Chapter 2: Terms and Conditions
275 Words
Chapter 2: Terms and Conditions
The next day, Ava found herself back in Lucas’s office.
She didn’t sleep. She didn’t eat properly. She just thought.
And thought.
And thought.
Now, she stared at the thick contract in front of her.
“Read carefully,” Lucas said.
She flipped through the pages.
“Clause 1: The marriage will last exactly one year.”
“Clause 2: Both parties must maintain the appearance of a loving couple in public.”
“Clause 3: No emotional attachment is required.”
Ava scoffed.
“‘No emotional attachment’? That’s easy for you to say.”
Lucas remained unfazed.
“Clause 4: No interference in each other’s personal lives.”
“Clause 5: At the end of the contract, both parties will separate with no obligations.”
Ava looked up.
“So basically… we’re just pretending.”
“Yes.”
“And after a year, we go back to being strangers?”
“Yes.”
Something about that answer felt… heavier than it should.
Ava swallowed.
“What’s in it for you?”
Lucas leaned back slightly.
“A business merger. The board prefers a married man. Stability.”
Ava almost laughed at how cold it sounded.
Marriage.
Reduced to a business strategy.
“You don’t believe in love, do you?” she asked.
Lucas met her gaze.
“No.”
The way he said it made her chest ache for reasons she couldn’t explain.
She looked back at the contract.
Her family’s house.
Her mother’s memories.
Everything depended on this.
Her hand trembled as she picked up the pen.
“This is crazy…” she whispered.
Then she signed.
- Writer
