THE CONTRACT
*CHAPTER 1: THE CONTRACT* -
The knock on the door came at 11:47pm.
Esther Miller was sitting on the floor of her small apartment in Washington DC, surrounded by unpaid bills. The lights were off because they couldn’t pay the electricity. Her phone kept buzzing.
Unknown number.
Unknown number.
Unknown number.
Loan sharks.
"Dad, you promised," she whispered, clutching the $2 million debt notice in her hands. Her father had gambled it all. The house was gone. The car was gone. And now they were coming for her.
Another knock. Louder this time.
Esther didn’t answer. She couldn’t.
Her phone rang. Not a text. A call. She almost didn’t pick up.
"Miss Miller?" A deep, cold voice. "This is Daniel Cole."
"Who?"
"I believe your father owes me a favor. Or rather, he owes the bank. $2 million. And I’m the one who bought the debt."
Esther’s blood ran cold. "What do you want?"
"I want a wife," Daniel said simply. "For one year. In exchange, I clear your father’s debt tonight."
Esther laughed, but it came out broken. "This is a joke, right?"
"No joke, Miss Miller. Be at Cole Tower, 42nd floor, 9am tomorrow. Wear something decent. Sign the papers. Or don’t. And watch what happens to your father in 48 hours."
The line went dead.
Esther sat there until sunrise. She didn’t sleep. She didn’t cry. She just stared at the debt papers.
At 8:55am, she stood in front of Cole Tower. 50 floors of glass and money. She wore her only good dress. Black. Simple. She looked 21, not like the billionaire wives she saw walking in.
The elevator took her to the 42nd floor.
Daniel Cole was waiting.
29 years old. Black suit. No tie. Hair slightly messy like he just got out of a meeting. Eyes that didn’t blink. Cold.
"Miss Miller," he said, sliding a folder across the marble desk. "Contract marriage. One year. $50,000 to your account today. I pay the debt. You play the wife. No love. No intimacy. No questions."
Esther’s hands shook as she flipped the pages. Legal. Binding.
"Why me?" she whispered.
"Because you’re desperate enough to say yes, and invisible enough that no one will care," Daniel said. "Do we have a deal?"
Outside the window, Washington DC looked so small.
Esther picked up the pen.
For her dad.
For herself.
"I do," she said.
Daniel signed too.
"Welcome to the Cole family, Mrs. Cole. For one year."
*[END OF CHAPTER 1]*
