Chapter 3

Contracts and Complications

*Ethan's POV*

The meeting had already been decided.

Both our fathers had arranged the location, time, and outcome.

A familiar buzz broke the silence; I didn't even need to look to know it was my father calling again.

Whatever patience I had left vanished. I took the call, already exhausted by the nonsense I knew was coming.

"Seven tonight. The Capital Grill," he said without greeting. "Don't keep that pretty girl waiting,"

"I've heard you," I said, jaw locked.

The call ended.

I slammed the phone onto the desk, exhaled once, and stood up, leaving for the Capital Grills restaurant. There was no choice left but to face the truth.

I arrived exactly at seven on the dot.

The entire upstairs had been reserved, it was a quiet luxury with muted lighting and polished wood,

Ten minutes had vanished, and she was still nowhere to be found.

Glancing at my watch yet again, a flare of resentment rose in my chest. She was late, and I wasn't the type who enjoyed being kept in limbo.

A woman stepped into the room, her eyes darting across the space with a quiet, restless energy, this had to be Serena Hale.

She lingered near the doorway, her shoulders tight with an unmistakable air of uncertainty.

She finally spotted me and began walking towards me. I quickly assessed her; I noticed that she was a five-foot-tall woman, her dark hair pulled into a precise chignon, her honey-colored eyes sharp with awareness. and wore a loose, floral dress. Understated and attractive, yet the dangerous kind.

"You're twenty minutes late," I had to tell her.

No one has ever dared to keep me waiting and here she was doing just that.

"..You must be Ethan Crowe?" she inquired curiously.

I didn't stand to offer her a greeting. "Who else would I be?"

Her brows lifted half in irritation and half in surprise.

I don't care, she needs to get the message that I am not in approval of this marriage.

"You didn't have to book the entire floor," she said, probably trying to make a joke or sound casual.

"I don't discuss contracts in public."

That shut her up, I could almost hear her whispering that I'm rude.

Another point for myself.

Silence stretched, with the other waiting for the other to speak.

I stood. "So since we now know each other, that means we're done."

She blinked. "That's it...I thought we were meeting to get to know each other,"

"Of course, you know it's me you're getting married to and I know that it's you that I'm getting married to,"

The look of disappointment was all over her face but she shouldn't have been expecting a romantic lover from a husband you just met.

The car ride was silent.

I sat at the far end of the backseat, distance deliberate. Guards flanked us, the city sliding past the tinted windows. Her hand brushed against me once but I didn't react.

We finally reached her home.

"You can get out."

She got out without saying any goodbyes to me.

The door shut and my driver pulled away immediately.

I didn't look back.

This wasn't romance or a choice.

I know I was being rude to her but I didn't want her and that old man to feel like they had won.

It was a transaction forced by power.

And yet, annoyingly, the image of her calm stare followed me and that bothered me more than it should have.

Serena POV

The car's taillights disappeared, leaving me alone in the quiet street.

I stood there longer than I should have, my thoughts tangled and restless.

Ethan Crowe was a cold, controlling, and self-centered person.

Not once had he tried to be kind. Not once had he pretended this wasn't an arranged marriage. He had looked at me the way men like him looked at numbers, a useful, replaceable, temporary one.

And somehow, that scared me more than cruelty would have.

I didn't know how I was supposed to live under the same roof as a man like that. A man who didn't need to raise his voice to make you feel small.

I pushed the thought aside and went inside.

Laughter floated from the living room, tried my best to go back to my room without being seen.

Damien sat on the couch with Lila curled against him, his arm wrapped around her waist, his fingers brushing her hair like it was second nature. The sight punched the air from my lungs.

"Well," Lila said brightly when she saw me. "You're back."

Damien's smile was polite. Curious. Fake concern wrapped in satisfaction.

"How was your date?" he asked. "We were worried."

I almost laughed.

Worried!!!

I straightened my spine and met their gazes evenly. "It was… enlightening."

Lila exchanged a look with Damien, her lips curving. "Is he as scary as everyone says?"

"Or worse?" Damien added lightly.

They were enjoying this. Every second of it.

I refused to give them what they wanted.

I inhaled slowly, the way my grandmother had taught me when things hurt too much to show. "Goodnight," I said calmly.

Then I walked away, trying hard to ignore their laughter from behind.

In my room, I shut the door and leaned back against it, my heartbeat loud in my ears.

I reached for my phone and dialed the hospital.

The answer came quickly.

"Mrs. Hale's outstanding balance has been settled," the nurse said. "Everything's been taken care of."

For a moment, relief washed through me.

My grandmother was safe, treated andrl protected.

If marrying a ruthless man meant keeping her alive…

Then I would do it.

I would endure the cold, the distance, and the loveless contract.

I set the phone down and exhaled slowly.

Then, against my will, Ethan's face surfaced in my mind, his steady gaze, his controlled presence, the sharp edge of confidence he wore like armor.

I clenched my fists.

I hated that I had noticed.

Hated even more that I found him… a little attractive.

That was dangerous.

And I had a feeling this marriage was going to cost me far more than I was prepared to lose.