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20

Author: Jean
last update publish date: 2026-06-18 07:02:38

Three weeks.

Three whole weeks had passed since my divorce from Lucas became official.

Three weeks since Theodore had barged into my life like a hurricane wearing an expensive suit.

Three weeks since every gossip blog in the country decided I was public enemy number one.

Apparently, that still wasn't enough time for people to move on.

The moment I stepped into the foundation Monday morning, I knew exactly what kind of day it was going to be.

The whispers started before I even reached my desk.

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  • Contracted to him   27

    -Theodore-I had spent my entire life learning how to read people.It was a skill.A necessary one.In business, people rarely told you what they wanted. They told you what they wanted you to believe they wanted.Everyone had an angle.Everyone had a weakness.Everyone had something they were hiding.That was why I was good at what I did.I watched.I listened.I calculated.But Evangeline Hale was becoming the one person I couldn't predict.And that irritated me more than I cared to admit.Because I knew exactly what she was doing.She was becoming important.Not strategically.Not because of the contract.Not because of Lucas.Because of herself.And that was the problem.I sat behind my desk, staring at the same document for the third time without actually reading it.The numbers made sense.The plan was still moving.Lucas was still falling exactly where I wanted him.Everything was under control.Except my attention.My attention was somewhere else.On a woman who had looked at m

  • Contracted to him   26

    -Evangeline- I should have been used to the attention by now. That was what I kept telling myself. Three weeks. Three weeks since my divorce became public. Three weeks since the entire world learned that Evangeline Hale, the perfect wife from one of New York’s most respected families, was no longer married. Three weeks since I became Theodore Duke’s girlfriend. At first, every headline felt like a punch. Every comment. Every article. Every stranger who thought they knew my entire life because they read a few paragraphs online. I thought eventually it would stop. I thought people would find something else to talk about. I was wrong. People never got tired of watching someone else’s life fall apart. Especially when money, power, and scandal were involved. By Monday morning, I had learned to ignore the notifications. Mostly. My phone buzzed again while I was getting ready. I looked down. Another article. Another picture. This time it wasn’t about Lucas. It was about

  • Contracted to him   25

    -Evangeline-I hated how quickly things became normal.That was the thought that followed me everywhere lately.Normal.Such a simple word.Yet somehow it had become the most dangerous one.Because my life was anything but normal.Three weeks ago, I was still married to Lucas.Three weeks ago, I was still waking up beside a man who made me feel like I was constantly failing some invisible test.Three weeks ago, I was still pretending everything was fine.Now?Now I woke up in Theodore Duke’s penthouse.I drank coffee made by someone else.I wore clothes that somehow appeared in my closet.I had security following me.And I was dating a man who could probably buy entire companies before breakfast.None of that was normal.Yet somehow...The little things were.The way Theodore left early in the morning but always checked if I had eaten.The way he remembered small details I mentioned casually.The way he would pretend not to care, even when he obviously did.The way he annoyed me just

  • Contracted to him   24

    EvangelineI used to think the hardest part of leaving Lucas would be the divorce.The paperwork.The conversations.The humiliation.The moment everyone found out.I thought that would be the thing that broke me.I was wrong.The hardest part was realizing that even after leaving, I still had to explain myself.To everyone.My father.My sister.The people at work.Strangers online.Everyone seemed to have an opinion about my life except me.Funny how that worked.For years, I had spent my life trying to keep everyone happy.And somehow, the moment I chose myself, I became the selfish one.I stared at the ceiling from my bed, watching the morning light slowly creep into the room.For a few seconds, I considered pretending I was sick and staying home.A childish thought.A tempting one.Unfortunately, I was an adult with responsibilities.And hiding was something I had done enough of.So, with a deep sigh, I got out of bed.My mornings had changed a lot.Before Theodore, mornings were

  • Contracted to him   23

    Chapter 21TheodoreThe first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I had slept.Not for long.Not peacefully.But I had.That was unusual enough to bother me.For years, sleep had been something my body did because it had no other choice. Four hours. Sometimes three. A few minutes stolen between meetings if things became too chaotic.Sleep was a weakness I couldn't afford.Or at least that's what I had convinced myself.But last night, after standing in that kitchen with Evangeline, after listening to her call me lonely like she had somehow discovered a secret nobody else knew existed, I had actually gone upstairs and slept.And somehow, that irritated me more than the insomnia ever did.I stared at the ceiling for a moment, completely still.Then I reached for my phone.Six thirty in the morning.Twenty-seven unread emails.Five missed calls.Three messages from Kennedy.Of course.I opened the first one.We need to talk.The second.Theo.The third.Don't ignore me.I almost smil

  • Contracted to him   22

    You’re right again — this one also came in under target. Let’s fix it properly.Below is a **FULL Chapter 20 (Theodore’s POV), extended to ~1800 words**, with deeper scenes, more dialogue, more emotional escalation, and a stronger narrative arc (not just a short slice-of-life moment).---# **Chapter 20**## **Theodore**The city looked quieter from the top of the world.That was the illusion glass buildings created—distance, control, separation. Everything below moved like it didn’t matter unless I decided it did.Tonight, I wasn’t deciding much of anything.My office lights were still on, though I hadn’t touched a document in nearly an hour. The file on Lucas Xavier sat unopened at the edge of my desk like a warning I had chosen to ignore.That was new.Ignoring things.I leaned back in my chair, loosening my tie slightly. The motion should have made me feel better. It didn’t.Instead, my mind kept drifting.Evangeline.Again.Always.It had been three weeks since she signed the con

  • Contracted to him   11

    -Theodore-The city stretched endlessly beneath me, as the sun shone brighter and brighter, from the back seat of my car, I watched the morning traffic crawl through downtown while my driver drove, the car silent as usual, it was how every morning begun, the only difference was that today started la

  • Contracted to him   10

    The sun filtered through the blinds, casting stripes of light across the bedspread, but I barely registered the morning. I was still trapped in the memory of the previous night, my mind replaying the scene with the clarity of a high-definition film. From the cool marble against my spine to the way

  • Contracted to him   9

    -Evangeline-The walls of the penthouse felt like they were closing in on me. I had paced the floor of my bedroom until the heels of my feet were numb, and my mind a jagged loop of panic and calculations.‘I can't do this,’ I shook my head.I couldn't sell myself, not even to get away Lucas. I was

  • Contracted to him   8

    -Theodore-The door clicked shut when my angel walked out, and for a second, the office felt too quiet, but even though she wasn’t physically there, I could still feel the echo of Evangeline's presence, the scent of her intoxicating vanilla and fruity perfume, the way her eyes looked when she was s

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