Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Read Before You Sign

My fingers refused to move.

The contract lay on the coffee table between us, untouched.

The room was so quiet I could hear the ticking of the antique clock on the wall.

One signature.

That was all it would take to change my life forever.

I looked up at Damian.

"You expect me to marry you after knowing you for less than an hour?"

"I expect you to read the contract first."

His voice was calm, almost annoyingly so.

I folded my arms.

"And if I say no?"

"I'll have my driver take you anywhere you want."

I blinked.

"That's it?"

"I'm not forcing you."

His answer caught me off guard.

Every man who had ever tried to control my life had demanded something from me.

Damian wasn't demanding.

He was... waiting.

"Then why me?" I asked.

"There are millions of women in this city."

"There are."

"So why choose the woman who was just humiliated in front of everyone?"

For the first time since we'd met, he hesitated.

"You'll know."

"When?"

"When you're ready."

I laughed bitterly.

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's the truth."

I picked up the contract.

The first page contained my name.

Not "Miss Angela."

Not "The Bride."

My full legal name.

Every detail was correct.

Even my birth date.

A chill crawled down my spine.

"Who gave you this information?"

"I had it verified."

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Because none of this makes sense!"

The words echoed through the room.

Damian didn't flinch.

Instead, he walked to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.

"When I was twelve years old," he said quietly, "my father taught me something."

I waited.

"He said, 'The most dangerous lies are the ones people believe without proof.'"

He turned to face me.

"Right now, the entire city believes you're a woman who betrayed her fiancé."

My throat tightened.

"You saw the reporters."

I nodded.

"By tomorrow morning, thousands more people will believe the same thing."

"I don't care what they think."

"Are you sure?"

He picked up the remote from the table and switched on the television.

Every news channel was covering my wedding.

My face filled the screen.

«'Bride Abandoned After Groom Discovers Disturbing Secret.'»

"There is no secret," I whispered.

"They don't know that."

Another channel appeared.

Then another.

Different presenters.

Same story.

Same lies.

One reporter even claimed I had disappeared with another man before the ceremony.

I couldn't breathe.

This wasn't gossip anymore.

It was character assassination.

I sank onto the sofa.

"My father..."

The thought hit me like a truck.

"He'll see this."

Damian's expression changed.

"So will your employer."

My heart stopped.

I worked too hard to build my reputation.

What if they believed the lies?

What if they fired me?

What if no one ever hired me again?

I buried my face in my hands.

"They're taking everything from me."

"No."

Damian's voice was firm.

"They're waiting for you to surrender it."

Silence settled between us.

After a long moment, I looked at the contract again.

"What do you get out of this?"

He smiled.

Not warmly.

Not kindly.

Like a man who knew the game better than everyone else.

"The same thing you do."

"And what's that?"

"A second chance."

Before I could ask another question, a knock echoed through the room.

Three slow knocks.

Damian's face hardened instantly.

"They're early."

"Who?"

He didn't answer.

The housekeeper hurried into the room, pale and trembling.

"Sir..."

She swallowed hard.

"Your grandmother is here."

Damian closed his eyes for a brief second.

"I told them not to let her in."

"They tried."

The old woman walked into the room before anyone could stop her.

She was elegant, commanding, and carried herself like someone who expected the world to obey.

Her sharp eyes landed on me.

She looked me up and down.

Then she laughed.

Coldly.

"So..."

She turned to Damian.

"This is the replacement?"

Replacement?

I frowned.

The old woman's smile widened.

"Does she even know she wasn't your first choice?"

The room went silent.

I slowly turned toward Damian.

He didn't deny it.

Not with a single word.