"MY BOSS'S CONTRACT BABY"

CHAPTER 6: THE AMENDMENT

*DISCLAIMER*

This is a work of fiction. All characters are 18+.

---

*AMARA'S POV*

The amendment was sitting on the dining table like a bomb.

Thick. Black folder. "CONTRACT AMENDMENT #1" printed in gold letters that caught the morning light.

10 million pesos.

Until the baby is born.

Custody to be renegotiated after.

My hands were shaking as I flipped through it. 8 pages. All legal words I barely understood. Paragraphs full of "Party A" and "Party B" and "whereas" and "heretofore."

"Party B acknowledges breach of Section 3 of the original agreement dated February 20..."

"Party A agrees to additional compensation in the amount of Ten Million Philippine Pesos..."

"Party B waives all rights to public disclosure regarding the terms of this agreement..."

It was 7 AM. The house was too quiet.

Zian was already gone.

Nina told me while setting down my coffee. "Umalis po si Sir ng 5 AM, Ma'am. May emergency meeting daw sa Singapore."

Of course he did.

Run away. Like he always does when things get messy. Like he did after the gala. Like he did after the balcony kiss.

Luna was quiet at breakfast. She kept looking at the folder, then at me, then back at her drawing. She hadn’t colored anything yet. The paper was blank.

"Mommy?" She whispered.

"Yes, baby?"

"Are we in trouble?"

I forced a smile. It hurt. "No, anak. Grown-up papers lang yan. Business lang."

But we were in trouble.

Big trouble.

At 10 AM sharp, the doorbell rang. Atty. Reyes. Zian's lawyer. The same man who drafted the original contract in 3 days. He was in his 50s, wearing a gray suit and carrying a leather briefcase.

"Mrs. Castro." He nodded formally. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Atty."

"We need you to sign this today." He placed the folder on the table and opened it. "Mr. Castro needs an answer before his flight to Singapore."

"Can I read it first?" I asked. Even though I already did.

"You have." He pushed a Montblanc pen toward me. "But you may take 10 minutes."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it.

Then it buzzed again.

And again.

I pulled it out.

Unknown Number: _Friday, Ara. 2M. Or I talk._

Unknown Number: _Don't ignore me._

Unknown Number: _I have the photos._

David.

My blood went cold. Friday was 2 days away.

I stared at the paper. 10 million.

If I sign, I’m tied to Zian for 8 more months. I’ll have to live in this house. Pretend. Lie more.

If I don’t sign, I lose everything. Lola’s bills. The baby’s hospital. Protection from David. The lawyers will come after me for breach.

"Where do I sign?" My voice was barely a whisper.

Atty. Reyes pointed. Page 8. Bottom right.

"Here, Mrs. Castro."

I signed. Amara Santos-Castro.

The signature looked wrong. Shaky. Like a stranger wrote it.

Atty. Reyes took the folder and nodded. "Thank you. Mr. Castro will be notified."

He left.

The moment the door closed, I slid to the floor.

10 million.

A lie.

And a deadline in 2 days.

---

*ZIAN'S POV*

Singapore was supposed to be about business.

About the new hotel acquisition. About the board. About the 2 billion peso deal.

But I couldn’t focus.

12 weeks.

Boracay. February 14.

David.

My lawyer sent me a photo on Viber. Amara’s signature. Shaky. On page 8.

She signed.

Good.

That was the point of the amendment. To protect the company. To protect Luna. To protect... her.

So why did it feel like I lost?

My phone buzzed.

David Reyes: _We need to talk about your wife. And the baby. I think you should know whose it really is._

I threw my phone across the hotel suite. It hit the wall and the screen cracked.

"Cancel all meetings." I told my PA through the intercom. My voice was cold. "Book me a flight. Tonight. Manila."

"Sir, the board—"

"I said cancel it."

I needed to see her.

I needed to see her face when she lied again.

I needed to see if she was okay.

The flight was 4 hours. I didn’t sleep. I just stared at the ultrasound photo that was still in my wallet. I took it from her bag in the car yesterday. I told myself it was for evidence. For the lawyers.

But I kept looking at it.

12 weeks and 2 days.

A tiny heart beating.

Mine? Or not mine?

---

*AMARA'S POV - 6 PM*

Luna and I were in the garden. She was trying to teach me how to blow bubbles.

"Like this, Mommy!" She blew and a big pink bubble floated up. "You have to be gentle."

I smiled and tried. The bubble popped immediately.

Luna giggled. The first real laugh I heard from her in 2 days.

My phone buzzed again.

Unknown: _Last warning. Tomorrow 6PM. Starbucks BGC. 2M cash. Or I send everything to ABS._

I deleted it. My hands were shaking.

"Mommy, are you crying?" Luna tugged my sleeve.

"No, baby." I wiped my face quickly. "Allergy lang."

The gate buzzer rang.

Nina answered it. Then she called out: "Ma'am! May bisita po!"

David.

He was standing outside the gate. Sunglasses. Black shirt. That same smirk he had when he left me at the clinic 8 weeks ago.

"Can we talk?" He called out.

"No."

"Come on. Just 5 minutes."

"Leave. Or I call security."

He laughed. "Go ahead. Then I call the press. Your choice."

I walked away. Pulled Luna with me.

"Mommy, who’s that?"

"Nobody, baby."

That night I didn’t sleep.

I sat on my bed with the ultrasound photo. 12 weeks.

I talked to the baby.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Mommy doesn't know what to do."

At 2 AM, there was a knock.

Zian.

---

*ZIAN'S POV - 2 AM*

I stood in the doorway. Still in my suit. Tie loosened. Hair messy from running my hands through it on the flight.

She looked up from the bed. Eyes red. Holding the ultrasound photo.

"12 weeks." I said. No greeting.

"Yes." Her voice was hoarse.

"You were pregnant when you signed."

"Yes."

"And you still said yes."

"Yes."

"Why?" I stepped into the room. Closed the door behind me. "Why would you do that, Amara?"

Because it was you. Because that night meant something to me too. Because I’m terrified you’ll hate me.

"Because of the money." She lied. Again. "Because Lola needed it. Because I needed it."

I studied her. The dark circles. The way she was clutching the photo like a lifeline.

"Alright." I turned to leave. "Sign the amendment tomorrow."

"Zian, wait—"

I stopped but didn’t turn around.

"Are you going to tell me the truth eventually?"

She was quiet for too long.

"No."

I nodded. And left.

But I didn’t go to my room.

I went to my office and poured a drink.

And stared at the cracked photo of my phone.

David Reyes: _We need to talk about your wife._

---

*AMARA'S POV - 8 AM*

The amendment copy was back on the table. Signed by both parties now.

10 million.

Zian was at the head of the table. Actually eating. Pandesal and coffee.

Luna was on his lap.

He looked up when I came down. "Sit."

I did.

"We have a problem." He said. "David."

"I know."

"He texted me. He texted you."

"Yes."

"He wants 2 million."

"Yes."

Zian set his coffee down. "He’s not getting it."

"Then what? He’ll release the photos—"

"Then we make the photos mean nothing."

I frowned. "How?"

"By making this marriage real." Zian looked at me. Gray eyes serious. "Public. No distance. Family photos. School events. Press. We go to Luna’s recital next week. Together. We hold hands. We smile."

"That’s not part of the contract."

"I know." He leaned forward. "But it’s the only way to protect you. To protect Luna. To protect the baby."

The word baby made me flinch.

"And after?" I asked.

"After we figure it out."

Luna looked between us. "Does this mean Tito and Mommy are not fighting anymore?"

Zian reached out and squeezed my hand under the table. Once.

"No, baby." He said. "We’re not fighting."

---

*ZIAN'S POV - 11 PM*

Luna had a nightmare again. The third one this month.

She came to my room at 11 PM. Crying.

"Can Mommy and Tito sleep here?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

So now here we are.

King size bed. Luna in the middle. Amara on one side. Me on the other.

Both of us pretending to sleep.

But I could hear her breathing. Uneven.

"Amara." I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For today."

"For what?"

"For signing. For staying. For being their Mom."

Silence. Then a shaky breath.

"You’re welcome."

I closed my eyes.

This was supposed to be business. 5 million. 1 year. Done.

But Luna was calling her Mommy.

And I was holding her hand in the car today like I meant it.

And I flew back from Singapore because I couldn’t stand not knowing if she was okay.

The most dangerous part of this contract...

Was that I was starting to want it to be real too.

"Zian?"

"Yeah?"

"I’m scared."

"Of what?"

"Of this feeling real. Of losing it."

I reached under the blanket and found her hand. Squeezed it.

"Me too."

We fell asleep like that.

---

*AMARA'S POV - 6 AM*

I woke up to warmth.

Zian’s arm was around me. Luna was curled into my side.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Unknown: _Today. 6PM. Don’t be late._

I quickly silenced it.

Zian was already awake. Watching me.

"David?"

I nodded.

"He’s not getting the money." Zian sat up. "New plan. We go. Together. As husband and wife."

"What?"

"We face him. Together."

"Zian, that’s dangerous—"

"Exactly." He cut me off. "Which is why I’ll be there."

He got up and went to the bathroom.

Luna woke up. "Good morning, Mommy."

"Good morning, baby."

I looked at the ring on my finger.

This was supposed to be fake.

So why did it feel like the most real thing I had?

_TO BE CONTINUED..._