Love by Contract

Rose POV "Pregnant." I stared at the word on the paper, my heart racing. For the first time in six months, this contract marriage felt like it could mean something real. I was wrong. I heard James car pull into the driveway. My heart hammered against my ribs. This changes everything, I told myself. The front door opened. James stepped inside, his dark suit perfectly ironed, his tie loosened just slightly. He barely glanced my direction. How was your day?" James asked, his tone flat. The question was automatic now, part of the act we put on for Lilly. "Fine,” I replied. He set his briefcase down. "I prepared dinner,” I told him. "I'm not hungry,” he said. He moved toward the stairs, already dismissing me. "James, wait. I need to tell you something." He paused but didn't turn around. "Make it quick, I have things to be doing." I pulled the folded paper from my pocket and held it out. "The result for the doctor's appointment I mentioned last week came out today" He turned and picked up the paper and slowly unfolded it. His expression went from neutral to stone-cold in less than a second. "What is this?" He said with his voice low. "I'm pregnant," The words caught in my throat. "I know this wasn't part of our agreement, but…." "But what?" He took a step toward me, the paper held tight in his fist. "You thought an accident would trap me? Is that it?" "It wasn't James, that night at the gala, we were both drunk." "Don't you dare blame this on one drunken mistake. You did this on purpose,” he said with his face filled with rage. My stomach dropped. "What? No, I would never" "You drugged my drink." He said it like it was a fact and not a accusation. "I don't remember most of that night, Rose but I knew you did it." "You actually believe that?" "What else am I supposed to believe?" He threw the test results to the dining table. "You're desperate. You saw an opportunity to sort out your sister bills and you took it." "I thought maybe this could mean something. That we could finally mean something" I said as tears burned my eyes. He laughed out loud,"This is a deal. One year and you'll be out of this house." "I know what I signed,” I said with my voice a little bit more stable, "But things change, James. People change. I thought maybe you… " "Thought what? That I'd fall in love with you? "I'm in love with Sofia. I've been planning to propose to her for months. This," he gestured between us, "was never real." The words shouldn't have hurt. I'd known from the beginning that James saw me as nothing more than a convenient solution to his parenting problem. But hearing him say it this time shattered something in me. "I want you to get rid of the baby," He said it without hesitation. "This pregnancy ruins everything, Rose. Sofia and I are planning our future and I will not let one mistake destroy what I've built,” he added. "This is not a mistake, James. It's our….” The slap came before I could finish. My head snapped to the side and pain exploded across my cheek. I couldn't do anything. I just stood there with my hand pressed to my burning face. James stood there frozen. For one brief second, I saw something flicker in his eyes. I couldn't tell whether it was shock or regret but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I don't know what game you're playing but it ends now. You'll get rid of it tomorrow morning, or I'll make sure every dollar to your sister's hospital gets cut off,” James said with his voice low and dangerous. "Fix this mess by the time I get back, or you and your sister will be on the streets by morning,” he added. He grabbed his car keys and turned toward the front door and slammed it shut . I sank to my knees on the cold floor with my hands pressed to my burning cheek. . How had I been so stupid? How had I let myself believe this could be anything more than a transaction? A small voice broke through my grief. "Rose. Why was Daddy yelling?" My head raised up. Lilly stood at the top of the stairs in her pink pajamas. Her eyes were wide open with fear. She heard everything. "Is the baby going away?" Lilly said. I didn't answer her. I just couldn't find the words to explain something that even I didn't understand. I just knelt there on the floor, while James's seven year old daughter stared at me with questions I had no answers for. Outside, I heard James's car engine roar, then fade into the distance. And in that moment, I realized something that should have been obvious from the start. I was completely alone