The Cold CEO
678 Words
Chapter Two: The Cold CEO
Amelia barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she heard the same words echoing in her mind.
You have one month.
Morning came too quickly.
Her mother knocked softly on the bedroom door.
"Amelia, breakfast is ready. Mr. Knight will be here in an hour."
"I don't want breakfast."
"You should eat."
"I said I'm not hungry."
Silence lingered outside the door before her mother's footsteps faded away.
Amelia stared at the ceiling. She wasn't afraid of meeting Ethan Knight.
She was afraid of what meeting him meant.
An hour later, she reluctantly walked downstairs wearing a simple cream-colored dress. She had tied her dark hair into a neat ponytail, refusing to dress up for a man she had never agreed to marry.
The sound of a luxury car pulling into the driveway made everyone in the house fall silent.
The butler opened the front door.
"He is here, sir."
Richard Hart straightened his tie.
Amelia folded her arms.
The sound of polished shoes echoed across the marble floor.
Then she saw him.
Ethan Knight.
He was taller than she had imagined, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His expression was calm, unreadable. His sharp jawline and piercing gray eyes gave him an intimidating presence, but there was nothing arrogant about the way he carried himself.
He simply looked... in control.
Always.
He greeted Amelia's parents with a polite handshake before his eyes met hers.
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
"So," Amelia finally said, "you're the man buying my future."
Her parents gasped.
Ethan didn't react.
Instead, he answered quietly.
"No."
She frowned.
"I'm the man being sold one too."
The room fell silent.
That wasn't the response she had expected.
Richard cleared his throat.
"Perhaps you two should talk privately."
Neither objected.
A few minutes later, they found themselves walking through the Hart family's rose garden.
Birds chirped in the trees, but the silence between them was louder.
Finally, Ethan spoke.
"You don't want this marriage."
"No."
"Neither do I."
She stopped walking.
"Then why are we here?"
He looked ahead instead of at her.
"My grandfather is dying."
Her anger faded slightly.
"He built my company from nothing. Before he passes away, he wants to see our families reunited."
"And you always do what he says?"
"I owe him everything."
His answer was simple.
Honest.
"What about love?" Amelia asked.
"Love?"
He almost smiled.
"I don't believe in it."
She stared at him.
"You really are as cold as people say."
"I've been called worse."
She crossed her arms.
"So what happens now?"
He reached into his briefcase and handed her a folder.
"A contract."
She looked at him suspiciously.
"I thought we already had one."
"This one is ours."
She opened it.
The first page read:
Marriage Agreement
Duration: One Month
She looked up.
"What is this supposed to mean?"
"We'll marry as our families want."
"For one month?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
"If either of us wishes to leave, the marriage ends quietly."
She searched his face.
"No arguments?"
"No."
"No revenge?"
"No."
"No trying to force the other to stay?"
His expression softened for the first time.
"I would never force someone to love me."
Those words caught her off guard.
Maybe there was more to Ethan Knight than the icy mask he wore.
She closed the folder.
"I have one condition."
"I'm listening."
"You treat me like a partner, not an obligation."
He nodded once.
"Agreed."
"And another."
He raised an eyebrow.
"If we're doing this, no lies."
He held out his hand.
"No lies."
Amelia looked at it for a long moment.
Then, slowly, she placed her hand in his.
His grip was warm.
Firm.
Gentle.
For a single heartbeat, neither of them let go.
Then Ethan cleared his throat and stepped back.
"The wedding is in three days."
Amelia blinked.
"Three days?"
"Our families don't want unnecessary attention."
She let out a slow breath.
Three days.
In three days, she would become Mrs. Ethan Knight.
Whether she was ready...
Or not.
- Writer
