Contract to love

Cold hearted

Chapter Two

The silence in the penthouse was unbearable.

Ethan Blackwood loosened the knot of his tie and tossed it onto the marble kitchen island. His tuxedo jacket followed moments later.

Another blind date.

Another disaster.

He poured himself a glass of whiskey before staring at the glittering Manhattan skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"You scared them away."

His best friend, Lucas Grant, walked into the penthouse without knocking, as he always did.

Ethan didn't turn around.

"I didn't scare her."

Lucas laughed.

"Really? According to your assistant, your date left the restaurant before dessert."

"She was thirty minutes late."

"So?"

"I don't tolerate lateness."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"You interviewed her like she was applying to become your personal assistant ."

"I asked reasonable questions.

Those questions do not count as a date, Ethan."

"It tells me if they are ambitious."

Lucas collapsed onto the sofa.

"No, it tells them you're emotionally unavailable."

Ethan ignored him.

His phone buzzed.

Mother Calling...

He sighed before answering.

"Good evening, Mom."

"Ethan."

Her voice was calm.

"How was your date?"

"It ended."

"I know."

He frowned.

"How?"

"The young lady called me crying."

Lucas burst into laughter from the couch.

Ethan shot him a glare.

His mother continued.

"She said you asked for her credit score."

"I was assessing financial responsibility."

"Ethan."

Silence.

"You are thirty-two years old."

"I know."

"You've built Blackwood Holdings into one of the biggest real estate empires in America."

"I know."

"You own hotels, hospitals, luxury apartments, shopping centers..."

"I know."

"And yet you've failed at something far simpler."

He closed his eyes.

"Marriage."

"I'm not getting married just because everyone expects me to."

"This is for the company you have built for years."

You promised your grandfather too.

That sentence hit differently.

Ethan looked at his friend and sighed.

A much younger Ethan wearing his university graduation robe.

The old man had believed in him when nobody else did.

Three months before he died, he'd held Ethan's hand in a hospital room.

"Promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Don't spend your life alone."

"I promise."

The memory still hurt.

His mother's voice softened.

"Your grandfather wanted to see great-grandchildren."

Ethan swallowed hard.

"I know."

"So stop looking for perfection."

"I'm looking for compatibility."

"No."

She sighed.

"You're looking for reasons to reject people before they reject you."

The words lingered after the call ended.

Lucas looked unusually serious.

"She has a point."

"I don't need a therapist."

"You need a wife."

"I need peace."

Lucas stood.

"You know what your problem is?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"You think love is a business deal."

"Love is temporary."

Lucas chuckled.

"Who hurt you?"

"You already know "

"I understand why you’re afraid of falling in love?"

Ethan didn't answer.

Because he already knew.

Eight years ago...

He had been twenty-four.

Young.

Hopeful.

Completely in love.

Sophia Morgan.

She had loved him before he became America's youngest billionaire.

Or so he believed.

They had spent two years together.

She laughed at his terrible jokes.

Believed in his dreams.

Held his hand during difficult days.

He had bought an engagement ring.

The night he planned to propose...

He walked into a hotel suite.

Sophia wasn't alone.

She was kissing another man.

Not just any man.

But his friend

The ring had slipped from Ethan's fingers and landed on the polished floor with a sound he'd never forgotten.

Sophia hadn't even apologized.

Instead, she'd smiled.

"You are a workaholic."

"And unromantic."

"And besides..."

She looked at the other man.

"He's richer."

That night changed everything.

Love became weakness.

Marriage became business.

Trust became impossible.

Present Day.

Lucas whistled softly.

"You already know, so why ask ?"he said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't talk about it."

"You should."

"I won't."

Lucas stood near the window.

"So what's your plan?"

"There isn't one."

"There has to be."

Ethan's phone buzzed again.

This time it was his assistant.

Nathan Reed.

He answered immediately.

"Sir, there's a problem."

"What now?"

"The old carter’s heights "

Ethan frowned.

"The one downtown?"

"Yes."

"The owner refused to sell."

"Why??."

Nathan hesitated.

"Not exactly."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"What happened?"

"The owner sternly refused

"Increase the offer."

"We already doubled it."

"Triple it."

"We tried."

Silence.

Nathan continued.

"She refused."

Ethan smiled.

Finally.

A challenge.

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Nora Carter."

Nathan pulled up the file.

"Twenty-five years old."

"No criminal record."

"No debts until recently."

"Currently involved in a major fraud investigation as the victim."

"Parents deceased."

"Younger brother."

"Medical student."

"Financially ruined."

Ethan listened quietly.

"So she's desperate."

"Very."

"Then why refuse billions?"

Nathan hesitated.

"According to our investigations..."

"It's the last thing her parents left her."

Ethan looked out at the city again.

Interesting.

People have prices.

Apparently...

Nora Carter didn't.

"Arrange a meeting."

"Tomorrow morning?"

"No."

Ethan smiled.

"Tonight."

Across the city...

Nora sat alone inside the old Carter's heights.

Rain hammered against the stained-glass windows.

The lights had already been disconnected.

Only candles illuminated the massive entrance hall.

She traced her fingers across one of the carved wooden pillars.

"I tried, but it’s getting difficult. "

Her voice echoed.

"I really tried."

She remembered the day her father handed her the building's keys.

"And her promise to her father."

She had promised.

And now...

She might have to break it.

Her phone vibrated.

She answered.

"Hello?"

"Miss Carter."

A deep masculine voice.

"This is Nathan Reed, executive assistant to Mr. Ethan Blackwood."

She became irritated.

"I already said no."

"My employer would like to meet you."

"I'm not interested."

"He believes you'll change your mind."

"I won't."

Nathan paused.

"He'll pay any price."

Nora looked around the empty building.

The peeling walls.

The silent ballroom.

The grand staircase her parents used to decorate every Christmas.

Some things...

Money couldn't replace it.

"No."

She ended the call.

Nathan looked at Ethan.

"She hung up."

Ethan slowly smiled.

"Good." I find this interesting

Nathan blinked.

"Sir?"

"I finally met someone who doesn't care about money.”

He slipped on his jacket.

"Let's go."

Nathan looked confused.

"To where?"

Ethan picked up his car keys.

"To meet the woman who just rejected ten billion dollars."

Outside, thunder cracked across the sky.

Neither Ethan nor Nora realized it yet.

But before the night was over...

Fate would force them into the same room.

And the first words Nora would ever say to Ethan Blackwood in person would be—

"I would rather lose everything than sell my parents' legacy to a man like you."