3. Unexpected Encounter

Lana's POV

I looked up at the person I'd bumped into, and my heart sank. He looked like a Greek god and his well tailored suit that looked like it probably costs more than I’ve earned my whole life made a pit form in my stomach.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, shaking my voice, stepping away from him. "I am so sorry; I wasn't looking where I was going."

I turned around and walked off quickly, cursing the fact that this could be the most horrible beginning to a day. First, depressing news from a doctor, a boss refusing the request, now this bumping into some wealthy man who might just report this to my boss and get me fired.

As I walked, I felt the pricking of tears at the corners of my eyes, trying to hold them in to no avail. I started sobbing, cursing my fate.

"Why does this always happen to me?" I said to myself in a sad and shaking voice. "Can't I ever get a good break? Why does my mother need to fall ill? Why would my boss need to refuse me?"

I went into the hall where my locker was and started fumbling for my keys. My hands shook, my vision blurred by the tears, my body shaking. I opened the locker, started to change into my work clothes when I suddenly heard from behind in that deep voice:

"Hey, are you okay?"

I spun around, startled, to see the man I had bumped into standing behind me. He was holding out a handkerchief, his eyes filled with concern.

"Here, take this," he said in a low and soothing voice. "You're crying."

I took the handkerchief from him, almost overwhelmed by my surge of gratitude. "Thank you," I whispered.

I wiped my tears away, the man smiled, and introduced himself. "Max, the name is Max," he said, "And you are?"

"Lana," I replied, and my voice shook.

Max locked eyes with me, his words sending the shiver along my spine: "Lana, I'd like to offer you a proposition.

I looked up at him-my heart pounding in my chest-what could he want to propose to me?

I stared at Max, my mind reeling in shock. "A proposition?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. I felt like I was in a dream, like this was all just some crazy, twisted fantasy.

Max nodded, his eyes locked with mine. "Yes, Lana, I am ready to offer you a contract marriage. You marry me, and I give you all the money that may be needed to take care of your mother."

The wind had been completely knocked out of me. A contract marriage-with this wealthy stranger? I was scared and very hesitant, with thoughts jostling each other in my head weighing questions and doubts.

"What do you mean?" I asked again, playing for time, "Why, you want to marry me?" I glanced sideways at him in hostile search for something to be seized in the expression of this man.

Max was composed and calm. "I heard your screams earlier," he said. "I know your mother needs money for her surgery, and I'm willing to provide it. But I need a wife, Lana. And I'm willing to make a deal with you."

A wave of fear mingled with desperation welled in my heart, as this was some man offering a way out when I had accepted financial struggle was my fate. At what cost? What did he want in return?

"What kind of a deal?" I asked, my voice shaking. I couldn't help keeping my eyes hooked on his even as my brain searched around for some sort of escape door.

His eyes caught and held mine. "A simple one, Lana-my marrying you in exchange for all the money that you could want. You are well taken care of, and the best treatment on the market becomes available to your mother.

I was torn; a part wanted to flee this stranger and the crazy proposition he had for me, and yet another half were desperate for her mother. Then I remember, all along her sacrifice, keeping me above all, the needy one at a time she happened to need things.

"What is your name?" I asked as if my quivering mouth belched that utterance into reality. Probably more knowledge of who he is can make that fine decision end.

Max smiled. "My name is Max Donovan."

I felt at once a spasm of something-a recognition-I had heard of that name sometime before, though I couldn't place it just then. Some kind of a businessman, yeah? A millionaire?

It didn't matter. The fear of losing my mother won in the end. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'll do it."

Max grinned. "Great," he said. "Let's go home and draft the contract."

I followed him from the building, my heart pounding in my chest. What had I gotten myself into? We strolled where, outside, a sleek black car waited for him to open my side.

As we drove along, cruising the city, suddenly a chill ran over me. Who was this man, anyway? And what did he want from me?

Pretty soon, we were out in front of this big mansion. It was a large sprawling estate that seemed to run on forever. The house itself was nice inside-high ceilings, marble floors. But it felt cold, impersonal.

Max led me back into a study-a large room with a desk and bookshelves. He sat down at the desk and began to draw up a contract.

In a daze, I watched as he wrote down the terms of our agreement on paper: I was to marry him and in return, he would provide for me and my mother; pay for her surgery and ensure the best treatment ailing her gets.

A sense of trepidation enveloped me as I read through the contract. What was I getting myself into? But the thought of my mother's face, the thought of her suffering, kept me going.

I didn't even read the contract carefully before signing it. I just scribbled my name at the bottom of the page, feeling like I was signing away my freedom.

I looked up at Max-a wave of fear mingling with uncertainty. What had I just done?

Max smiled, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Welcome to the family, Lana," he said.

I forced a smile, feeling like I was living in some kind of nightmare. What had I just gotten myself into?