**Chapter 3 – Part 1: An Impossible Choice**
799 Words
Amelia stared at Alexander Kingston as though she had misheard him.
"...Marry you?"
The words felt foreign on her tongue.
Alexander's expression didn't change. His silver-gray eyes remained fixed on hers, calm and unreadable, as if he had merely proposed a business merger instead of a marriage.
"You heard me correctly."
A bitter laugh escaped Amelia.
"This is a joke."
"It isn't."
She shook her head.
"You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
"No, you don't."
She took a step backward, her heart racing.
"You know my name. You know my mother is dying. Somehow, you know I can't afford her surgery. That's not knowing me."
Alexander folded his hands behind his back.
"I've had your background investigated."
Amelia's face flushed with anger.
"You what?"
"I needed facts before making an offer."
"You invaded my privacy."
"I gathered information."
"That's the same thing!"
The silence that followed was thick enough to suffocate.
Mr. Harrison quietly excused himself, closing the study door behind him.
Now they were alone.
Amelia stared at the stranger who seemed to hold her mother's life in his hands.
"Why me?" she asked.
"Of all the women in this city, why would you choose someone you've never met?"
Alexander walked toward the fireplace.
For several moments, he said nothing.
When he finally spoke, his voice was lower than before.
"Because I need a wife."
Amelia frowned.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the truth."
"There are thousands of women who would marry a billionaire without thinking twice."
"I'm not looking for thousands of women."
"Then what are you looking for?"
He turned to face her.
"Someone who has no interest in my money."
Amelia stared at him in disbelief.
"You think I don't?"
"I think you're here because your mother needs surgery."
She clenched her fists.
"If my mother weren't in that hospital, I wouldn't even be standing in this room."
"I know."
"Then this isn't a choice."
"No."
"It isn't."
His honesty stunned her.
Most men would have tried to dress it up with promises or romance.
Alexander didn't.
He simply stated the facts.
"I need a wife."
"You need money."
"We can solve each other's problems."
Amelia looked away.
Everything about this felt wrong.
Cold.
Calculated.
Like signing a contract with her heart as collateral.
"What happens after we marry?"
"You'll live at Kingston Estate."
"For how long?"
"One year."
Her eyes widened.
"One year?"
"Our marriage will remain valid for twelve months."
"And after that?"
"If either of us wishes to end it, we'll divorce quietly."
"So... a contract marriage."
"Essentially."
She let out a slow breath.
"And if I refuse?"
Alexander didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked to his desk and opened a folder.
Inside were hospital documents.
Her mother's diagnosis.
The estimated cost of surgery.
The treatment schedule.
He slid the file toward her.
"The hospital has informed me the surgeons cannot wait beyond forty-eight hours."
Amelia felt tears burning her eyes.
"You've planned everything."
"I've prepared for every possibility."
She looked up at him.
"Even the possibility that I'd hate you?"
His expression softened—just for a fraction of a second.
"I expect it."
Those three words caught her off guard.
There was no arrogance in his voice.
No offense.
Only acceptance.
As though he had already convinced himself he deserved it.
Amelia's phone suddenly rang.
Her hands shook as she answered.
"Hello?"
"Miss Carter?"
It was the doctor.
Her stomach tightened.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry to pressure you, but your mother's condition has worsened."
Her vision blurred.
"She has?"
"We're doing everything we can."
"Please..."
"If we're going to operate, we need financial authorization immediately."
The call ended.
Amelia lowered the phone slowly.
For a long moment, she couldn't speak.
Alexander didn't interrupt.
He simply waited.
Finally, she whispered, "If I agree..."
He met her gaze.
"...will you pay for everything?"
"Every hospital bill."
"The surgery?"
"Yes."
"The rehabilitation afterward?"
"Yes."
"The medication?"
"Yes."
She searched his face for any sign that he was lying.
She found none.
"And you'll transfer the money today?"
"The hospital will receive it within the hour."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
She hated herself for even considering it.
Marriage wasn't supposed to be a transaction.
It was supposed to be built on love.
Trust.
Choice.
Yet fate had cornered her into bargaining with the only thing she had left.
Her future.
Alexander reached into his desk drawer and placed a single document before her.
"A marriage agreement."
She stared at the elegant leather folder.
Her hands remained at her sides.
She couldn't bring herself to touch it.
Because once she did...
There would be no turning.
Continue for **Part 2**, where Amelia reads the contract, discovers Alexander's hidden conditions, and learns that someone desperately wants to stop this marriage before it happens
- Writer
