All Chapters of A Wife For Him (Hearts Under Contract): Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The sheer proximity was overwhelming. She could smell the crisp, expensive cologne mixed with the faint scent of the medical oxygen he had been breathing hours prior. She was terrified of the dangerous anger humming through his muscles, but the crushing guilt kept her compliant.“Yes,” Irene stammered weakly, forcing her voice to steady as she looked toward the grandfather. “I... I lost my composure. I was just so terrified that something bad was happening to Daniel. I didn't mean to cause such a scene.”Grandfather Henry looked between the two of them, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly as he assessed the forced closeness, the way Daniel’s hand was practically pinning her to his side like a captive prize. A slow, knowing smile eventually spread across the old man’s wrinkled face.“Is that so?” Henry murmured, leaning back in his chair and taking a slow sip of his tea. “Well, a wife’s devotion can often manifest as hysteria, I suppose. But Daniel, you look exceptionally pale for a man

The faint, cool gray light of Saturday morning was barely filtering through the massive, arched windows of the Blackwood mansion when Irene’s alarm went off.She slammed her palm down on the screen, cutting the sharp buzzing noise before it could echo through the vast, unnaturally quiet room.Her entire body ached from the brutal week she had just survived inside Daniel’s glass-enclosed office cage, but her mind was completely awake. The image of the fifty-thousand-dollar grand prize and the two-week luxury escape from Daniel’s sight was burning like a wildfire in her chest.She threw on a simple grey hoodie and a pair of dark running leggings, tying her sneakers with aggressive, determined tugs. With only two days left until the registration portal for the Blackwood Corporate Sports Festival closed, she couldn’t afford to waste a single second.If she was going to beat Daniel's hand-picked, elite-trained corporate relay team, she needed to begin a rigorous training regime immediately

The heavy iron gates of the Blackwood estate had barely finished swinging open before Irene pressed forward onto the asphalt road. Her breathing was steady, her high ponytail swinging rhythmically against her neck as she began a brisk, determined trot. Beside her, the twins fell into step, their smaller legs moving in tandem.Daniel, however, remained a few paces behind. His jaw was locked tight, his dark eyes radiating pure, unadulterated annoyance. He was a multi-billionaire, a man accustomed to climate-controlled boardrooms and leather executive chairs, yet here he was, forced into a black designer tracksuit at seven o'clock on a Saturday morning because his grandfather had threatened his corporate travel budget.“Keep a steady pace, boys,” Irene called out, her voice crisp in the chilly morning air. “We have exactly two hours to build up our endurance. If we want to win that grand prize, we need to be flawless.”The second the word win left her mouth, a sudden change swept over Da

The deafening silence that followed the heavy click of the bedroom door closing was almost violent.For several agonizing seconds, neither of them moved. The frantic, synchronized rhythm of their breathing was the only sound cutting through the large, high-ceilinged room. Daniel stood frozen on the plush carpet, his limbs locking as his eyes remained glued to the solid mahogany wood of the door. The pristine, unyielding mask of the supreme billionaire CEO was completely shattered, leaving behind a frantic, uncharacteristic panic.Irene was the first to break the paralysis. With a sharp, furious gasp, she scrambled backward away from him, her hands pressing into the wool carpet as she pushed herself up to her feet. She began aggressively dusting off the front of her grey hoodie and running leggings, her movements tense and erratic as she tried to wipe away the phantom sensation of his weight pressing her down into the floor.“You cannot be serious,” Irene muttered, her voice cracking s

The sprawling green athletic field of the Blackwood private stadium was alive with vibrant energy [11], but for Irene, the entire world had shrunk down to the chalk lines beneath her running shoes. The grass was crisp underfoot, still holding the morning dew, and the stadium speakers were humming with upbeat music designed to pump up the corporate crowd.Irene stood near the edge of the running track, completely focused on her pre-race routine. She leaned over to the side, bending deeply at her waist, letting her high ponytail sweep across her shoulder as she stretched out her torso. She raised her head up, taking a deep, calculated breath of the morning air, before rotating to the other side to limber up her oblique muscles.She was wearing a sleek, high-waisted set of black skinnies paired with a fitted, cropped half-cord top. The outfit was perfectly practical for a 4x100-meter relay, but it left her toned waist completely bare, the fabric hugging her curves with absolute, athletic