Her only Option
430 Words
Ava didn’t sleep that night.
She sat by the window, knees drawn to her chest, staring into the empty night sky. The streets outside were quiet, but her mind was loud — echoing with everything she didn’t want to hear.
Her father had gone to bed without saying another word. She could still hear the shame in his voice. But it wasn’t just the debt weighing on her anymore. It was the choice he’d put in front of her.
How had her life come to this?
She was supposed to fall in love. To marry someone who adored her. Not someone like Jace Blackwood — cold, calculating, and completely out of reach.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Lena: You okay? You didn’t reply to my messages.
Ava hesitated, then replied:
Ava: I have to marry him.
Lena: Who??
Ava: Jace Blackwood. The contract is real.
Lena: Ava… no. This isn’t a movie. You can’t live like that.
Ava: If I don’t, my dad loses everything. We’ll be homeless.
The screen stayed silent for a moment.
Then Lena wrote:
Lena: I’m coming over.
Ava didn’t respond. What was there to say?
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By morning, Ava hadn’t moved from the chair.
The contract still sat on the table, its presence almost mocking. Thick. Official. Soulless.
She walked toward it slowly. Her fingers hovered over the envelope like it was a weapon — and maybe it was. A weapon against her freedom.
She sat down, opened it, and read every line. Every cold, calculated term.
One year of marriage.
No emotional involvement.
Shared appearances as a couple.
Complete confidentiality.
Annulment upon completion.
There were penalties too — for her, not him. She would be watched, managed, restricted. Her life, for one full year, would not be her own.
And yet... she was still holding the pen.
Her father walked into the room. His eyes were swollen from crying, his shoulders heavier than ever. “Ava,” he said, his voice cracking. “You don’t have to do this for me.”
“Yes, I do,” she whispered.
“No,” he said, tears rising. “You should be free. You deserve love. You deserve more than this.”
She looked at him, really looked at him. He was broken. Just like their family, just like her future.
“I used to believe love was everything,” she said quietly. “Now I think survival comes first.”
Her hand trembled as she signed her name.
Ava Dani
els.
And just like that, she sealed her fate.
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End of Chapter 2
- Writer
