Contact Wife for the Cold CEO

--- *Title:The Contract* The air in the courtroom was suffocating. Ava Reyes sat on the hard wooden bench, her hands trembling in her lap. Her brother, Miguel, stood behind the defendant’s box, his face pale, his eyes begging her not to cry. It didn’t matter. Tears were already spilling down her cheeks. “Five years.” The judge’s gavel hit the wood with a sound that felt like it cracked her ribs. “Guilty of grand theft. Sentencing: five years in state penitentiary.” Miguel flinched. Ava gasped. “No! Please!” she shouted, standing up before the bailiff could stop her. “He didn’t mean to! It was for our mom’s surgery! Please, there has to be another way!” “Miss Reyes, sit down,” the bailiff warned, gripping her arm. Miguel shook his head at her, his voice barely above a whisper. “It’s okay, Ava. I’m sorry.” It wasn’t okay. It would never be okay. Mom died last month. Dad left when they were kids. Miguel was all she had left. And now he was going to prison for five years because he tried to steal 20,000 pesos from a bank to pay for Mom’s chemotherapy that came too late anyway. Ava let the bailiff drag her out of the courtroom. She didn’t fight. What was the point? --- Two hours later, she was sitting in her car outside the courthouse, staring at her phone. No missed calls. No messages. No miracle. Her phone buzzed. A text from her landlord: _Rent is 3 days overdue, Ms. Reyes. Pay or vacate._ She laughed. It came out broken. How was she supposed to pay rent when she’d just lost her job at the café last week for taking too many “personal days” to sit in the hospital with Mom? Her phone buzzed again. This time it was an unknown number. _Ms. Ava Reyes. I can help you. Meet me at Café Solaire, 6 PM. Don’t be late. - L.B._ She almost deleted it. Spam, probably. But the way it said “I can help you” felt different. Desperate people cling to anything. At 5:58 PM, she walked into Café Solaire. The place was expensive. The kind of place where a cup of coffee cost more than her lunch for a week. And sitting in the corner, wearing a black suit that probably cost more than her car, was a man who looked like he’d been carved from ice. Tall. Broad shoulders. Sharp jawline. Dark eyes that didn’t blink. He looked up when she approached, and for a second, she forgot how to breathe. “You’re late,” he said. His voice was low, smooth, and cold. “It’s 6:00,” she said, checking her phone. “Exactly. You wasted two minutes of my time.” Rude. But she needed this. “Are you L.B.?” she asked, sitting down without waiting for permission. He didn’t answer. Instead, he slid a folder across the table. “Open it.” Ava opened it. Inside was a contract. _Marriage Contract Agreement_ Her eyes widened. “What is this?” “My proposal,” he said. “I need a wife. You need money. I’ll pay you 2 million pesos. In exchange, you marry me for six months. No divorce, no questions, no feelings.” Ava stared at him like he’d grown two heads. “Are you crazy? I don’t even know you!” “I know you need 20,000 pesos to keep your brother out of jail,” he said calmly. “I know your mother died last month. I know you were fired last week. I know everything.” “How—” “I don’t waste time, Ms. Reyes. Sign the contract, and I’ll have your brother released by tomorrow morning. My lawyers are very good.” Ava’s hands shook as she flipped through the pages. It was all there. Clean. Legal. Too good to be true. “And what do you get out of this?” she asked. “My grandfather is dying,” he said. “His last wish is to see me married. After six months, we divorce. You get your money. I get my inheritance. No one gets hurt.” “No feelings,” she repeated. “No feelings.” She should say no. This was insane. Dangerous. But then she remembered Miguel’s face in that courtroom. Ava picked up the pen. “One condition,” she said. Lucas raised an eyebrow. “I want it in writing that my brother goes free tomorrow. No tricks.” He nodded once. “Done.” She signed her name. Ava Reyes. Lucas Black took the contract, glanced at it, and stood up. “The wedding is in three days. Be ready.” “Wait,” she said. “What’s your name? Really?” He paused at the door, not turning around. “Lucas Black.” And then he was gone, leaving her alone with a contract that would change her life forever. --- *End of Chapter 1* ---