THE INHERITANCE CONTRACT

Ivy, shut up;

Lena's eyes were locked on her phone screen. The fear gripping her chest had turned into a cold shiver spreading through her entire body. The name appearing on the screen felt like the footsteps of disaster: Aunt Banu. Her throat tightened. Her breath shortened. What was she going to say now?

Ivy started panicking, rambling nervously. "We didn't see it, just hang up, hang up. Maybe we can pretend we didn't answer or something..." she stammered. But Lena's nerves were already frayed. She frowned and shot Ivy a sharp look.

"Ivy, shut up," she whispered through her teeth. Then she took a deep breath and answered the phone.

But the voice on the other end crushed all her hopes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Aunt Banu's furious shout echoed through the speaker, and Lena's face went pale.

Lena's heart was pounding like crazy. She could feel her hands sweating, but she kept holding the phone tight. She took a deep breath, and her voice came out trembling, caught between shame and fear.

"Auntie, I swear I can explain. Nothing is what it looks like."

But Aunt Banu's response was both sharp and inevitable.

"I'm back in Turkey. We're meeting immediately."

Lena's breath stopped. I'm back in Turkey. The words echoed in her mind as she flinched with fear. Not knowing what to say, she rushed out, "But I'm going to Mardin!"

There was a moment of silence. Then her aunt's anger rang in her ears like a volcano about to erupt.

"What do you mean Mardin? What do you and Mardin have to do with each other?! What business do you have in Mardin?! Lena, are you trying to drive me crazy? Fine, hang up. I'm coming to Mardin!"

And the line went dead.

The tension in the room skyrocketed. Ivy stared at Lena with wide eyes while Lena's face turned as white as chalk. She stared blankly at her phone screen, unable to stop the wave of hopelessness growing inside her.

Aunt Banu's anger was coming down on them like an unstoppable storm.

Lena felt a deep, indescribable unease. Aunt Banu had been living in Washington for years. She held various positions connected to the European Union Committee, and the last time she sent Lena off, she had said, "Don't you dare marry Erkan before I get back, or I'll kill you."

She already thought Lena was rushing into marriage. Despite her age, Aunt Banu had never married, focusing only on her career. And now Lena had gotten married without telling her. To a man she had never even met. And here she was. Of course the first news she saw was Lena's "wedding."

Her aunt was a retired prosecutor. It was hard to find someone as tough, disciplined, and rule oriented as her. Normally she was fun, sophisticated, and polite. But when it came to her family, especially Lena, she turned into a tiger at the slightest hint of a threat. For years, Lena had felt like she had two mothers. Aunt Banu had always approached her with a mother's protectiveness. And now one of the most important members of her family had married someone she had never even heard of, without even telling her.

If Aunt Banu found out this marriage was fake, she wouldn't even bother saying "my niece" or "my daughter." She would report Lena without hesitation. Her conscience was unshakable. Her scales of justice never tipped.

Lena's mind was racing. She couldn't explain this to her like that. She couldn't just say, "Auntie, this is just a formality." She wouldn't understand. She couldn't expect her to.

That left only one option. Lena took a deep breath, rolled her eyes, and cursed under her breath. "Looks like I have to cooperate with that uncultured bear."

With restless, hurried movements, she walked up to Blaze. She cleared her throat and said with a questioning look, "Sorry, can we talk?"

Blaze crossed his arms over his chest and looked Lena up and down. There was a hint of mockery in his eyes, but it was clear he understood the seriousness of the situation.

"So," he said calmly, "Aunt Banu needs to believe this marriage is real."

Lena took a deep breath. "Yes. Exactly."

Blaze nodded and pressed his lips together. "Then, my dear wife, I need to act like I really love you."

Lena noticed the mocking tone in Blaze's words and rolled her eyes. "Is that going to be hard for you?"

Blaze smiled slightly. "Looking at you and acting like I'm in love is hard, but not impossible."

A hot flush spread across Lena's cheeks with anger, but she quickly pulled herself together. "Okay, stop rambling. We need to convince my aunt. What are we going to do?"

Blaze thought for a moment, then took out his phone and showed it to Lena. "First, let's handle the social media situation. A few photos, maybe a couple of lovey dovey posts?"

Lena frowned. "You're going to drag me into that?"

Blaze shrugged. "If you want to fool a retired prosecutor, you need to pay attention to details."

Lena sighed. "Fine. But don't take it too far."

Blaze leaned slightly and whispered in Lena's ear. "I can't promise that, darling."

Lena took a deep breath and tried to suppress her anger. This man was playing with her nerves. She was already in a difficult situation, and having to deal with Blaze's arrogant attitude on top of it was a complete nightmare.

Lena knew he was doing this to test her patience. She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "Fine. What are you planning to do in Mardin? You told me we wouldn't have to act like a married couple."

Now with her aunt's arrival, things had completely reversed. They had to look like a real couple.

Blaze crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her thoughtfully. "No problem. Everything can be arranged in a day. But you're going to have to put the whole 'free girl' and 'fake husband' thing aside. We're going to be in the same house. Are you sure about this?"

Lena frowned as she weighed Blaze's words in her head. She was now going to have to share a house with a man she didn't even want to look at under normal circumstances.

She lifted her head to the sky, trying to calm the unease rising inside her. "God, what are you testing me with now?" she murmured.

Blaze spread his arms with a mocking expression and smiled. "Don't flatter yourself, goat. I'm the real victim here."

Lena crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him. "I'm the one who has to put up with you. I never thought I'd have to do that."

Blaze put his phone in his pocket and turned to her with a slight smile. "I was hoping the same, but what can you do? That's fate."

Lena rolled her eyes. "So what exactly do you mean by looking like a married couple? My aunt is a former prosecutor. She won't miss the smallest detail."

Blaze nodded thoughtfully. "First, we can't act distant with each other. At least from the outside, we need to look like husband and wife."

Lena frowned. "What, are we going to hold hands everywhere we go?"

Blaze shrugged. "Maybe. But most importantly, we're going to live in the same house. We might need to share the same bed."

Lena's eyes went wide. "What? Don't even think about it."

Blaze chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, okay. That won't be necessary. But it would be better if we stayed in the same room so your aunt doesn't get suspicious. I don't want you getting caught wandering around at night."

Lena sighed. "Ugh. This just keeps getting worse."

Blaze spread his arms with a mocking expression. "For you, maybe. But for me, it's even more tragic. After all, I have to live under the same roof as someone as stubborn as a goat."

Lena clenched her fists. "Don't push me, Blaze."

Blaze laughed, opened his phone, and started walking away. "Don't worry, wifey. Everything will be ready in a day."

Lena lifted her eyes to the sky and took a deep breath. "God, give me patience..."

This game was going to be tougher than she thought.

Ivy quickly slid up to Lena with curious eyes. "What happened? Did you handle it? Is he going to do something?" she asked excitedly.

Lena took a deep breath, rolled her eyes, and turned to her with an irritated expression. "Yes, he handled it," she grumbled. "And congratulations, Ivy. Now we're going to live in the middle of Mardin, in a big mansion, with you, me, my aunt, and my new husband. Are you happy? Isn't this a great development?"

A hint of regret settled on Ivy's face, but she couldn't help grinning. "Well, at least it will be adventurous..."

Lena shook her head and let out a deep sigh. This situation had really spiraled out of control.

Hakan approached Lena with a slight smile. "Sister in law, looks like we're flying to Mardin today. Plans have changed. I'll go ahead and return the car," he said.

Lena raised her eyebrows with a confused expression. "What plans changed?" she murmured.

Hakan sighed lightly and explained. "Blaze had heard there was a fortress you wanted to see here, or a castle, something like that. He arranged something special for it, so we rented the car an extra day. Normally we were going back to Mardin tomorrow. He wanted you to have a chance to explore."

Lena paused for a moment and quickly turned her gaze to Ivy. Ivy had unintentionally let a secret slip. "I might have accidentally said something. I didn't mean to," she whispered.

Lena shook her head slightly. "Ivy, when did you even get the chance to run into Blaze and tell him all the way down to what my ex fiancé did? Are you okay, girl? Is it the altitude or something? You're starting to act like a mountain brute too."

Ivy pursed her lips. "It was an accident, girl. You know me," she said.

Lena let out a deep breath, then her eyes found Blaze. "So... he planned a trip for me?" she murmured, her expression caught between surprise and suspicion.

Blaze put his phone away and said, "Hakan, let's go to the hotel and get ready. We're going back to Mardin." Then he turned his eyes to Lena...