Chapter 5: The Engagement
2046 Words
Elena woke up with one thought.
She had made a mistake.
Not because of the contract.
Not because she was going to marry Adrian Blackwood.
And definitely not because she had spent most of the previous night thinking about the way his fingers had brushed her neck while fastening the necklace.
That part was something she was refusing to examine.
Her mistake was believing she could enter Adrian's world without becoming part of it.
Because by eight in the morning, the entire city knew her name.
Her phone wouldn't stop vibrating.
Messages.
Notifications.
Missed calls.
News alerts.
She stared at the screen in disbelief.
ADRIAN BLACKWOOD ENGAGED?
BLACKWOOD HEIR SET TO MARRY MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
WHO IS ELENA CARTER?
Elena's eyes widened.
“Mysterious woman?”
She opened another article.
There was a photograph of her and Adrian from the restaurant the previous night.
His hand was around her waist.
Her head was tilted toward him.
They looked intimate.
Almost convincing.
Almost like a real couple.
Elena groaned.
“This is a disaster.”
Her phone rang.
Sophia.
Elena answered.
“Don't.”
Sophia didn't even say hello.
“You married him in your head already, didn't you?”
“What?”
“I saw the pictures.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Oh God.”
“You look good together.”
“That's not helpful.”
“You look really good together.”
“Sophia.”
“Fine, fine. I'll behave.”
A pause.
“But Elena…”
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
Elena looked at herself in the mirror.
The diamond necklace Adrian had given her rested against her collarbone.
She touched it.
“I don't know.”
“Do you like him?”
Elena's hand dropped.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Sophia laughed.
“That was convincing.”
“I barely know him.”
“Exactly. And yet you sounded offended when I asked.”
“I am not offended.”
“Okay.”
“I'm not.”
“Okay.”
“Sophia.”
“I'm saying nothing.”
Elena sighed.
“I'm going to his house tonight.”
“Again?”
“His family is hosting an engagement dinner.”
Sophia became quiet.
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
“And Elena?”
“Yes?”
“Don't forget why you're doing this.”
Elena looked at the necklace again.
“I won't.”
She hoped that was true.
---
At Blackwood International, Adrian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Luca was sitting on the sofa behind him, scrolling through his phone.
“You're trending.”
Adrian didn't turn around.
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
“No.”
Luca grinned.
“You're officially the city's most eligible bachelor who is no longer eligible.”
Adrian turned.
“Do you have actual work?”
“I did. Then I saw this.”
He held up his phone.
A photograph of Adrian and Elena filled the screen.
The headline read:
ADRIAN BLACKWOOD FINALLY FINDS LOVE?
Adrian stared at it.
“Delete that.”
“It's a news article.”
“I know.”
“I can't delete the internet.”
“Then stop showing it to me.”
Luca laughed.
“You're going to marry her.”
“For twelve months.”
“Still marriage.”
“A contract.”
“Still marriage.”
Adrian ignored him.
Luca's smile faded slightly.
“I found something.”
That got Adrian's attention.
“What?”
“The Carter file.”
Adrian walked toward him.
“Go on.”
“Your grandfather didn't just know Daniel Carter.”
Luca handed him a document.
“They worked together.”
Adrian scanned the first page.
“On what?”
“We're not sure.”
“Then find out.”
“There is something else.”
Adrian looked up.
“What?”
“Daniel Carter met your grandfather privately several times during the last year before his death.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Why wasn't this in the company records?”
“Because someone removed the meeting logs.”
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Adrian looked at the document again.
Three years.
That number wouldn't leave his head.
Then another thought entered his mind.
Elena.
Her questions.
Her suspicion.
Her determination.
She knew something.
He was certain of it now.
The question was—
What?
---
That evening, Elena arrived at Blackwood Estate.
This time, she didn't feel like a guest.
She felt like an actress walking onto a stage.
She stepped out of the car and immediately saw Adrian waiting for her.
He was dressed in a dark suit.
His expression changed when he saw her.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Elena walked toward him.
“You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Staring.”
Adrian's mouth curved.
“Maybe you look good.”
She smiled.
“Maybe?”
“Very good.”
“That sounds more like it.”
He extended his hand.
Elena looked at it.
Then placed hers in his.
His fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Firm.
Comfortable.
Far too comfortable.
“You're nervous,” he said.
“No.”
“You're squeezing my hand.”
Elena immediately loosened her grip.
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was cold.”
Adrian glanced at the evening sky.
“It's twenty-six degrees.”
“Maybe I'm naturally cold.”
He smiled.
“You're terrible at lying.”
The words hit her.
For half a second, her smile disappeared.
Adrian noticed.
But before he could say anything, the doors opened.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
They both looked up.
A woman in an elegant black dress stood inside.
Adrian's aunt.
His father's older sister.
Isabella Blackwood.
Her eyes moved from Adrian to Elena.
Then to their joined hands.
A slow smile appeared.
“So this is the woman.”
Elena smiled politely.
“It's nice to meet you.”
Isabella walked closer.
“I've heard quite a lot.”
Elena's smile remained.
“Hopefully nothing terrible.”
“Nothing terrible.”
Isabella's gaze lingered on her.
“Just unexpected.”
Adrian stepped slightly closer to Elena.
“She doesn't need an interrogation.”
Isabella laughed.
“Protective already?”
Adrian didn't answer.
But his hand tightened around Elena's.
Elena felt it.
And something inside her fluttered.
---
Dinner was elegant.
Too elegant.
Crystal glasses.
Silver cutlery.
A table long enough to seat twenty people.
Elena sat beside Adrian.
Across from them sat Isabella and several other members of the Blackwood family.
Questions came quickly.
“How did you meet?”
Elena opened her mouth.
Adrian answered first.
“At work.”
Isabella raised an eyebrow.
“Romantic.”
“It wasn't.”
Elena nearly choked on her water.
Adrian glanced at her.
She whispered,
“You're terrible at this.”
“What?”
“Pretending we're in love.”
His eyes held hers.
“Give me time.”
Her heart skipped.
She looked away.
Isabella noticed.
“So, Elena…”
“Yes?”
“What does your family do?”
The question was innocent.
But Elena felt the air change.
“My father worked in finance.”
“Worked?”
“He passed away.”
Isabella's expression shifted.
“Oh.”
“Three years ago.”
Silence.
Then Isabella asked,
“What was his name?”
Elena looked at her.
“Daniel Carter.”
The fork in Isabella's hand stopped.
Only for a second.
But Elena saw it.
Adrian saw it too.
Isabella recovered quickly.
“I knew someone named Daniel Carter once.”
Elena's pulse quickened.
“From Laurent Holdings?”
Isabella looked at her.
“You know about Laurent?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
Adrian's gaze moved between them.
“Elena has a history with Victoria Laurent.”
Elena looked at him sharply.
He didn't look back.
Isabella smiled.
“Then perhaps you have more in common with this family than you realize.”
Elena's stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
Isabella lifted her glass.
“Nothing.”
But Elena knew better.
There was something in the way Isabella had looked at her.
Recognition.
Fear.
Maybe both.
---
Later, Elena stepped onto the balcony for some air.
The night was quiet.
She rested her hands on the railing.
Daniel Carter.
Adrian's grandfather.
Isabella.
Victoria.
Too many connections.
Too many unanswered questions.
“Running away already?”
Elena turned.
Adrian stood behind her.
“I needed air.”
He walked toward her.
“Dinner wasn't that bad.”
“Your family is intimidating.”
“You handled them.”
“Your aunt knows my father.”
“Yes.”
“She reacted when I said his name.”
“I noticed.”
Elena turned toward him.
“Do you think she knows what happened?”
“I don't know.”
“Then ask her.”
“Why don't you ask her yourself?”
“She might not answer me.”
“She might not answer me either.”
Elena stared at him.
“You really don't know anything, do you?”
Adrian's expression softened.
“No.”
She believed him.
Again.
And somehow, that made everything more confusing.
Adrian leaned against the railing beside her.
“You don't have to do this alone.”
Elena looked at him.
“Do what?”
“Whatever you're looking for.”
Her heart stopped.
Had he figured it out?
“What makes you think I'm looking for something?”
“I pay attention.”
She swallowed.
“And if I am?”
“Then I'll help you.”
“Why?”
He looked directly at her.
“Because you're my wife.”
“We're not married yet.”
“Almost.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
Adrian was quiet for a moment.
Then he said,
“Maybe I want to know what keeps you awake at night.”
Elena couldn't speak.
The words weren't part of the contract.
They sounded dangerously close to something real.
Adrian stepped closer.
His hand lifted toward her face.
He gently brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek.
Elena's breath caught.
His eyes dropped to her lips.
For one suspended second, neither of them moved.
Then—
“Adrian.”
They both turned.
Luca stood at the balcony entrance.
Adrian's expression immediately hardened.
“What?”
Luca looked at Elena.
Then back at Adrian.
“We need to talk.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
Adrian sighed.
He turned to Elena.
“I'll be back.”
She nodded.
As he walked away, Elena touched her cheek where his fingers had been.
Her heart was racing.
She hated that.
She hated it even more because she knew exactly why.
She was beginning to like him.
And that was something she couldn't afford.
---
Inside the study, Luca closed the door.
“What is it?”
He handed Adrian a file.
“We found the person who accessed the Carter records.”
Adrian opened it.
His eyes moved over the name.
Then stopped.
“That's impossible.”
Luca nodded.
“I thought you'd say that.”
Adrian looked at him.
“She's dead.”
“I know.”
“Then someone used her credentials.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“Who?”
Luca lowered his voice.
“Maria Carter.”
Adrian went completely still.
Elena's mother.
The woman who had supposedly disappeared after Daniel's death.
The woman everyone believed had abandoned her daughter.
Adrian stared at the file.
“If Maria accessed Daniel's records three years ago…”
Luca finished the thought.
“Then she may know what really happened to him.”
Neither man noticed the figure standing just outside the study.
Elena.
She had heard everything.
Her mother's name echoed in her mind.
Maria Carter.
Alive?
Or was there another explanation?
Her hand went to her mouth.
Then she heard Adrian's voice from inside.
“Find her.”
Elena stepped backward.
Her heart pounded.
For three years, she had believed her mother had simply disappeared.
Now she had a reason to believe otherwise.
And for the first time, her revenge wasn't leading her toward Victoria.
It was leading her toward her own mother.
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