All Chapters of LOVE UNDER CONTRACT : Chapter 21 - Chapter 26

The ride back felt endless. Damien sat beside me, his phone glowing in his hand, his expression unreadable as he fired off clipped words to whoever was unlucky enough to be on the other end. I kept my eyes fixed on the city lights flashing past the tinted windows. Anything to distract myself from the mess in my chest. The night had been… too much. The glittering auction, the eyes on me, the way Damien’s hand had tightened over mine when his mother’s portrait appeared. And then me, bidding like a lunatic because I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else taking it. My heart still hadn’t settled. Every time I thought of it, I wanted to kick myself. “Half a million,” Damien said suddenly, ending his call. His voice cut through the silence like a knife. I stiffened. “Here it comes.” He turned his head, one brow raised. “Here what comes?” “The lecture. The part where you tell me I’m reckless and stupid for throwing around money like—” “Like a Blackwood?” he interrupted. I blinked.

I didn’t sleep much that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Damien’s grandfather, the crack in his voice when he saw that painting, the way his eyes shone with love and memories he clearly never stopped carrying. The whole visit had been an emotional whirlwind.It was strange, really. Watching the old man look at Damien with pride, hearing him speak about Damien’s parents like they were some fairytale couple… something about it tugged deep at me. For a moment, I’d felt like I didn’t belong, like I was standing in the middle of a family portrait that wasn’t mine.But the way Damien had placed his hand on my waist as a silent, grounding gesture, somehow, that changed everything. It felt… protective, so real.And that terrified me.Maybe that’s why I was up before sunrise, pacing around the penthouse. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying everything that happened and I knew i needed something to do, something simple to keep my hands busy while my thoughts tangled themselves to pieces.S

I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing. My mind felt heavy, my chest tight, and my heart… well, my heart had completely betrayed me. I was in love with Damien Blackwood. The realization hit like a slow burn, spreading through me until there was no denying it anymore. The man I’d married out of necessity, the one who was supposed to be nothing but a temporary arrangement, had somehow become the person who made my world feel alive again. But this wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about Damien. I pressed my hands over my face and groaned softly. “You’ve really done it now, Cara.” The contract was supposed to be simple: stay married for a while, keep up appearances, get the money I needed for Caleb’s hospital bills and then quietly disappear when it was over. But somewhere between pretending and surviving, I’d stopped acting. Now, I was the one who was lost. I needed to think. Or at least breathe. And whenever the world got too loud, there was