Chapter 8: Sign the Damn Papers!

Celine's POV

The envelope was on the floor. Nathaniel had thrown it at me, expecting me to pick it up like a dog.

I bent down, picked it up, and tore it open without hesitation.

The papers inside were thick and formal, already flagged in neat red tabs where my signature was expected. Nathaniel watched every movement as I took the pen from the desk, uncapped it, and began signing my name across the marked lines.

I did not read a single clause.

“What are you doing?” His voice lost the cool control he usually wore like armor. “You’re not even reading through the documents.”

“There’s nothing left worth reading.” I turned the page and kept signing. “You wanted this. Take it.”

He stepped closer. “I only brought those papers out to put a stop to whatever the hell you think you’re doing. I wanted you to apologize for the scene you caused in front of my family. I never thought you’d actually sign them.”

I finished the last page, stacked the documents, and held them out. “Then you miscalculated. You’re finally free of me.”

Nathaniel stared at the signed papers like they were a bomb he was afraid to touch.

“You will regret this. Do you understand me? You’ll come crawling back when you finally realize what you’ve thrown away.”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I pressed the documents against his chest until he took them, then picked up both bags and walked past him into the hallway. My pulse was steady.

The anger from the night before was still there, but I wasn’t about to let Nathaniel see it. I had nothing left to say to him, and I wasn’t going to let him get a reaction out of me.

He followed me down the stairs. “I could accept you leaving me,” he shouted. “But not this. Not you running straight into the arms of my brother. That man is my enemy, Celine. Choosing him makes you a traitor.”

He kept shouting. The insults got worse, but I didn’t stop. I wasn’t going to stand there and listen to him tear me down.

His voice followed me through the house. This place had once been our home. Now, all I wanted was to get out. I kept walking, refusing to give him the reaction he wanted.

Veronica stood near the front door with her arms crossed. She looked pleased with herself. I walked past her, pulled the heavy door open, and stepped into the afternoon light, both bags weighing on my shoulders. The gate was already open. I didn’t look back.

A few hours later, the city passed by the tinted windows in a blur of buildings and traffic. I sat in the back of a black car with Adrian beside me, going over everything that had happened.

The pen in my hand. Nathaniel’s face when he realized I wasn’t going to beg. The way his voice cracked when he called me a traitor. And the feeling in my chest when I realized how long he’d been ready to throw me away.

I had spent years keeping his secrets. I’d even agreed to a secret marriage because he asked me to. He said it was temporary, and I believed that one day he would choose me openly.

But he’d kept divorce papers ready for months, waiting for the right moment to use them against me. He’d thought the threat would be enough to make me fall back in line. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’d trusted him, but I’d never been as safe with him as I thought.

I turned my head and caught Adrian watching me. His eyes held mine. Neither of us looked away. The silence stretched between us, and I felt the pull of it. I turned to the window before he could see it on my face.

The car slowed and stopped in front of a modern house. Adrian turned to the driver. “Give us a moment.”

The driver got out and closed the door. We were alone. Adrian was close enough that I could smell his cologne. I kept my eyes on him.

“We need to settle the terms before this goes any further,” I said.

He rested an arm along the back of the seat, still watching me. “I’m listening.”

“How long?” I asked. “I want a clear end date. No vague promises about ‘as long as it takes.’”

“Long enough to finish what we started with Nathaniel,” he said. “That kind of work doesn’t always follow a neat schedule.”

“That’s not good enough. I already lived inside one open-ended arrangement with a Frost. I’m not doing it again.”

A faint smile tugged at Adrian’s mouth. It didn’t reach his eyes. “One year, then. Publicly solid. Private enough to keep the story clean. After twelve months, we reassess or end it.”

I held his gaze. One year was still a long time to share space and play happy couple with a man I barely knew. But it was better than another promise with no end in sight. “One year. Fine.”

“Next.”

“Neither of us develops feelings.” I made sure he heard every word. “This stays exactly what it is. No emotional complications. No blurred lines. We walk away at the end without damage.”

Adrian’s gaze moved over my face, slow and deliberate. The space between us seemed to shrink. He let the silence stretch before answering.

“Agreed.”

The word should have settled it. Instead, something tightened in my chest. I shoved it down before he could notice and kept going.

“We appear together when it serves the arrangement. Enough affection in public to make people believe it.” I ticked the details off with my fingers. “Hands. Looks. Small touches. Whatever sells the story.”

“I can manage that.”

“And this arrangement gives you no claim over my personal life.” I leaned toward him, making sure he understood. “I come and go as I please. You don’t decide who I speak to or where I spend my time. My choices remain mine.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly. He studied me as if he were trying to separate my resolve from the armor I’d built around it.

“I accept your conditions.”

I waited. The silence held between us, tense and deliberate. Neither of us looked away.

Then Adrian leaned back. “There is one more thing.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“I want you to move in with me.”

The words hit harder than I expected. Living under the same roof would make the performance easier. It would also put me inside another Frost brother’s world. After everything I’d just walked away from, giving up that much space again felt like stepping straight back into the fire.

“Why the hell should I do that?” I blurted.