THE REASON
1411 Words
CHAPTER 6: THE REASON
Clara stared at the document in her hands.
For a few seconds, her mind refused to process what she was seeing.
The words were right there in front of her, clear and impossible to misunderstand.
Her father’s name.
Daniel Bennett.
Her fingers tightened around the paper.
No matter how many times she blinked, the name remained.
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Confusion.
Shock.
And something dangerously close to fear.
Because her father had been gone for months, but somehow, his name had followed her into the office of one of the most powerful men in the country.
“How did you get this?”
Her voice was quieter than before.
Ethan Blackwood stood across from her, his expression unreadable.
He didn’t answer immediately.
That annoyed her even more.
“Mr. Blackwood,” she said, placing the document on the table, “I asked you a question.”
His eyes moved toward the paper.
“Information has a way of finding its way to me.”
Clara stared at him.
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the answer I can give you.”
She let out a small breath of disbelief.
Of course.
Another vague response.
Another secret.
She was beginning to wonder if Ethan Blackwood knew how to have a normal conversation.
“You brought me here because of my father.”
Ethan remained silent.
That silence was enough.
Clara’s expression changed.
“Why?”
The single word carried so many emotions.
Why did he know her father?
Why did he hide it?
Why did he think a marriage contract was the solution?
Ethan walked slowly toward the table.
“Your father was not who you thought he was.”
The statement immediately caught her attention.
Clara frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means there were parts of his life you didn’t know about.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
“My father didn’t hide things from me.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Everyone hides something.”
Clara looked away.
She hated that the words affected her.
Because deep down, she knew her father had struggled.
After his death, she discovered bills she didn’t know about.
Problems he never mentioned.
Responsibilities he carried alone.
But she still refused to believe he had a secret life.
“My father was a good man,” she said firmly.
“I didn’t say he wasn’t.”
The calmness in Ethan’s voice made her look back at him.
“He was one of the few people who helped me when I had nothing.”
Clara went quiet.
Ethan Blackwood.
The billionaire.
The man whose company was known around the world.
The man who seemed like he had everything.
Yet he was saying there was a time when he had nothing.
“What happened?”
Ethan’s expression changed slightly.
It was almost invisible.
But Clara noticed.
Something painful existed behind his cold personality.
“Someone I trusted betrayed me.”
The room became silent.
Clara waited.
But Ethan didn’t continue.
She frowned.
“That’s it?”
“That’s enough for now.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Of course it is.”
She crossed her arms.
“You always stop when things become important.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You ask many questions.”
“And you answer very few.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ethan looked down at the contract.
“The reason you are here is simple.”
Clara waited.
“Your father asked me to protect you.”
Her heart skipped.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
The words hit her harder than expected.
Clara looked away.
She didn’t want Ethan to see how much that affected her.
She had spent so much time trying to accept losing her father.
Trying to move forward.
But hearing that he had left something behind…
A promise.
A connection.
It reopened everything.
“My father knew you?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Ethan hesitated.
A small hesitation.
But enough for Clara to notice.
“He helped me during a difficult period in my life.”
She studied him.
“And after that?”
“After that, we stayed in contact.”
Clara shook her head.
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to understand everything tonight.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“There you go again.”
Ethan looked at her.
“What?”
“Acting like you get to decide what I know.”
A quiet pause followed.
Then Ethan spoke.
“You’re right.”
The unexpected agreement surprised her.
He continued.
“You deserve answers.”
Clara waited.
“Your father trusted me.”
Ethan’s voice became slightly softer.
“When he realized his health was getting worse, he contacted me.”
Clara froze.
“He knew?”
Ethan nodded.
“He knew his time was limited.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Clara looked down.
She remembered her father smiling at her.
Telling her everything would be okay.
Pretending he wasn’t scared.
She swallowed the emotion rising in her throat.
“What did he ask you to do?”
Ethan looked directly at her.
“Make sure you didn’t lose everything after he was gone.”
Clara blinked.
“I don’t understand.”
“Your father knew there were people who would try to take advantage of your situation.”
Her expression hardened.
“Who?”
“That is something you are not ready to know yet.”
She almost laughed.
Almost.
“Unbelievable.”
She picked up the contract.
“So your solution was this?”
Ethan nodded.
“Yes.”
“A marriage contract?”
“Yes.”
Clara stared at him.
“You really don’t see how crazy that sounds?”
“No.”
The answer was so direct that she didn’t know what to say.
Ethan continued.
“I know it is unusual.”
“Unusual?”
She looked at him.
“You are asking a stranger to marry you.”
“You are not a stranger.”
“To me, you are.”
That made him pause.
For a brief second, something crossed his face.
Something that looked almost like realization.
Because she was right.
He knew details about her life.
Her struggles.
Her family.
Her situation.
But she knew almost nothing about him.
And somehow, he expected her to trust him.
Clara placed the contract back on the table.
“I need time.”
“You have it.”
“And I need the truth.”
Ethan didn’t answer.
She sighed.
“Of course.”
She grabbed her handbag and walked toward the door.
This time, Ethan didn’t stop her.
Her hand reached the handle.
Then his voice came.
“Clara.”
She turned.
Ethan stood where he was.
For the first time, he didn’t look like a businessman making a deal.
He looked like someone carrying a burden.
“Whatever decision you make…”
A pause.
“Do not make it because of your father.”
Clara stared at him.
Those words surprised her.
Because she expected him to pressure her.
To remind her of the contract.
To convince her.
But he didn’t.
“You’re letting me walk away?”
“Yes.”
“Even though you need this?”
“Yes.”
She studied him carefully.
She didn’t know why…
But that answer bothered her.
Because a man like Ethan Blackwood didn’t seem like someone who accepted losing.
Clara opened the door.
Then she stopped.
“Mr. Blackwood?”
“Yes?”
“If I find out you lied to me…”
She held his gaze.
“I won’t forgive you.”
For the first time that night, a small change appeared in Ethan’s expression.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something else.
Respect.
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
Clara left.
The door closed behind her.
And for the first time in a long time, Ethan Blackwood stood alone with a decision he couldn’t control.
Because Clara Bennett was supposed to be a simple solution to a complicated problem.
A contract.
A promise.
A responsibility.
But somehow…
She was becoming something he had not prepared for.
A person he wanted to understand.
And that was a problem.
Because Ethan Blackwood had built his entire life around control.
And Clara Bennett was the first person who made him question it.
- Writer
