CHAPTER 2
1244 Words
Chloe’s fingers shook as the note slipped from her hand.
“I always get what I want.” But it didn’t sound like a promise. It felt like a warning. One tied in silk, sealed with gold, and meant to trap.
Across the breakfast table, her father sipped his coffee like nothing had changed. Like he hadn’t just handed her over like a bargaining chip.
She looked at him, eyes cold. “How long have you known?”
He blinked at her tone. “It wasn’t planned, Chloe. I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” she said sharply. “You just chose the one that didn’t hurt you.”
He looked down. He seemed older than he had yesterday, more like a man who gave everything and still lost.
“You said yes before you even told me.”
He didn’t deny it. Just nodded slowly. “I said yes because we were out of time. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Chloe pushed back her chair so hard that it scraped across the floor. “Then you should’ve gone down with your company, and not offered me to save it.”
He didn’t try to stop her when she walked out.
That afternoon, Chloe was told to meet Nick Manchester’s lawyer, Edwin Wolfe.
He arrived in a 2-piece black suit. Everything about him was neat, cool, and careful, like he’d been carved from ice.
They met in her father’s study. Her father wasn’t there.
Edwin opened a leather folder. “This is the marital agreement,” he said, laying it flat. “You’ll have a monthly allowance, you'll also have access to Mr. Manchester’s properties, cars, and staff.”
Chloe stared at the folder like it was poison.
“And if I don’t sign?”
Edwin didn’t blink. “Then the deal is off. Your father’s company folds. He’ll be charged with fraud. Two years of false financial reporting.”
Her breath caught. “That’s not public”
“It is now,” Edwin said calmly. “Mr. Manchester has the power and fame to. You should understand that.”
Chloe picked up the pen but didn’t write.
“What if I walk away after the wedding?”
“You’d be in breach. You’d lose everything promised to you. And your father could face additional legal consequences.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. “So I’m trapped.”
“No,” Edwin said with a smile that made her stomach rumble. “You’re chosen.”
She felt sick.
But she signed. One letter after the next. Like bleeding out on paper.
At night, Chloe couldn’t sleep. She curled under thick covers and stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts always drifted to Dave. She couldn’t call him. Couldn’t drag him into this mess.
The wedding was in two days.
The day before the wedding, they took her to Palazzo di Mare. The venue sat on a cliff, facing the sea like a stone queen. It was cold, beautiful, and unshakable.
Chloe stood alone in the ballroom. The arch was already built. Gold and red flowers bloomed across it, waiting to frame her vows.
It was perfect.
And completely wrong.
“Lovely, isn’t it?”
She turned.
Nick Manchester.
He moved through the room like he owned it. Like he owned everything. Tall, dark-eyed, and too confident. His black suit fit like armor.
Chloe didn’t look away. “Why me?”
He smiled. “Because I could have anyone. But you walked past me in dreamestone three years ago. In that red dress. Like I didn’t exist. No one does that to me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “So this is about your ego?”
He chuckled. “That’s part of it. But also... you’re the kind of woman people remember. The kind I want. And I always get what I want.”
“I’m not an object you can get whenever you feel like,” she said.
“No,” he said, stopping in front of her. “You’re a reward.”
She wanted to scream.
“I’ll never love you,” she said quietly.
Nick leaned in. His voice was soft. “I don’t need your love. I only need your obedience.”
She slapped him hard.
The sound cracked through the room.
He didn’t flinch. Just reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear like it was nothing.
“I’ll enjoy breaking that fire of yours,” he said. Then turned and walked away.
That night, Chloe stood on her balcony, staring at the dark sea. The waves sounded louder than usual, like they were warning her or calling her to run.
A knock came at the door.
She opened it, expecting a planner or maybe her father.
But it was Dave.
He was out of breath, like he’d sprinted through the night.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
“I had to see you,” he said. “I couldn’t let it happen without trying.”
She pulled him inside, his heart was beating very fast.
“You can’t be here,” she said. “If Nick finds out…”
“I don’t care,” he said. “Let him then, it's you I care about. That’s it.”
She closed the door and locked it.
He stepped closer, touching her face gently. “This isn’t you. You don’t let people own you. You fight.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I can’t fight this, he'll ruin everything. He will.”
“I have a boat. We leave now and vanish. Before the sun rises.”
She stared at him. Hope, love and panic were all crashing inside her.
Then…
“Chloe.”
She froze.
Nick stood in the open doorway. His voice was calm, and his eyes were full of rage.
“Nick…” she whispered, stepping in front of Dave.
Nick didn’t look at her. Only at him.
“So this is Dave Heather,” he said quietly. “The boy I took the prize from.”
“She’s not a prize,” Dave snapped. “She’s a woman, my woman. And she doesn’t belong to you.”
Nick tilted his head. “She signed the contract. In my world, that means she does.”
“Nick, please,” Chloe said. “It’s not...”
“I see enough,” he said, cutting her off. “She still loves him. And she’s still planning to run.”
He turned to Dave. “You have five seconds to walk out before I do something you'd regret.”
Dave didn’t move.
“Four.”
Chloe gripped his arm. “Please go.”
“Three.”
“Dave,” she whispered. “Please.”
He looked at her. “I’m not giving up.”
But he turned and walked out.
Nick closed the door slowly and walked towards Chloe quietly.
“Tomorrow,” he said softly, “you’ll smile in front of the world. You’ll take my hands and say the words.”
“And if I don’t?”
He leaned close.
“Then your father goes to prison. And Dave? He’ll never get hired again, not even to mop a floor and I'd make sure of that.”
She felt her lungs seize.
Nick stepped back, fixing his cuff.
“Sweet dreams, Mrs. Manchester.”
And he left her there standing still, silent and crushed.
- Writer
