chapter4

The Marriage Contract

At exactly nine the next morning, I stood in front of Blackwood Corporation.

The building rose above the city like a wall of glass and steel.

I looked up at it for a moment before walking inside.

Yesterday, I had been Julian West's wife.

Today, I was about to negotiate a marriage with his greatest enemy.

My heels clicked against the marble floor as I approached the reception desk.

"Mrs. Hart?"

The receptionist stood immediately.

"Mr. Blackwood is expecting you."

I nodded.

Of course he was.

I followed her toward the private elevators.

The moment the doors closed, my reflection appeared in the mirrored walls.

I barely recognized the woman staring back at me.

I had spent years dressing for Julian.

Choosing clothes he liked.

Wearing colors he preferred.

Changing little things about myself because I thought marriage meant compromise.

Today, I wore a black dress.

Simple.

Elegant.

Entirely mine.

The elevator stopped on the top floor.

The receptionist stepped aside.

"His office is through there."

I thanked her and walked forward.

The massive doors opened before I could knock.

Lucian was standing beside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He wore a dark suit without a tie, one hand resting casually in his pocket.

He turned when I entered.

His gaze moved over me briefly.

Then he said,

"You came."

"You expected me."

"I expected you to change your mind."

"I didn't."

A faint smile appeared.

"I noticed."

He gestured toward the chair opposite his desk.

"Sit."

I did.

Lucian sat across from me and placed a thick folder on the table.

"This is the contract."

I looked at it.

"You prepared it already?"

"I don't like wasting time."

I opened the folder.

The first page contained our names.

Lucian Blackwood.

Evelyn Hart.

And beneath them:

Marriage Agreement.

My pulse quickened.

I turned the page.

"One year."

"Yes."

"We remain married for one year."

"Correct."

"No public divorce before then."

"Correct."

I continued reading.

"We have to appear together at important social and business events."

"Yes."

"Neither of us can publicly insult or damage the reputation of the other."

"Obviously."

I looked up.

"And what do you get?"

Lucian leaned back.

"A wife."

I frowned.

"That's it?"

His eyes held mine.

"For now."

I looked back at the contract.

There were financial terms.

Property arrangements.

Confidentiality clauses.

Everything was written with terrifying precision.

Then I reached the final page.

I stopped.

There was one handwritten sentence beneath the printed conditions.

Neither party may enter another romantic relationship during the marriage.

I looked at him.

"This wasn't in the original contract."

"I added it."

"Why?"

"Because I won't share my wife."

My heart skipped.

I quickly looked away.

"This is supposed to be a business arrangement."

"Then consider it a business condition."

I wasn't convinced.

But I signed the page.

Lucian watched my hand.

When I finished, he took the pen from me.

Our fingers touched.

A strange warmth traveled through my hand.

I pulled away first.

He didn't react.

At least, not visibly.

He signed his name beneath mine.

Then he closed the folder.

"Congratulations."

I stared at him.

"That's it?"

"No."

He stood.

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

He walked toward a cabinet and removed a small black box.

He placed it on the desk.

I stared at it.

"What is that?"

"Your wedding ring."

My eyebrows rose.

"You already bought one?"

"I don't like being unprepared."

He opened the box.

A diamond ring rested inside.

It was beautiful.

Elegant.

Nothing like the flashy jewelry Julian used to buy for me.

I reached toward it.

Then stopped.

"How did you know my size?"

Lucian didn't answer.

I looked at him.

"Lucian."

He remained silent.

"How did you know?"

His expression didn't change.

"I have my ways."

That answer made me uncomfortable.

"You've been investigating me."

"I investigate everyone who enters my life."

"Even your future wife?"

"Especially my future wife."

I closed the box.

"I don't like secrets."

A strange look crossed his face.

"Neither do I."

"Then tell me."

"Not yet."

My eyes narrowed.

"What are you hiding?"

He stepped closer.

"Something that has nothing to do with Julian."

"Then what does it have to do with?"

His gaze softened for a fraction of a second.

"You."

I froze.

Before I could ask another question, he stepped back.

"Your wedding is in three days."

"Three days?"

"You wanted revenge quickly."

I couldn't help smiling.

"You really don't waste time."

"No."

He picked up the contract.

"And neither should you."

I stood.

"I have one condition."

His eyebrow lifted.

"What?"

"I won't be treated like a possession."

His face became serious.

"You won't be."

"I won't be controlled."

"I won't control you."

"And I won't be forced to love you."

For the first time, something changed in his expression.

He looked at me for several seconds.

Then he said quietly,

"I would never force you to do that."

There was something in his voice that made my chest tighten.

As if the idea of forcing me to love him was completely foreign to him.

I nodded.

"Then we have a deal."

I turned toward the door.

"Evelyn."

I stopped.

I looked back.

Lucian was watching me with an expression I couldn't understand.

"Your life will be different after the wedding."

"I know."

"People will judge you."

"I know."

"Julian will try to hurt you."

"I know."

"And when that happens..."

He paused.

His voice became lower.

"You come to me."

I stared at him.

"Why?"

His answer came without hesitation.

"Because you're going to be my wife."

Something about those words felt different.

Not like a contract.

Not like revenge.

Something deeper.

I left his office without asking another question.

But as the elevator doors closed, I looked down at my hand.

I was still wearing my old wedding ring.

Tomorrow, it would be gone.

And in three days, I would become Mrs. Lucian Blackwood.

I thought that was the biggest change waiting for me.

I was wrong.

Because that afternoon, a photograph appeared online.

It showed me leaving Blackwood Corporation.

The headline beneath it was everywhere within minutes:

JULIAN WEST'S WIFE IS MARRYING HIS BIGGEST ENEMY.

And when Julian saw it…

he didn't look angry.

He looked terrified.