Chapter 3
885 Words
The ride was too quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just… heavy.
The kind of silence that makes your thoughts louder than they should be.
I sat by the window, watching the city pass by in blurred lights, but my mind wasn’t there.
It kept going back to one thing.
Page four.
I shouldn’t have rushed it.
I knew better.
Still, I reached into my bag and pulled the contract out again.
This time, I didn’t skim.
I forced myself to read every single word.
Line by line.
Slowly.
Carefully.
By the time I got to the fourth page, my fingers had already gone cold.
“There has to be something…” I muttered under my breath.
Then I saw it.
Not hidden.
Not even small.
I just… didn’t pay attention before.
“The wife agrees to carry out all responsibilities expected within a real marriage, as determined by the husband.”
My stomach dropped.
I kept reading.
And it only got worse.
“Failure to comply may lead to immediate withdrawal of financial support and further legal consequences.”
I let out a short, disbelieving breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
The paper crinkled slightly in my hand.
So this was it.
Not just a marriage on paper.
Not just pretending.
He meant everything.
Slowly, I turned my head.
He was right there beside me.
Composed. Relaxed.
Like none of this was a problem.
Like I hadn’t just realized how deep I was in.
“You knew I wouldn’t catch that,” I said.
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
He glanced at me.
“I thought you would.”
I almost laughed.
“Don’t act innocent.”
“I’m not.”
That answer came too fast. Too easy.
It annoyed me more than if he had argued.
“You set this up,” I said, holding up the contract slightly. “All of it.”
“And you agreed to it.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Because you didn’t give me a real choice.”
“You had one.”
I looked at him sharply.
“Really? Walk away and watch everything fall apart?”
He didn’t respond.
That silence said enough.
Exactly.
“That’s not a choice,” I added.
“It’s the only one you were going to make.”
The confidence in his voice made something twist inside me.
Like he already knew me better than I wanted him to.
I looked down at the paper again.
“This part…” I tapped the page lightly, “what does it actually mean?”
A brief pause.
Then he leaned slightly closer.
Not enough to touch.
Just enough to make me aware of him.
“Use your imagination,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
His tone didn’t change.
Didn’t soften.
That made it worse.
“You expect me to just… what? Play along with everything?”
“Yes.”
The word landed without hesitation.
No guilt. No doubt.
Just certainty.
I shook my head, looking away.
“This is insane.”
“Then why didn’t you walk away?”
I didn’t answer.
Because we both knew why.
Because I couldn’t.
Because he knew I couldn’t.
And that was exactly why this worked.
“You could’ve helped without all this,” I said after a moment.
“I could have.”
I frowned, turning back to him.
“Then why didn’t you?”
This time, he didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze shifted, just slightly.
Like he was choosing his words.
Or deciding if he even wanted to answer at all.
Then—
“Because you wouldn’t stay.”
My heart skipped.
“What?”
“If I helped you like that,” he continued, his voice quieter now, “you’d take it… and disappear again.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is.”
The way he said it—
Not angry.
Not accusing.
Just certain.
And somehow… that made it harder to argue.
“I wouldn’t run,” I said, even though my voice wasn’t as strong as before.
“You already did.”
That hit.
Straight to the chest.
I looked away quickly.
“That was different.”
“So was I.”
The response came sharper this time.
And just like that, the air between us shifted again.
This wasn’t just about now.
This was about everything we hadn’t said.
Everything we never finished.
The car began to slow down.
I hadn’t even noticed how far we’d come.
Outside, a tall building came into view.
Glass. Steel. Expensive.
Of course.
I folded the contract carefully and slipped it back into my bag.
My head felt heavy.
Too many thoughts.
Too many questions.
The car stopped.
For a second, neither of us moved.
Then I reached for the door.
But before I could open it—
His hand wrapped around my wrist.
Warm. Firm.
Not tight.
Just enough to stop me.
I froze.
“Ella.”
My name sounded different when he said it like that.
Quieter.
I didn’t turn.
“What?”
A pause.
Then—
“Don’t fight everything.”
I let out a small breath.
Too late for that.
Because the moment I signed that contract…
This stopped being something I could control.
- Writer
