The Three Rules

The journey back to the hospital felt longer than before. Arthur Blackwood wanted me to stay, but I couldn't. The Manor already felt suffocating.

 I bit my finger as Adonis's words replayed in my head. "I'm giving you twenty-four hours to reconsider your choice."

I still couldn't understand it. If Adonis Blackwood truly wanted this marriage, why give me a way out?

He had all the power and my family had nothing left. He could have forced the agreement and no one would have been able to stop him.

Instead, he had simply told me the decision was mine. If anything, it made me even dislike him the more. So arrogant!

The car pulled into the hospital entrance. Daniel came around to open my door, but I was already stepping out.

"I'll wait here," he said quietly. I nodded without looking at him. The sounds from people's movement greeted me as I hurried inside.

Doctors moved quickly through the corridors. Nurses pushed carts from one ward to another and families waited outside patient rooms.

My feet carried me to the intensive care unit. I stopped outside the glass doors and glanced through it. Dad lay exactly where I had left him.

Machines surrounded his bed, their steady rhythm filling the room. A doctor stepped out after noticing me.

"Miss Hart."

"How is he?" I asked quickly. The doctor glanced through the glass before looking back at me.

"His condition is still critical."

I swallowed hard.

"But... he's stable, right?"

The doctor nodded.

"For now."

Those two words offered very little comfort me.

"We're doing everything we can." I looked past him at my father.

>> Everything.

I knew what that meant now. The treatment keeping him alive. None of it was possible without the Blackwoods.

The doctor gave my shoulder a reassuring nod before excusing himself. I remained where I was. For a long time, I simply watched my father breathe with the help of machines.

My eyes stinged. I'd been oblivious for too long. "You should've told me," I whispered through the glass.

My legs gave out beneath me, and I sank onto one of the chairs outside the ward. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands. 

There was no home to go to. Everything was gone.

If I walked away now...Dad might be next.

A tired breath escaped my lips. "I don't have a choice." The words tasted like defeat. But it was only a decision, one I never imagined I would have to make.

I raised my head up and brushed my hair to the back with my fingers. Then I stood up and walked outside before I could change my mind. Daniel was already waiting beside the car when I returned.

He searched my face for a moment before speaking. "You've made your decision."

It wasn't a question. "Take me back."

He gave a small nod and opened the rear door. The journey to Blackwood Manor passed in silence once again.

The gates opened when we got there and the guards saluted the car before it rolled through.

Everything about the estate remained strangely quiet. Daniel stopped the car beneath the front entrance.

Before either of us reached the door, Mrs. Harper opened it from inside. Her gentle smile returned the moment she saw me.

"Welcome back, Miss Hart."

For the smallest moment, relief shoned on her face. Almost as if she had been hoping I would return.

"Thank you."

She stepped aside, allowing us inside. Arthur Blackwood was waiting in the drawing room.

He rose carefully with the help of his cane.

"My dear."

His smiled warmly. "I'm glad you came back."

I managed a polite nod.

"So am I."

The wod felt strange.

 No I wasn't. It was just necessary. Arthur studied my face for a brief moment. Then he seemed to understand. He didn't celebrate or congratulate me.

He simply sighed quietly. "I'm sorry it came at such a cost."

"Why apologize, Grandfather?" A voice spoke from somewhere across the hall and we turned.

No one needed to announce who it was.

Adonis Blackwood stood a distance away, his mask on as expected. His gaze settled on me only for a second.

Then he spoke again, while walking towards us. "Didn't expect to see you this soon."

I clenched my fist. "Me too."

He stopped not far from me. "So you've decided to marry a monster?" There was the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "I thought I could give it a try."

Silence followed and he continued staring. Finally he nodded once and looked at Daniel.

"The documents."

Daniel immediately opened his briefcase and placed the marriage agreement on the table.

Neither man wasted words. Everything had already been prepared. Daniel turned the final page toward me, gave me a pen and pointed to the signature line.

I looked at it and my fingers tightened around the pen. My bones felt stiff and I didn't move a finger for a while.

This single signature would change the rest of my life.

I thought of my father. If only he had told me before agreeing to this, I probably could have found a way out.

But now, it was too late. 

 I signed my name. The ink had barely dried before I placed the pen back on the table.

Daniel slid the agreement across to Adonis. He signed beneath my name in one clean stroke without hesitation or visible emotion.

The contract was complete. Just like that, I was married. 

 Daniel gathered the documents and quietly excused himself, leaving the room with Mrs. Harper.

Only Arthur remained. Adonis closed the folder and rested both hands on the table, his expression hidden behind the silver mask. The room fell unusually quiet. Arthur Blackwood lowered his gaze, saying nothing, while I waited for someone to speak. No one did. After a long moment, Adonis finally broke the silence. "There is one more matter."

I looked at him without answering.

"There are three rules that you must strictly obey."