped me. All the bills are paid. You are going to get better now. I promise.”

She looked at me closely, her eyes searching mine. She knew me too well. She could see the sadness behind my smile.

“Aurora… what did you do?” she whispered fearfully. “You didn’t… you didn’t sell yourself, did you? You didn’t do something bad just for me?”

My heart ached. She was always afraid of that. She knew how desperate we were. She knew how hard I worked. She always feared that one day, my poverty would force me into something terrible.

I shook my head quickly, wiping my tears and smiling as brightly as I could.

“No, Mom! Never! I just… I got a very big promotion. A very good job. Everything is legal. Everything is fine. You just focus on getting well, okay? I am going to take good care of you now.”

She looked at me for a long moment, then nodded slowly, though I could see the worry still lingering in her eyes. She looked past me, towards the door where Damian was standing. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw him.

“Who is that man standing there, Aurora?” she asked softly.

I froze. Damian pushed himself off the wall and walked slowly into the room. He walked with such presence, such power, that even the doctors and nurses standing around seemed to hold their breath. He stopped beside me, and to my absolute shock, he reached out and placed his hand on my waist, pulling me gently against his side.

He smiled. It was a perfect, charming, warm smile — completely different from the cold man I had spoken to in the office. It was the smile of a loving husband.

He looked down at my mother with kindness and respect.

“Good afternoon, Madam Gray. I am Damian. Damian Blackwood. I am… Aurora’s husband.”

My mother gasped, her eyes going wide in total shock. I stood frozen beside him, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard I thought I would faint. What was he doing? Why was he touching me? Why was he acting like this?

“Husband?” my mother whispered, looking from him to me and back again. “But… Aurora never mentioned… you are… you are Damian Blackwood? The billionaire?”

Damian chuckled softly, squeezing my waist gently, playing the part perfectly.

“I know, it is a surprise. We… we kept it a secret for a while. We wanted to be sure. Aurora is very humble, you know. She didn’t want anyone to think she was with me for my money. She is a wonderful woman, Madam Gray. And I love her very much. I promise you, I will take care of her, and I will take care of you. You have nothing to worry about anymore.”

My mother started crying, tears of joy streaming down her face. She reached out and grabbed Damian’s hand, holding it tightly.

“Thank you… thank you so much… God bless you both… thank you for saving my daughter…”

Damian nodded politely, then looked down at me. His eyes were still smiling, but deep inside, I saw the coldness. This is the performance, Aurora. This is the game.

“We will leave you to rest now, Madam Gray. Aurora will come visit every day. She lives with me now, in my home, where she is safe and happy.”

He guided me out of the room, his hand still firmly on my waist until the door closed behind us. The moment we were out in the corridor, he pulled his hand away instantly, stepping back and putting distance between us, his face turning cold and hard again.

“Never expect that touch to mean anything,” he said flatly. “I did that for her. I needed her to trust me. I needed her to believe you are safe. Now she will rest easy, and you have no reason to run away or break the contract. You are mine now, Aurora. Your mother is safe because of me. If you leave, she loses everything. Do not forget that.”

He turned and started walking towards the exit, his long legs moving fast.

“Come on. We are going to my house. You need to pack whatever rags you have left at your place and move in immediately. The wedding is in three days. It will be a small, private legal ceremony, but it will be official. And then… the real work begins.”

I followed him silently, my mind spinning. The wedding was in three days. I was going to move into his mansion. I was going to become Mrs. Blackwood.

As we walked out of the hospital and back into the waiting car, I looked back at the hospital building. My mother was safe. She was happy. That was all that mattered. But deep down, a heavy feeling settled in my chest.

I had stepped into a cage made of gold. I had everything I ever needed, but I had lost my freedom, my identity, and possibly my heart before it even had a chance to beat.

Damian Blackwood looked out the window, his face blank, his mind already far away. He was thinking of Lily. He was thinking of how I was just a shadow of her. He was thinking about how he would use me to save his legacy.

And I sat there, looking at the side of his perfect face, knowing that for the next year, this cold, broken, handsome man would be my husband. In name only.

But as I looked at him, I felt something shift inside me. A determination. I was not just a cleaner anymore. I was not just a victim of life. I was Aurora Blackwood. And even if I was just a copy… I would play this part so well, so perfectly, that maybe… just maybe… one day, he would see me. Not her.

“You are the mistress of my house,” his voice echoed in my mind. “But never the mistress of my heart.”

We shall see, Damian. We shall see.