Signed Away

Selena stepped out of Kingland Tower feeling strangely numb. The city moved around her with the sound of horns blaring, people laughing, traffic crawling while her own life had quietly changed forever thirty floors above her. All she could think about was her mother waking up alive after surgery.

Her phone rang before she could find a taxi. 

“Miss Jesus, this is Richard Thompson again. Mr. Kingland has instructed me to inform you that the first payment for your mother’s treatment has been transferred. She is being moved to Royal Crest Hospital as we speak. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning.” 

Selena stopped walking in the middle of the busy sidewalk, tears flooding her eyes. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Thank you so much.” 

She rushed back to the old hospital, heart pounding. When she burst into her mother’s room, two well-dressed medical staff were already preparing to transfer her. 

“Selena?” Her mother’s weak voice was full of confusion. “What is happening? They said a benefactor—” 

“I found a sponsor,” Selena said quickly before her mother could ask more questions. “A company needed help redesigning one of their hotels. They paid upfront.” 

Her mother kept staring at her, unconvinced. 

Selena forced a laugh. “Mom, please. You should be celebrating, not interrogating me.”

Her mother searched her face, eyes full of worry. Selena looked away, unable to hold her gaze. 

“Besides,” she added lightly, “if I become rich and famous from designing luxury hotels, don’t act surprised.”

Her mother smiled faintly at that. Selena smiled back, but her chest tightened.

She had not touched an interior design project in almost eight months.

Ethan waited until their mother looked away before speaking quietly.

“What kind of job fixes everything overnight?” 

Selena’s stomach tightened. “The kind I needed,” she replied sharply.

Later that evening, after her mother was safely moved to the luxurious private room at Royal Crest Hospital. 

The room smelled faintly of lavender instead of antiseptic. Soft piano music played quietly from hidden speakers, and the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glowing city skyline.

It didn’t feel like a hospital, It felt expensive enough to make illness look beautiful.

Selena received another call. 

“The wedding will take place in three days,” Richard informed her calmly. “A small civil ceremony at the Kingland Mansion. Mr. Kingland wants this handled quickly and quietly.” 

“Three days?” Selena nearly dropped her phone. “That’s too soon—” 

“Everything has been arranged. A stylist, makeup artist, and wardrobe team will arrive at your apartment tomorrow morning. Please be ready.” 

The line went dead. Selena sat motionless on the edge of the bed for a long time, staring at the engagement ring box beside her, and the ceiling for nearly an hour, unable to decide whether she had just saved her family… or ruined herself.

In three days, she would legally belong to a stranger.

                  *******

The next two days passed so quickly Selena barely had time to think.

Stylists invaded her small apartment, bringing expensive dresses, heels, and jewelry she had only ever seen in magazines. 

Women she didn’t know touched every part of her for hours — fixing her hair, adjusting fabrics, discussing her body like she wasn’t even in the room. 

Selena caught her reflection occasionally and barely recognized herself. 

She looked expensive. Not happy and somewhere along the way, she had stopped feeling like herself and started feeling like something being prepared for display.

On the morning of the wedding, Selena stood in front of the full-length mirror they had brought in. The simple but elegant white dress hugged her figure perfectly. Her curly hair had been tamed into soft waves, and light makeup made her hazel eyes look bigger and brighter. 

For a moment, Selena stared at her reflection and tried to imagine this version of herself belonging in Matthew Kingland’s world but she couldn’t.

A black Rolls Royce picked her up exactly at 11 AM. When it pulled up to the massive Kingland Mansion, Selena’s heart nearly stopped. 

The mansion rose against the cloudy afternoon sky like something carved out of old money and silence.

Marble floors reflected the chandelier lights overhead, and every corner looked painfully untouched, too polished, too perfect, well organized.

Selena suddenly understood why people whispered about the Kinglands instead of speaking about them normally.

Matthew was already waiting in the large living room that had been turned into a makeshift ceremony space. He wore a sharp black suit, looking every bit of a powerful billionaire. His face showed no emotion as he watched her walk toward him but his eyes lingered on her for half a second longer than necessary, almost as if he hadn’t expected her to look like this.

Then the expression vanished completely.

The officiant cleared his throat.  “Shall we begin?” 

Selena barely heard the officiant speaking. 

The room felt too warm, the diamond too heavy, the silence too sharp. 

When Matthew slid the ring onto her finger, his touch was steady and emotionless. Efficient, careful and detached.

The diamond sparkled beautifully under the chandelier lights, enough to distract everyone else from how trapped she suddenly felt.

“You may now kiss the bride.” 

Selena tensed. Matthew stepped closer, tilted her chin up with two fingers, and pressed a brief, cold kiss on her lips. There was no warmth. No passion. Just performance.

 Selena had imagined her wedding kiss before. Not often, or foolishly — just enough to expect something human from it. But this felt emptier than shaking hands with a stranger.

It was over in less than fifteen minutes. 

As the officiant and witnesses left, Matthew turned to her, his grey eyes unreadable. 

“Welcome to your new home, Mrs. Kingland,” he said flatly. “Your room is in the east wing,” Matthew said calmly. “The staff will help you settle in.”

His gaze met hers briefly. “And Selena… discretion matters in this house. I don’t like unnecessary attention.”

Selena nodded, too emotionally drained to speak. 

Matthew was already turning away when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen before answering, something subtle shifted in his expression — not warmth exactly, but familiarity.

“Victoria,” he said smoothly.

Selena looked away almost immediately. It was strange how a man who sounded so emotionally absent with her could suddenly sound effortless with someone else.

Matthew let out a quiet chuckle as he walked toward the staircase.

“Dinner tonight?” he asked. “I’ll send the driver.”

She suddenly felt foolish for expecting warmth from a man who married her like a business transaction.

Without even glancing back at Selena, Matthew disappeared upstairs, still on the call with his ex. 

Selena stood alone in the center of the massive living room, surrounded by silence so large it almost echoed.

 The diamond on her finger sparkled every time she moved her hand. She had never owned anything so valuable before and somehow, it didn’t feel like a gift.

Her brand new husband had just smiled and told another woman he missed her voice… on their wedding day. 

She closed her eyes, heart sinking. 

What kind of hell did I just walk into?