LOGINCalmly, Xavier was driving down to the hospital. I sat in the front seat beside him like I was already his wife. The car’s air conditioner was on full blast, cooling the air, yet I still opened the window beside me. Morning cold air rushed violently inside, whipping against my face, but deep down, I couldn’t feel the cold at all. My body felt numb, yet my heart burned intensely, as if it were on fire. All my body was hot despite the cold.“Lura, please, can you close the window? The air conditioner is on,” Xavier said calmly, like I was his boss.I barely heard him. My mind wasn’t here in the car, drowning in stress, trapped inside a chaotic storm of fear and despair. I felt detached from myself, like I was no longer fully present.“Catherine… please, please don’t leave me yet. You are the only one I have left on earth,” I whispered silently, staring blankly ahead.Though I spoke to Catherine as if she were right here listening to me, Xavier looked at me like I was slowly getting mad.
Nothing happened. The world didn’t go black. There were no signs of the end. The sky didn’t fall.Surely, Catherine was already dying. Even though I wasn’t in the hospital to confirm it, but I knew it. A cruel bitter laugh escaped my lips. I had known it all along this was the end.I collapsed lifeless onto the cold floor, wishing for death for the entire world, when one of the security guards approached me and said harshly, “Madam, please you can’t sleep here. It’s against our safety rules here. Please find your way out of this boundary.”Truly, He was right. I had to leave. But where was I supposed to go? Where? Where was the next place for me? The next step was hidden from me and only visible to God.As I was about to walk away to an unknown direction, a car horn sounded from afar. My heart instantly leaped and jumped out. Who could that be? I could barely see clearly as I stood there, waiting for the car to come closer. God please I want a favor.Wow…It was Xavier’s assistant.S
My eyes were wide open. Sleep refused to come.I sat tiredly on the edge of my bed, staring at the business card like it was a symbol of life itself. My phone was clutched tightly in my trembling hands as I called and texted Xavier and his assistant again and again.Very Painfully.No reply. No callback. Nothing. Nothing.I was completely stranded between life and death.The digital clock glared at me.3 hours, 29 minutes left.“So fast,” I whispered in surprise.Every second struck my chest like a hammer.Now, Three hours left. Two hours left.The moment the clock hit exactly 3:00 a.m., I shot to my feet. And give myself an energy of courage.“You need to move now,” I whispered hoarsely to myself. “I can’t wait anymore. Under any circumstances, I have to find Xavier… anywhere. Even one of his assistants.”I didn’t know where he lived. not even the street. I only know his office and that was the only option left for me.I stuffed the twenty dollars into my pocket, the contract papers
My mind spun desperately as I stared closely at the anonymous message blinking on my phone screen.You have twelve hours left.My hands trembled. My breath stalled.Who sent this? Xavier? The hospital? Someone else?The number was unknown, nothing familiar, not even look like the one I had ever seen before. For the first time since the struggle, what I felt now wasn’t pressure again. It was a total danger. My chest tightened as confusion swallowed me whole.Before I could process anything or reply the message, a deep black jeep with tinted windows rolled gently to a stop beside me and parked.“Hello, miss Lura.”I froze.Who knows me here?“Get in inside the car. It’s me Xavier.”His voice made me freeze completely, like a fish trapped in snow. I stood on a point for several seconds like a lifeless man, breathing unevenly, on the edge of collapse.“Why are you sweating like a Christmas goat?” he asked, his tone unexpectedly soft and cut me off. “Lura, what’s wrong with you? Are you
Tiredly, I dragged myself into my cramped apartment in Queens, every step heavy with exhaustion. I was extremely tired. I sat on the edge of my bed.The damp carpet faintly smelled of old coffee, and the only brightness in the room came from a thin beam of sunlight slipping through the tiny window.I pulled the contract papers from my bag and stared at them, studying them the way a coach would study his best player. focused, as if trying to see something unstoppable within them.Suddenly, my phone buzzed.The hospital was calling.“Hello, Miss Lura,” the doctor’s voice came through, low and heavy. I clutched the phone tightly.“Your sister, Catherine… her condition is worsening. We’ve done everything we can with the current treatment.”I pressed the phone harder to my ear. “Doctor, how bad is she now? What is the next solution?”“Very bad. We need to start the next procedure immediately. But we can’t continue without a deposit. You have to act fast, very fast.”I swallowed hard, my t
My mind spun over and over as I stared at the business card lying on the counter.Marry me. Sign a contract. Xavier’s words echoed in my head like both a warning and a promise.“Marry a man I barely know?” I whispered to myself silently, confusion knotting in my chest.My fingers trembled as I picked up the card again.Through the café window, I watched Xavier disappear into his multi-million-dollar car and vanish into traffic.The café felt suffocating, as it always did. The smell of coffee and the smell of roasted chicken mixed with the anxiety rising in my chest.I stood there, questioning myself.“Why me?” I muttered. “Why would a billionaire, one of the coldest and most ruthless men in the city choose my hand in a contract marriage? I wish I had a better option than this one.”Unable to bear the thoughts alone, my voice slipped out getting louder, quiet yet loud enough for me to hear.“A contract marriage.”I had seen it in movies and read about it in novels, but I never imagined







