CHAPTER FIVE
1297 Words
Aria opened her eyes to see herself staring at the white ceiling of a strange place. Her head ached and more importantly, she still felt weak.
As she tried sitting up, a hand came over her waist helping her rest her back well. As he bent over her, she could perceive her cologne trailing past her nostrils and when he stood straight before her, she realized it was the same man from the night before.
Aria immediately clutched the sheets tights, only opening it to steal a glance at her body hidden beneath it. Her clothes had been changed!
Had he taken advantage of her while she was unconscious?
“What did you do to me?” Aria asked as she shot him a deadly look.
The man raised a brow.
“Don't you think I require a ‘thank you’, seeing that I saved you from those monsters and gave you shelter?”
Aria did not reply, but she maintained her gaze on him.
The man then raised his hand in surrender.
“I did not touch you. I only asked one of the servants to change your wet dress.”
Aria's gaze softened.
“Thank you,” she muttered, shamefully.
Then on looking around the opulently decorated room, she asked, “Where am I?”
“At my abode. I found you in the arms of those men. It seemed they had drugged you so I brought you here and had you nursed back to life.” he told her.
Aria sighed when she remembered everything again. She wanted to forget it all, but somehow it kept on slipping back into her head.
“What happened out there? Were you lost? Stranded? Or–”
“–It is none of your business.” Aria blurted.
The man smiled and put his hands in his pockets.
“Aria West, 25 years old, holds a degree in finance, married for three years, parents are divorced, best friend’s name is Sophie.”
Aria's jaw dropped.
“I did my research. And I can find out what happened in minutes if you refuse to spill it.” he told her.
Aria gulped hard. This man was damn serious.
With a heave of breath she said, “I caught my husband cheating on the day of our anniversary.”
Now that was a burden lifted off her chest. She just needed someone to tell and now it was out, she felt quite relieved. After all, he was still going to find out if she told him or not.
“Husband? That must be Lucas West.”
“You know already, why repeat that?”
He smiled and after staring at her for a while, he put his hands in his pockets.
“Would you like to take revenge on your husband?” Damien blurted out.
Revenge? Aria questioned in her mind. She had barely thought about it.
“And why would I want to?” she asked him.
“Lucas West cheated on his devoted wife with some lady and you want him to go scoff free?”
Aria rolled her eyes. Of what use was it anyway?
“I would probably fail trying.”
“Or you will not.”
Aria raised her gaze to him.
“What do you mean?” she asked, “who are you to even tell me what to do?”
He smirked. Since she does not know him, he figured it would be best to start from there.
“I am Damien Blackwood, the CEO of Blackwood Empire, your husband works in a fraction of my empire.”
“The Blackwood Enterprise?”
“Exactly.”
Aria let out a weak laugh, surprising Damien.
“What's funny?”
“I have heard of the CEO of Blackwood Empire and it is clearly not you.”
Suddenly, the door opened and a man walked in.
“Mr Damien,” the man said as he stopped before Damien and bowed, presenting an envelope to him, “Mr. Blackwood would like to have a word with you concerning the company's newest position on the business chart.”
“Thank you, Adrian.” he told him, “and about my father's request, I need you to handle that.”
The man gave a nod and the man walked away.
Aria was astounded.
Was it real?
She knew she rarely paid attention to business news, but this man was really her husband's boss!
Damien stretched his hand towards her, extending the envelope to her.
“What is this?” she asked, recalling the same envelope she had been given by Lucas.
Was it bound to be good?
“A contract.”
Aria narrowed her brow.
“A contract?” she repeated, “For what exactly?”
“Since you appeared so sad about your unlucky relationship with your husband, I can guarantee you a revenge.” He paused before continuing, “and in return, you get to be my wife for a period of time.”
“So you are offering a marriage contract?”
Damien nodded.
Aria's gaze was fixated on the envelope. Contract marriage?, she questioned herself.
Everything was moving too fast for her. From getting divorced to getting married within hours.
She sighed.
A revenge could be what she needs to put her ex-husband in the worst of all places. She wanted to make him feel so miserable, just as he had made her feel.
Still, she was hesitant to sign. Signing contracts was something she hates doing since most of them came with consequences.
She raised her gaze at the man watching her closely. This time she took a good look at his features which she had not noticed before. From his cold gaze which lingered on hers to his sculpted chin and dark slicked hair, he looked astonishingly attractive in comparison to Lucas.
At least for a contract marriage, he has the looks, but Aria was not going to dwell on that.
“And after the deal is done?” she asked, already considering the proposal.
“You get to leave.” Damien told her, but his tone said otherwise.
It was not all that bad, Aria thought. She would pretend to be Damien’s wife and live a comfortable life just to repay Lucas back and then she would leave. It was that simple. So she thought as she took the pen from him and after sucking in a deep breath, she signed the papers.
Damien smirked.
One task done, he said as he stared at her and bit his lips.
He wondered why any man would reject her for another woman. She was everything and different from the ladies he had met.
“Your ex-husband must be so foolish to give away a pearl like you.” he whispered.
Aria froze.
Noticing her stiff body, he smirked.
“According to the contract, you are expected to be submissive to me as your husband. But have no fear, my dear wife, by tomorrow it will be official and we will both have a nice time together.” he concluded and left the room.
Aria shuddered. She did not remember reading that in the contract since she didn't really read it. She was so taken away by the prospect of ultimately having to revenge herself that she had no idea what she was signing up for.
“Damn, I hate contracts,” was all she could say.
But since it was on the verge of retaliating back, she was certain she would not regret it.
“Lucas West.” she said to herself, “just wait and see how I strike you in the place you never expected.”
A tear fell from her eyes, but this time, it was one of revenge.
- Writer
