The Missing Bride’s Mystery

The Contract

Zoe’s POV

I stood near the door, holding my bag tightly while David Blackwood continued staring at me with those cold grey eyes. He did not smile, nor did he greet me. He simply watched me quietly, as if he was searching for something hidden under my skin. Which made me really nervous.

Finally, he walked away from the window and placed his glass down on the table beside him. Every movement he made was calm.

“Sit,” he said.His voice was deep and emotionless.

I slowly sat down across from him, trying not to look uncomfortable even though my heart was beating too fast.David remained standing for a moment before taking the seat opposite me. Up close, he looked even more intimidating. His expression stayed cold, but there was something tired hidden behind his eyes. Something dark.

“You already know why you’re here,” he said calmly.

I swallowed hard before nodding.

“The contract marriage.”

“Yes.”

The room became quiet again.

I hated how easily he controlled the atmosphere around him. My fingers tightened around my bag. “Why me?”

David looked at me for a few seconds before answering.

“Because you fit the requirements.”

The answer made me uncomfortable immediately.

Requirements? As if I was being selected for a job instead of a marriage.

“What exactly does this marriage involve?” I asked carefully.

“You will live in my house for one year,” he said. “You will appear beside me in public when necessary. You will follow the rules written in the contract. In return, your debts will disappear and your mother’s treatment will be fully paid for.”

His words were simple, direct, almost rehearsed. Like this arrangement meant nothing to him. I looked down at the papers sitting on the table in front of me. My eyes moved across the expensive documents slowly, but the numbers written there immediately caught my attention. It was more money than I had ever seen in my life.

Enough to save my mother , enough to change everything.But something still felt wrong.

“What happened to the woman before me?” I asked .

For the first time since I entered the office, David’s expression changed slightly.The room suddenly felt colder. His eyes darkened for only a second before his face returned to normal again.

“That information does not concern you,” he said calmly. The answer made me scared .

I opened my mouth to speak again, but before I could, the office door suddenly opened.A woman walked in confidently, carrying a file in her hand.

She stopped the moment she saw me.Her eyes widened slightly.Then she looked at David.

“You didn’t tell me she looks exactly like her.” I looked at her and David, confused.

“Selena,” he said coldly, “that is enough.”

“Sorry, sir.”

But the damage was already done. I stared at both of them. Exactly like her? Like the missing bride?

Selena placed the file carefully on the table before leaving the office without another word. The moment the door closed, the silence returned again.

I looked back at David again. “Who was she talking about?”

David leaned back in his chair calmly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me,” I said quietly.

His eyes met mine.Then he stood up and walked toward the large window again, facing the city below. His broad shoulders looked tense under the dim office light.

“The less you know,the safer you’ll be.” He said ,

The words made fear settle deeper . Safer?

I looked down at the contract again. The papers suddenly felt heavier in my hands. Everything about this situation screamed danger, yet part of me still could not walk away.Because walking away meant losing my mother.And I could not lose her. David turned around slowly and looked at me again.

“If you accept this arrangement, your life changes tonight,” he said. “You move into my house immediately. There will be rules. You will follow them without questions.” His tone remained calm, but it sounded more like a warning than an agreement.

Every instinct inside me told me to leave while I still could.But reality was cruel , reality did not care about instincts. Resli cared about money.

“And if I refuse?” David stared at me quietly for a few seconds.

“Then you walk out that door,” he replied. “And your problems remain yours.”

He was giving me a choice while already knowing desperation would make the decision for me.The moment my fingers touched the pen, David’s gaze sharpened. Almost like he had been waiting for this exact moment.

I took a deep breath and signed my name at the bottom of the paper. Zoe Bennett.

The second I finished writing, a strange feeling settled inside me.Like my old life had just ended.

David picked up the contract calmly and closed the file.Then he looked at me one last time.

“Welcome to Blackwood Manor, Mrs. Blackwood.”