The Contract

Taking the phone from Rosalind, Alana placed it by her ear and walked a little distance away from her aunt. She didn't utter a word, and the other end of the phone remained equally silent.

"You didn't bother to call me," her mother said from the other side of the phone.

"What do you want, Stephanie?" Alana said bluntly, calling her mother by her name.

"You now call me by my name, huh? No 'mom' anymore?" Stephanie asked, slightly offended.

Alana scoffed. "You lost that title, Stephanie. Don't you remember?"

The other end of the phone turned silent, but Alana could hear whispers in the background.

"Come on, baby. I apologized already. What more do you want from me?" Stephanie asked after a moment.

"I want you... No, I need you to f*ck off," Alana replied harshly and disconnected the call.

She took a minute to calm herself before going back to return Rosalind's phone.

"I'm heading to a friend's place," Alana said immediately as she gave the phone to her aunt, as she did not want her to talk about the phone call.

"You already have a friend?" Rosalind said, a hint of surprise in her voice because she knew that her niece was not the type who made friends easily.

But despite what she thought, she was still glad that Alana had made a new friend.

Rosalind smiled. "I would love to meet this friend of yours sometime. Maybe you can invite her over for dinner tomorrow," she suggested.

"Yeah, maybe. See you later," Alana said as she hurriedly left.

Alana's brows furrowed in thought as she drove into Roman's mansion. The weight of recent events pressed on her mind. She hadn't given much thought to the phone call from her mother earlier, but now, as she reflected on it, she recalled hearing her stepfather's voice in the background.

Confusion and disgust welled up within her. It seemed suspicious because her mother had assured her before she left that she was filing for a divorce. Alana's frown deepened, confirming her suspicion that her mother had been attempting to deceive her.

Alana shook off every thought related to her mother. She knew she needed a clear mind to go through the contract with Roman.

She stepped out of the car, and the kind-looking butler was already waiting for her.

He greeted her warmly and led her into the house.

Alana was expecting to wait in the sitting room for Roman's arrival, but today was different, as the butler informed her that Roman was waiting for her in his study.

The butler finally stopped in front of a door and knocked a few times.

"Come in," a deep voice said from inside after some seconds.

The butler opened the door and gestured for Alana to step inside, which she did. Her face instantly cringed as the harsh smell of smoke hit her nose. Her eyes scanned the room, which appeared to be a study, for a brief moment before settling on Roman's back as he stood by the window.

"You're late," Roman commented before turning to face Alana.

His eyes skimmed over her outfit as he took a drag from his cigarette.

Alana frowned at his comment. "You only asked me to come today. We didn't agree on a particular time," she responded, already getting annoyed by his attitude.

Roman simply stared at her, his gaze blank, before going to sit behind his desk.

His gaze settled on his butler, who still stood by the door. "Get her a glass of water," he said.

Alana was about to object, but the butler had already left. She sighed and moved to sit opposite Roman. Her gaze involuntarily settled on the cigarette between his lips before moving up to meet his intense gaze. She quickly averted her eyes.

Shortly after, the butler returned with the water. He placed it on the table and left the room. Alana glanced at the water but refrained from touching it.

Roman dropped the finished cigarette butt into the ashtray and retrieved a black file from his drawer.

"Here's the contract. Make sure to read through it carefully," Roman said as he slid the file over to Alana.

She picked it up and opened it to read through. As she flipped through the pages, she noticed that the contract spanned four pages. She glanced at Roman, wondering why the contract was so lengthy.

"Is it supposed to be this long?" Alana voiced her question.

"Yes," Roman replied curtly as he extracted another cigarette from the pack.

Alana picked up a pen from his desk and started reading through the contract. Only two pages in, and she couldn't help but raise a brow, as some of the conditions in the contract seemed a bit overboard.

This relationship was only going to be a pretense, so why did it state that she would not be allowed to be in any romantic relationship until the thirty-one days were over?

She continued reading until she reached a particular section that stated she would have to live with him for the entire duration of the thirty-one days, which would start counting from tomorrow.

Alana glanced at Roman. "I can't move in with you," she said.

"You have to, unless you don't want this contract to work," Roman said.

"But it isn't mandatory for me to move in with you," Alana countered.

"It is," Roman insisted.

"Why?" Alana asked.

"Because I said so, Alana," Roman responded.

Alana was left speechless. She grumbled inwardly but made no further objections. For some reason, she was already starting to develop a headache just from reading the contract.

She glanced at the cigarette between Roman's lips for the fifth time, a frown appearing between her brows. She wished he would just stop smoking until she was out of there.

The smoke was making it hard for her to concentrate, and he didn't seem to care.

'I wonder how many sticks he's had this morning?' Alana mused inwardly.

"Is the smoke causing you any discomfort?" Roman asked, drawing her out of her thoughts.

She nodded, hopeful that maybe he was going to stop smoking, but Roman's next reply shocked her.

Roman smirked, the corner of his lips tilting into an amused curl. "Good," he said.

"Good?" Alana repeated, staring at him in confusion.

"I just found a way to punish you when you go against the rules in the contract," Roman said, an evil glint appearing in his eyes for a split second.

Alana stared at him as if he were insane before dragging her eyes back to the contract.

She decided to sign the contract, even though there was still a page left to read. She couldn't bear to read any more because the room was hot, and she had been rereading the same line for the past five minutes.

As the pen was about to touch the paper, a sudden wave of nervousness washed over Alana, which she couldn't explain.

Perhaps it was the realization that she knew nothing about this man and yet was blindly entering into a contract with him.

She shook off her nervousness and signed the contract. There was no going back now. She was committed. She stared at her signature one last time before handing the contract back to Roman, who confirmed it before placing it on his desk.

"I will send someone to pick you up from your place by 5 pm today, so pack whatever you'll be needing before they arrive," Roman said, glancing at his wristwatch.

"I..." Alana wanted to say something, but she held her tongue.

"You what?" Roman asked, curious to hear what she had to say.

Alana shook her head. "Nothing. Forget it. I'll take my leave now," she said and stood up.

Roman tilted his head slightly. "Who said you could leave?" he asked with utmost seriousness in his voice.

Alana blinked at him in confusion. "I thought we were done here," she replied, wondering what more he could possibly want.

"Sit," Roman said, his tone intimidating, which irritated Alana, but she still sat back down. His gaze roamed over the jacket she was putting on, then settled on her chest. "Take off your jacket," he ordered, causing Alana to frown.

Alana hesitated for a moment, her frown deepening. His intense gaze only made her uneasy. She wondered what he could possibly gain from her taking off her jacket.

Reluctantly, Alana obeyed his command, slowly slipping off her jacket and revealing a plain tank top underneath. She couldn't help but feel exposed under Roman's scrutinizing eyes.

"Why?" she asked, her voice slightly lower. She tried to maintain a calm composure, but her unease was palpable.

Roman's expression remained stoic as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes still fixed on her.

"Ryan mentioned that you have a tattoo on your chest. I just wanted to see it," he replied, his voice sounding slightly disappointed.

Alana's confusion grew, mixed with a hint of annoyance. She put her jacket back on and stood up, ready to leave this time.

Luckily, Roman made no attempt to stop her.

She had a tattoo, but it was hidden somewhere else. She figured that her mother must have told Rosalind about it, and that was how Ryan also found out. But there must have been misinformation, because her stepsister is the one who has a tattoo on her chest, not her.

Exhaling with relief, Alana stepped out of his study, finally able to breathe in some fresh air. Now her major problem was figuring out how to break the news to her aunt that she was leaving the house today.