All Chapters of LOVE WAS NOT IN THE CONTRACT: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

I should have known better than to show up in a dress that cost three paychecks.The Bellmont Hotel lobby swallows me whole. Marble floors, crystal chandeliers, the kind of place where even the air smells expensive. My heels click against the polished stone, announcing that I don’t belong here, that I’m trying too hard.I smooth down my dress. Navy blue. Simple. Elegant, the sales girl said.My phone buzzes. Mia, probably, asking if I’ve chickened out yet. I silence it without looking. I can’t think about the knowing look she gave me when I said I was finally going to ask Ryan why he’s never introduced me to his work colleagues. Why after eight months together, I’m still his little secret.Tonight, that changes.The elevator dings. Third floor.My reflection stares back at me in the mirrored doors. Twenty four and trying so hard. Dark hair swept up because Ryan mentioned once he liked it that way. The dress that’s going to haunt my credit card statement for months.I square my shoulde

Sunlight slices through my bedroom curtains like a knife.I groan and reach for my phone to check the time, knocking over my water glass. It hits the floor with a dull thud. My head pounds. Not from drinking, I didn’t touch alcohol last night, but from crying myself to sleep.My phone screen lights up.8:47 AM.And 47 missed calls.I bolt upright, suddenly very awake. The number blinks at me accusingly. Forty seven. All from Ryan. Each one timestamped through the night, starting at 10:23 PM and ending at 6:15 this morning.My stomach churns.Below the call log, a string of text messages.Ryan: “Zara please pick up”Ryan: “You’re being ridiculous”Ryan: “CALL ME”Ryan: “Fine. Be childish.”I delete them all without reading further. Each swipe feels like taking back a piece of myself.My phone buzzes. Mia.Mia: “GIRL. Why didn’t you tell me you were going to dump Ryan IN FRONT OF EVERYONE”Mia: “I’m coming over. Coffee or something stronger?”I stare at the messages. How does she know?

Adrian’s penthouse is everything I expected and nothing I’m prepared for.Floor to ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. Minimalist furniture that probably costs more than my studio. Art on the walls from auction catalogs.Not a single personal touch anywhere.“Ms. Bennett.” Victor Shaw, Adrian’s assistant, greets me at the door. Forty something, impeccably dressed. “Mr. Knight is expecting you in his office.”I follow him through the penthouse, my sneakers squeaking on marble floors.Victor stops at a door, knocks once, opens it.Adrian’s office is even more intimidating. Massive desk. Leather chairs. Floor to ceiling bookshelves.Adrian gestures to the chair across from his desk. I sit, and he slides a bound document across the surface.“The full contract,” he says.I pick it up. Heavy. Official.“Take your time,” Adrian says. “Read every word.”I open to the first page.**RELATIONSHIP SERVICES AGREEMENT**I skim through opening clauses. Effective dates, six months from signatur