Bound by Contract

Tensions Rising

The morning came, and Sophia was stirred to find her phone vibrating violently on the stand beside her needs. Squinting to read her phone through her grogginess, she formed out a text from Alex.

"Meet in the study at 9. We have something..."

Her heart lurched. Something? What was that supposed to mean. She didn't want to think any worse than she probably should. She got herself ready, threw on a simple mock turtle neck and trousers, and made her way to the study.

The penthouse was empty and quiet as she walking through the hallways, nervous yet hopeful nevertheless. When she proceeded beyond the door of the study, she found Alex in the corner of the window, facing the opposite view as if staring out into nowhere. His stance suggested uncertainty, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Him standing there put her stomach in two knots.

“Alex?” she said quietly as she moved closer to him. He pivoted to look at her, a heavy expression on him. “We’ve been betrayed, Sophia,” he said directly.

Sophia felt her blood halt. “What!? By whom?” she asked in disbelief. Alex walked to the desk and grabbed a newspaper then handed it to her. The headline made her stomach drop, “BLACKWOOD’S MARRIAGE; A BUSINESS DEAL? INSIDER CLAIMS SHOCKING DETAILS.” The words were printed in a thick, bold font. Sophia's hands shook as she read the article. It detailed the unbelievably fast marriage of Alexander Blackwood and Sophia Bennett. It also had quotes from someone anonymous insisting that the wedding was just a tool intended to secure his dominance of the company. The overwhelming tone of the article implied scandal and mistrust, putting negative attention on their lope. Sophia lifted her eyes to Alex with a quivering voice. “Who would do this?” she asked. At this point, Alex’s jaw was tightly set and his eyes radiated fury. “I have a pretty good idea. It’s Sinclair,” he replied simply.

“Sinclair?” she reiterated as if just trying to parse out the new information. “The Sinclair from Sinclair Industries? Your rival?” she questioned. Alex gave a nod as he hardened his glare onto Sophia's face. “They’ve been attempting to sabotage me for years. This is an extension of that,” he explained simply.

Sophia's mind was racing behind the implications of what this could mean. If the public were to believe the article then it threatened Alex's reputation but the stability of the company. Investors would lose trust, deals would fall through, and the entire Blackwood Enterprises could be compromised. “What do we do?” she asked, attempting to help in any way she could. Alex took a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. “We need to get in front of this. We need to be seen as a basic unit and others need to see that this is a real relationship,” he stated with composure.

Sophia felt her heart racing. "But how? They aren't going to be watching our every move and be looking for any indicators that this is all a farce" she stated. "That is the reason we need to be cautious" Alex said, looking intensely at her. "We're going to need to behave more like a couple than we have been. We'll have to go to more public functions together, do interviews, really demonstrate that we are madly in love" he said.

Sophia swallowed. The thought of pretending to be in love with Alex in front of the entire world was way more than just intimidating, but she knew it would need to happen to eventuate, after all, this was what she signed up for, a marriage of convenience, created havoc. "Okay" she agreed, making her voice firm only out of the fear that was somehow eating her from the inside out. "I am going to do whatever it takes" she stated.

Alex nodded, and his look softening marginally. "Thank you Sophia. I know this isn’t what you signed up for, but.” Sophia cut him off, actually putting her hand on his arm, “It’s fine Alex. We’re doing this together” she assured him.

For a moment, Alex looked at her with a kind of emotion she couldn't identify, something between gratefulness and something else she didn't want to put a name to. And then he nodded, whatever moment just happened slipped away as quickly as it came. Then he returned to his business like voice, “Okay” and “We’ll start this evening, when there’s a charity gala we’ll both be attending. I will have a stylist coming in this afternoon to help get you ready, okay.” Sophia nodded, feeling the weight of it all coming crashing down on her, “I’ll be ready whenever you are.” As she walked out of the study, Sophia never felt so drained. Their lives were about to go under a microscope and the pressure to prove to the world that they loved each other was huge. But more important than all that was what all of this meant for her and Alex.

The lines between reality and pretense were melding into one and Sophia wasn’t sure how much longer she could maintain her act, without losing herself completely. The hours leading up to the gala were in a blur of preparations. Alex's stylist had purportedly promised to achieve something special. Sophia's transformation team arrived in full force. Everyone left the room, while the artist went to work on Sophia, transforming her into the quintessential image of billionaire wife. She was draped in a gown of emerald green silk with perfect contouring to her curves, making her appear as though she had stepped off the pages of a fairytale. Her hair was lavishly done in soft breezy curls and every crease and mole on her face was carefully made to disappear giving her the look of effortless elegance typically reserved for the privilege of wealth. When she was revealed to herself at the mirror, Sophia wondered if her loved ones would even recognize her. That was the role that had to be played. Perfect wife. Perfect partner. But before she even took her eyes away from the flawless reflection looking back at her, she began to question whether anything was left underneath all the polish.

The sound of a knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts. She turned to see Alex standing in the doorway in a classic black tuxedo. He looked impossibly good looking. The days of his all-too-busy Louis Vuitton or Gucci collection looked fabulously deserted, no matter how much she loved them. It was all fun eye-candy at the time. His eyes swept over her frame for the first time since arriving, and she thought she caught the slightest hint of appreciation in his glare. "You look incredible," he managed, sounding low and honest. Sophia felt a blush creep across her cheeks, bringing warmth into her chest. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself," she said, and on the surface of her mind, she began orchestrating palm trees for a fictional allegory using feelings toward him as pretense. He smiled, his smile that almost blew her heart out of her chest. "Ready to put on a show?"