All Chapters of His Contract Mistress: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The limousine ride home was silent. Too silent.Aria sat stiffly, her hands knotted together in her lap, her emerald gown shimmering faintly beneath the dim light. Beside her, Ethan exuded a storm so heavy she felt it pressing against her skin. His jaw was clenched, his gaze locked on the city passing by outside, his fist flexing once, twice, as if he were strangling something unseen.She opened her mouth once—to speak, to soothe, to defend—but the look on his face stopped her. He was beyond reason.When they finally reached the penthouse, Ethan didn’t wait for the driver to open the door. He stepped out, his movements sharp, his control fraying. Aria followed slowly, her heels clicking against marble as she trailed him inside.The door closed with a heavy thud.“Ethan—” she began softly.He turned.The look in his eyes froze her words. Cold. Wild. Hungry. His tie was gone, his shirt collar undone, but the predator in him had never been sharper.“You enjoyed it, didn’t you?” His voice

The penthouse was too quiet. Too suffocating.Ethan had left early for a board meeting, leaving Aria alone with nothing but the weight of the amended contract. The folder still sat on the coffee table like a curse, its pages filled with shackles disguised as fine print.She stared at it until her chest ached.Is this my life now? A possession in silk?Her phone buzzed. A single message glowed on the screen.Nathaniel: Meet me. One hour. Café on 7th.Her pulse spiked.She shouldn’t. She couldn’t. But her feet were already moving.The café was tucked away, a quiet corner that seemed worlds apart from Ethan’s marble-and-glass empire. Nathaniel sat in the back, dressed down in a black shirt, his jacket draped over the chair. He looked less like a rival CEO and more like a man who could breathe — who wanted her to breathe too.“Aria,” he greeted smoothly, rising to pull out her chair. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”Her voice was tight. “I shouldn’t have.”“And yet,” he said softly, his

Aria’s hands trembled as she slipped her key into the penthouse lock.The day had been long, Ethan’s watchful eyes shadowing her even when he wasn’t there. She could feel it in the way strangers seemed to linger too long, in the black cars parked on corners, in the weight of her own paranoia.When the door clicked open, she stilled.Someone was inside.Her chest seized. She knew Ethan was out—his schedule, as carefully managed as his empire, had him at a late business dinner. Which meant—“Missed me?”The voice was smooth, mocking.Nathaniel stepped from the shadows, leaning against the kitchen island like he owned it. The smirk on his face tightened her chest and made her heart hammer.“Are you insane?” Aria hissed, shutting the door quickly. “If Ethan—”Nathaniel’s grin widened. “If Ethan finds out? That’s exactly the point, isn’t it?”Her stomach dropped. “You can’t be here. He’ll kill you.”Nathaniel sauntered closer, his cologne sharp and expensive, his eyes glittering with the k

The gown was too tight. Or maybe it was just her chest, constricted by nerves.Aria stood before the mirror in Ethan’s penthouse dressing suite, silk pooling around her feet. The dress was sleek, midnight-blue, chosen by Ethan himself. It clung to her curves, baring her shoulders, her collarbone, leaving her feeling exposed in more ways than one.Behind her, Ethan adjusted his cufflinks. He looked devastating in black—tailored suit, crisp white shirt, tie knotted with ruthless precision. A king dressing for war.“I don’t know if I can do this,” Aria murmured, meeting his gaze in the mirror.“You don’t have a choice.” Ethan’s voice was calm, but iron lay beneath it. He stepped closer, his reflection looming behind her. His hands smoothed down her bare arms, his lips brushing her ear. “Tonight, you’re mine. And the world will see it.”Her heart pounded. “And if I stumble? If someone—”He turned her sharply, forcing her to face him. His hand cupped her jaw, his eyes burning. “Then you’ll

The days after the leak blurred into one relentless cycle.Meetings. Calls. Statements. Ethan’s empire was bleeding, and he fought to stitch it back together with the ferocity of a man who had never lost a battle.And through it all, Aria was at his side.Not by choice.Everywhere he went—boardrooms, press briefings, charity luncheons—she was there, a silent emblem of his control. His hand at her waist, his shadow eclipsing hers.“You’re my shield now,” Ethan murmured one morning as he adjusted her necklace, his reflection sharp in the mirror behind her. “If Nathaniel sees you, if the world sees you, they’ll know you belong to me. That you’re untouchable.”Aria’s breath caught. Untouchable? Or a weapon?She didn’t ask. She couldn’t. Ethan’s mood shifted too easily these days—rage one second, tenderness the next.At Blackwood headquarters, she sat in on another tense meeting.The boardroom hummed with low voices and suspicion. Documents spread across the polished wood table; stock numb