Chapter 1: The Contract
1505 Words
Elena Carter had never imagined that desperation would one day lead her to the doorstep of a billionaire.
She stood beneath the towering glass entrance of Blackwood Enterprises, clutching her worn handbag against her chest while rain streamed down the windows behind her.
Her shoes were damp.
Her hair stuck to her cheeks.
And her pride had been reduced to one question she had been trying not to ask herself all morning.
How far was she willing to go to save her family?
Her phone vibrated.
Elena looked at the screen.
Mom.
She swallowed before answering.
“Hello?”
Her mother's voice was weak.
“Elena, the bank called again.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I know.”
“They said we have until Friday.”
“I know, Mom.”
Silence followed.
Their family home had belonged to them for nearly forty years. It was the only place Elena had ever truly known as home. But after her father's business collapsed, debts had swallowed everything they owned.
Everything except the house.
And now even that was about to disappear.
“I'll fix it,” Elena whispered.
“You've already done too much.”
“I said I'll fix it.”
She ended the call before her mother could hear the fear in her voice.
For a moment, Elena simply stood there.
Then she looked toward the massive black doors leading into Blackwood Enterprises.
This was her last chance.
She walked inside.
The receptionist looked up.
“May I help you?”
“I'm here to see Mr. Blackwood.”
The woman's expression changed slightly.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Elena hesitated.
“No. But he is expecting me.”
It was technically true.
That morning, she had received a message from an unknown number.
Come to Blackwood Enterprises at one o'clock. Ask for Adrian Blackwood. Come alone.
Nothing else.
No explanation.
No reason.
Only a location.
The receptionist picked up the phone.
“Mr. Blackwood's office? There's a Miss Carter here.”
Elena waited.
A moment later, the receptionist hung up.
“Thirty-second floor.”
“Thank you.”
Elena stepped into the elevator.
As the doors closed, her reflection stared back at her.
She looked ordinary.
Simple black trousers.
A cream blouse.
Cheap shoes.
No expensive jewelry.
Nothing like the women she had seen entering the building.
She wondered why Adrian Blackwood wanted to see her.
She had never met him.
At least, she didn't think she had.
The elevator doors opened.
A silent corridor stretched before her.
A woman in a perfectly tailored suit approached.
“Miss Carter?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Blackwood is waiting.”
Elena followed her.
The office doors opened.
Her breath caught.
The room was enormous, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Everything was dark wood, black leather, and polished glass.
But Elena barely noticed the luxury.
Her attention went directly to the man standing beside the window.
Adrian Blackwood.
He turned.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
He was younger than she had expected.
Early thirties, perhaps.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
His black suit fit perfectly, and his expression was so cold that Elena instinctively straightened.
His eyes settled on her.
Not warmly.
Not curiously.
Almost as if he had already decided something about her.
“Elena Carter.”
It wasn't a question.
“Yes.”
“Sit.”
She sat across from him.
Adrian remained standing.
“Do you know why you're here?”
“No.”
“Your family's debt is six hundred and eighty thousand dollars.”
Elena's fingers tightened around her handbag.
“You investigated me.”
“I investigate everyone who enters my life.”
“I'm not entering your life.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“That is about to change.”
Elena frowned.
Adrian walked toward the desk and placed a folder in front of her.
“Open it.”
She did.
Her eyes widened.
There were financial records.
Bank statements.
Property information.
And finally, a contract.
She looked up.
“What is this?”
“A proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“Marriage.”
The word hung between them.
Elena stared at him.
Then she laughed.
It wasn't because anything was funny.
It was the kind of laugh that escaped when reality became too ridiculous to accept.
“You're joking.”
“I don't joke about business.”
“You want me to marry you?”
“For one year.”
Elena pushed the contract away.
“No.”
Adrian's expression didn't change.
“You haven't heard the terms.”
“I don't need to.”
“You need six hundred and eighty thousand dollars.”
Elena froze.
He continued.
“I will pay your family's debt in full. Your home will remain yours. Your mother's medical expenses will also be covered.”
Elena stared at him.
“And in return?”
“You become my wife.”
Her heart pounded.
“Why me?”
“Because you're suitable.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the only answer you need.”
“No.”
She stood.
Adrian's gaze followed her.
“You came here because you needed help.”
“I came here because you summoned me.”
“And now you know I can give you what you need.”
Elena shook her head.
“There are other ways to help someone.”
“Not ones that benefit both parties.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“What do you get from marrying me?”
For the first time, something changed in his expression.
Something dark.
Something Elena couldn't understand.
“Protection.”
“From what?”
“That isn't your concern.”
“It becomes my concern if I'm marrying you.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Your job will be simple. You will live with me, appear beside me when required, attend family events, and maintain the appearance of a happy marriage.”
“Appearance?”
“This is not a love story, Miss Carter.”
His words should have relieved her.
Instead, they somehow hurt.
“There will be no emotional expectations,” he continued. “No interference in my business. No questions about my private affairs.”
“And after one year?”
“We divorce.”
Elena looked down at the contract again.
Six hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Her family's home.
Her mother's future.
Everything she had spent years trying to protect.
One signature could save them.
But one signature could also destroy her life.
“Why can't you marry someone else?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Because I need someone who won't betray me.”
“And you think I won't?”
“I know you won't.”
“How?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“Because you have nothing left to lose.”
The words cut deeper than he intended.
Elena slowly picked up the pen.
“You really think you can buy me?”
“No.”
Adrian's voice was calm.
“I think I can give you a choice.”
She stared at the contract.
“What happens if I say no?”
“I'll find another solution.”
“And my family?”
“They keep their debt.”
Elena's hand trembled.
She hated him.
She hated the way he had reduced her entire life to numbers on a piece of paper.
But she hated her situation even more.
She thought of her mother.
She thought of her father's empty office.
She thought of the house where she had grown up.
Then she signed.
The sound of the pen against the paper seemed unnaturally loud.
Adrian watched without saying a word.
Elena placed the pen down.
“There.”
He picked up the contract and examined her signature.
“Tomorrow morning, a lawyer will handle the remaining arrangements.”
Elena stood.
“One year.”
“One year.”
“No pretending when we're alone.”
“Agreed.”
“No controlling who I speak to.”
“Agreed.”
“And when this is over, I walk away with my dignity.”
Something almost like amusement appeared in his eyes.
“If you still have any left.”
Elena glared at him.
Then she turned toward the door.
“Miss Carter.”
She stopped.
Adrian's voice became strangely quiet.
“There's one final condition.”
Elena turned around.
“What?”
“You can never ask me why I chose you.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because you won't like the answer.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Elena stared at him, trying to understand what he meant.
But Adrian had already turned away.
She left the office with the contract in her hands.
She had come to Blackwood Enterprises to save her family.
She didn't know that by signing that paper, she had just stepped into the most dangerous secret of Adrian Blackwood's life.
And neither of them knew that their one-year marriage would become impossible to end.
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