The CEO’s Contract Bride

Chapter 3

Shadows of the past

Under the night sky, Paris sparkled, its lights giving the busy streets a warm glow. I strolled across the packed sidewalks, my mind a whirl with emotions. I had agreed to a marriage contract with Alexander St. Claire, the mysterious billionaire who had caught my eye in ways I couldn't explain. I needed some fresh air tonight to help me to sort through the enormous transformation in my life and clear my head.

My phone buzzed as I meandered past the famous stores and cafés. Alexander and I needed to come urgently to see Grandma tonight, according to Grandma's caregiver's message. Reading the words sank my heart. I hurried back home to tell Alexander without thinking another second.

“Alexander, we should visit Grandma. I blurted out as I hurried through his penthouse, her caregiver says it's urgent.”

From his paperwork, he turned to show concern instead of irritation right away. "Let's go," he said, pulling on his coat.

We drove silently, the strain between us growing with every minute. The caregiver met us at the door of Grandma's elegant but small estate; her face was clearly worried.

"She's been asking for both of you," she said, guiding us to the great bedroom where Grandma lay pale and weak, but her eyes still glittered with life.

"Emma, Alexander," she said weakly to us. You come.

Alexander gently said, "Of course, Grandma," grabbing her hand.

Her kind glance at me made my heart hurt. "Thanks Emma; for bringing my dying wish to pass."

Her comments really stung more than I anticipated. My voice hardly whispers, "It was the least I could do."

Grandma's eyes flicked with a mix of pride and grief. Her voice became thinner, "I wish you both a lifetime of happiness," she said. "See each other carefully."

She drew a long breath and closed her eyes with those last words. Alexander tightened his hold on her hand, and I watched as one tear slid down his cheek. Grandma had passed on, having satisfied her last wish.

The days after Grandma died were a haze of funeral preparations and condolences. Alexander was unusually quiet; his loss showed up as a Stoic front. Though I wasn't sure how, I wanted to reassure him. We had only lately entered this unusual contractual relationship, and I had no idea where I stood.

Alexander spoke at last one evening as I sat by myself in the penthouse. Emma, I have to show you something.

Looking up, I was startled by the clarity of his eyes. "What are you asking?"

He showed me his office, where he retrieved an ancient, leather-bound journal from a locked drawer. This was, he said, his grandmother's. " She kept it a secret from me. Everyone else. But the caregiver found it and brought it to me following her death.

He handed me the journal, and I turned the first page. The graceful script covered family secrets, hardships, and most shockingly, a sinister conspiracy involving St. Claire family.

With eyes glancing over the pages, "Alexander, this is... incredible," I said. "Why was she hiding this?"

"I'm not sure," he said with a frustrated tone. "But there's something in there that might wreck everything my family has created."

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, a chill ran down my spine. "What is our next move?"

Alexander sighed and ran his hand through his hair. " We have to ascertain the truth. And we have to accomplish it subtly. Should word get out about this, we could be destroyed.

The weight of his words fell mostly on my shoulders. Originally, our contract marriage seemed to be a straightforward arrangement, but today it feels like we were caught in a web of lies and secrets. About what we might find, I started to get anxious.

Alexander and I labored nonstop for the next weeks to decipher the secrets in the journal. Our regular late evenings in the office became marked by piles of family records and past papers all around us. Our once-professional relationship developed into something more complicated, driven by shared secrets and mounting mutual respect.

The doorbell rang one evening as we were carefully reviewing a particularly difficult entry. Alexander turned to me warily and then went to respond. My heart was hammering. I followed him.

At the door stood the same dark man who had invaded our life before. His company made me shudder down my spine.

"What are you doing here?" Alexander insisted, his voice austere and commanding.

The stranger grinned, his eyes flickering with a terrible brightness. "You know me, St. Claire. We have outstanding business to address.

My blood ran cold while the air buzzed with anxiety. The invader moved forward, and I moved naturally toward Alexander. Clearly a ghost from Alexander's past, this man could destroy all we had created.

Alexander said, his voice low and menacing: "You need to leave."

The stranger laughed, a dark note resounding across the space. Oh, I have nowhere in mind. Not until I have what I came for."

Alexander's hold on my hand got tighter. "And what is that?" .

"Revenge," the stranger hissed, his predatory eyes fixed on Alexander.

The stranger surged at Alexander before I could respond, and the room collapsed. As Alexander battled to shield us, the two men struggling with a violence that rocked me to my very core I screamed. The fight stopped when the stranger pushed Alexander against the wall with a knife shoved to his throat.

" Stop!" I wept, my voice shaking with terror. "Kindly just stop!"

The stranger looked at me, his eyes full of a nasty delight. "You should have stayed out of this, little girl."

Alexander staggered and dropped to the ground when he was pushed away. The intruder turned to face me, his eyes cutting through me. "This is a warning, really. Keep away from things irrelevant to you; else, you will regret it.

Alexander and I were left in shock as he disappeared into the evening. My hands shaking, I hurried to Alexander's side to assist him with standing.

"Are you okay?" My voice hardly above a whisper, I asked.

He nodded, yet his eyes betrayed a mixture of terror and resentment. "I'm good, but we have to exercise greater caution. This isn't done.

Holding Alexander close, I understood the actual risk associated with the road we were traveling. We had to head-on face the shadows of the past since they were closing in. Our lives were entwined in ways I had not expected, and the line separating love from danger was getting ever thinner.

Though the road ahead was dangerous, one thing was obvious: we cannot go back now. We had to find the truth at all the expenses. And in doing this, we would either discover atonement or be engulfed in the darkness threatening to wipe off both of us.