chapter 4

"What? Where am I?" Freya screamed, her voice cracking as she jolted awake.

The room was filled with the loud, continuous buzzing of her phone. She scrambled to find it under the heavy, silk covers. Her eyes widened when she saw the screen. Twenty missed calls?

"Oh no," she whispered. It was Anastasia. Her best friend must have been calling her all night long.

Freya dropped the phone on the bed, her heart racing as she tried to remember how she got here. The last thing she saw was the dark alley, the men in black suits, and that mysterious, handsome man holding a silver gun. She remembered the world spinning, and then... nothing.

She looked around the room, and her jaw dropped. She had never seen anything like this in her life. The room was massive, twice the size of Michael’s entire house, and the bed she was lying on was very huge.

The phone started ringing again. She jumped and quickly answered it.

"I swear, Freya, I am going to kill you!" Anastasia’s voice screamed through the speaker so loudly that Freya had to pull the phone away from her ear. "Where have you been all night? I’ve been worried sick! I seriously thought something terrible had happened to you!"

"Calm down, Anastasia," Freya said, rubbing her forehead. "I don’t even know where I am right now. A lot happened... but I can’t explain it all yet. I tried to run from Mr Grant last night and offered a contract to be Mr Knight's girlfriend, I refused but I somehow ended up with him, and I just woke up in a room I don't know.

"Let me guess... his house?" Anastasia asked.” I think so,” Freya whispered and maybe he's keeping me here because of what I saw.

"Hmm," Anastasia said, thinking for a second. "What if you offer to be his contract girlfriend anyway? Use it as a way to stay alive!"

"What? Are you crazy?" Freya hissed. "This guy was literally holding a gun last night!"

"Well, maybe he won't kill you if you offer to help him for a while," Anastasia argued. "And remember, Freya, you don't have any money. Michael is going to kick you out, and you have no place to stay. You need a roof over your head to save your mum."

"What if he kills me before the contract even ends?"

"Come on, Freya," Anastasia said. "If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead by now. Go talk to him. At least you’ll get a nice house out of it."

"Fine," Freya said, hanging up the phone.

She took a deep breath, tidied her messy hair, and slowly opened the door. She walked down a wide, marble staircase that spiraled down into a giant living area. "Wow," she whispered to herself. "This place is huge."

Downstairs, she saw Darlington setting the long glass table with different kinds of food.

How do I survive this? Freya whispered to herself. Be strong, Freya. Do it for Mum.

She approached him slowly. He looked up, and a light, almost invisible smile touched his lips. "You're awake," he said.

"Where am I?" she asked, her voice trembling just a little."You passed out last night, he replied calmly.

"You mean... I passed out after you pointed a gun at someone?"

He chuckled, a low sound that vibrated in the room. "I guess you’ve never seen a gun before. Make yourself at home. Eat anything you want."

Freya sat down at the table, but her body was stiff. She watched him carefully as her hands shook. Is he trying to poison me? she wondered. He probably wants to kill me so I don't tell the police what I saw.

"What if I don't want to eat? Can I just go home?" Freya asked.

Darlington’s face turned serious. He leaned back in his chair. "That would be quite rude, don't you think? Especially since you already know exactly who I am and what I do."

Freya gulped. "Is this my last meal?"

"What do you mean, your last meal?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to poison me for what I saw last night?"

"Why would I try to kill you?" Darlington asked, looking curious.

"Well... isn't that what you do for a living?"

Darlington laughed loudly this time. "What I do for a living? Well, people might misjudge me sometimes, but that’s cool. I actually like being feared."

He stood up from his seat and walked around the table. He pulled out a chair right next to Freya and sat down, so close that she could feel the heat coming off his body. He picked up the fork from her plate, twirled some of the pasta, and took a bite himself.

"See? I'm not trying to poison you," he said. He then took another forkful of the creamy pasta and held it near her mouth. "Now, taste it. You need to eat after passing out like that."

Freya looked at the food, then at him. According to the scary stories she had heard, he should be a monster. But here he was, looking surprisingly calm and even... kind? She decided to take the risk. She opened her mouth and took the bite. It was the best thing she had ever tasted.

She realized this was her moment. She decided to do what Anastasia suggested.

"Mr. Darlington," she said, her voice becoming firmer. "I have a proposal."

"A proposal?" he asked, looking surprised.

Freya stood up. She arranged her hair behind her shoulders, trying to look confident. She took a step closer to him, even placing one leg near his seat to get into his space. "I know you’re probably thinking that after what I saw last night, I might expose your secrets."

"What secrets?" he asked, his eyes dark and unreadable.

"That's not the point," she said, placing her right hand flat against his chest. She could feel his heart beating steadily under the black fabric. "What if I could be of help to you? It’s not like I have much of a choice anyway."

"And how would you help me?" he asked, his voice a low growl. "By trying to seduce me?"

"No," she said, her hand moving slowly and boldly across his chest. "What if I become your contract girlfriend?”