THE AGREEMENT
1199 Words
I carried the folder upstairs without opening it.
For the first ten minutes, I convinced myself that was a good decision.
For the next twenty, I convinced myself I didn't care what was inside.
By midnight, I was sitting cross-legged on my bed with the folder in my lap.
Apparently, I was a terrible liar.
I stared at the black cover.
VALE–CROSS MARITAL AGREEMENT
Even seeing the words made my stomach twist.
I opened it.
The first page was filled with legal language, most of which I barely understood. I skimmed through the paragraphs until several terms caught my attention.
Duration: Twelve months.
I stopped.
One year.
Adrian had meant exactly what he'd said.
I continued reading.
Separate residences within the marital estate.
I frowned.
So we'd be married but living separately.
Fine.
Separate personal finances.
Fine.
Neither party shall interfere with the other's professional or personal affairs.
Even better.
Then I reached the final section.
Upon completion of twelve months, both parties shall be free to dissolve the marriage without dispute from either family.
I leaned back.
That was the part I liked.
One year.
Then freedom.
I turned the page.
At the bottom was Adrian's signature.
He had already signed the agreement.
I stared at it for several seconds.
He hadn't met me until today.
Yet he'd already signed a document determining how our entire marriage would work.
I should have been offended.
Instead, I felt strangely relieved.
Maybe because it meant he didn't want this either.
Maybe that made two of us.
I closed the folder and placed it beside me.
Then I remembered my father's face.
The company may not survive.
My relief disappeared.
I hated the fact that this was my choice only in theory.
If I refused, my family could lose everything.
If I accepted, I lost a year of my life.
Neither option felt fair.
But one of them could be undone.
The other couldn't.
I picked up the folder again.
And signed.
---
The next morning, I found my father in his study.
He looked up when I entered.
“You've decided?”
I placed the signed agreement on his desk.
“Yes.”
He stared at it.
“You're agreeing?”
“Don't misunderstand me.”
I sat across from him.
“I'm agreeing because I refuse to watch everything you've built disappear.”
His expression softened.
“Thank you.”
I shook my head.
“Don't thank me yet.”
He almost smiled.
“I won't.”
I stood.
“When is the next meeting?”
“Tomorrow.”
“With Adrian?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
My father raised an eyebrow.
“Good?”
“If I'm going to marry the man, I want to know exactly what I'm getting myself into.”
---
The next afternoon, Adrian and I met at his family's private office.
The building was nothing like the Vale headquarters.
Our offices were warm, filled with photographs and old paintings.
The Cross building felt colder.
Glass.
Steel.
Dark wood.
Everything was sharp and deliberate.
Just like him.
Adrian stood beside the windows when I entered.
He turned.
His eyes dropped to the folder in my hand.
“You signed.”
“Yes.”
He held out his hand.
I gave him the agreement.
He checked the final page.
Then looked at me.
“You read everything?”
“Every word.”
“And you still agreed?”
“I didn't exactly have a better option.”
His expression changed slightly.
“I see.”
I sat down.
“Let's establish something.”
He remained standing.
“What?”
“I don't want this marriage.”
“Neither do I.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
I folded my arms.
“I don't want you interfering in my life.”
“I won't.”
“I want my own room.”
“You'll have one.”
“I want to continue working.”
“You can.”
“I don't want your family deciding what I wear, where I go, who I see, or what I do.”
“They won't.”
I paused.
“That was surprisingly easy.”
Adrian placed the agreement on the desk.
“I don't have time to control your life, Elena.”
Something about the bluntness of that irritated me.
“Charming.”
“It's honest.”
I looked at him.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me since yesterday.
“Why did you insist on one year?”
His expression became unreadable.
“Because that's enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“For the families to get what they want.”
“And what do you want?”
His eyes met mine.
“An end.”
“To the marriage?”
“To everything.”
I didn't understand what he meant.
Before I could ask, he picked up a pen.
“There is one more condition.”
I frowned.
“What?”
He turned the agreement toward me.
A new clause had been added.
Neither party shall publicly claim affection for the other beyond what is necessary to maintain the appearance of a functional marriage.
I stared at it.
“You added this?”
“Yes.”
I looked up.
“You really don't want anyone thinking this is real.”
“No.”
“Why?”
His jaw tightened.
“Because it isn't.”
The answer was colder than it needed to be.
I signed the additional clause.
Adrian took the pen from my hand.
Our fingers brushed.
Barely.
Neither of us reacted.
At least, not visibly.
He signed beneath my name.
Then he closed the folder.
“One year.”
I looked at him.
“One year.”
He extended his hand.
I stared at it.
“This is a business arrangement,” he said.
I shook his hand.
His grip was firm.
Cold.
And completely emotionless.
At least, that's what I thought.
Because as I pulled my hand away, I caught the briefest change in his expression.
Something almost like recognition.
It vanished before I could understand it.
Adrian stepped back.
“The wedding is in three weeks.”
I nodded.
Three weeks.
Twenty-one days.
Twenty-one days until I became the wife of the man my family had taught me to hate.
I picked up my bag.
As I reached the door, Adrian spoke again.
“Elena.”
I turned.
He was watching me.
“Whatever happens after the wedding, remember one thing.”
“What?”
His face was completely serious.
“Don't trust anyone who tells you they know the whole truth about what happened between our families.”
My fingers tightened around the door handle.
“Are you saying my family lied to me?”
“No.”
He paused.
“I'm saying you should ask questions before you decide who deserves your hatred.”
I stared at him.
Then I walked out.
For the first time in my life, I wondered whether the story I'd been told about the Cross family was really the whole story.
And that question followed me all the way home.
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