All Chapters of The Wedding Contract: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

By the time Lena reached the ground floor, her phone had already buzzed three times.Maya.She answered as soon as she stepped through the revolving doors into the bright city afternoon.“Well?” Maya demanded. “Are they as terrifying as advertised?”Lena adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “Worse.”“That bad?”“Alexander Vale fired a woman into emotional collapse yesterday and interviewed me like I was applying to dismantle a bomb.”“Were you?”“In a way.”Maya laughed. “And the fiancée?”“Beautiful. Polished. Cold.”“So, rich.”“Very rich.”“And the mother?”Lena paused at the curb as a black car rolled past. “Lady Beatrice is not a mother. She’s an institution.”“That sounds healthy.”“It sounds expensive.”Maya was quiet for half a beat. “Are you taking the job?”Lena looked back at Vale Tower. The glass building rose into the sky like a monument to ambition. Everything about it screamed power, control, and consequences.“Yes,” she said.Maya groaned. “Lena.”“It’s the

By Saturday evening, Lena had changed outfits three times and regretted every decision that had led her to standing in front of her mirror at six-thirty.The first dress felt too eager.The second looked too formal.The third was simple enough to be safe, which somehow made it feel more dangerous.It was black, fitted without being revealing, with thin straps and a soft neckline that made her collarbones look delicate. She paired it with gold earrings, a small clutch, and heels she could walk in if she needed to leave quickly.Maya sat on Lena’s bed eating plantain chips from the bag and watching her with open suspicion.“You’re overthinking this.”“I’m not overthinking.”“You changed earrings twice.”“Earrings matter.”“Not unless they’re going to testify in court.”Lena turned from the mirror. “It’s a business opportunity.”Maya raised one brow.“It is,” Lena insisted.“Mm-hmm.”“There will be investors, society clients, event contacts—”“And Ethan Vale.”Lena looked away.Maya poin

By the time Lena got home, it was nearly two in the morning.Her apartment was dark except for the small lamp Maya had left on in the living room.Maya herself was asleep on the couch, still wearing jeans, one arm tucked under her cheek, a blanket half-pulled over her legs. The television had gone into screensaver mode, filling the room with slow-moving colors.Lena stopped in the doorway.Warmth pressed unexpectedly against her chest.Maya had waited.Of course she had.Lena quietly slipped off her heels.Maya opened one eye. “Are you alive?”“Barely.”“Did you bring snacks?”“No.”Maya sat up. “Then this friendship is under review.”Lena laughed softly, but the sound thinned as soon as it left her.Maya noticed.She pushed the blanket aside. “Come here.”That was all it took.Lena crossed the room and sank onto the couch beside her. For a moment, she said nothing. Then the night began spilling out in pieces.The yacht.Ethan.Alexander’s confrontation.Nicholas appearing on the side

Ethan found Lena in the garden after coffee.She had stepped outside under the excuse of taking a call, though her phone had not rung. The night air was cool and clean, scented with damp earth and roses. Beyond the terrace, the Vale gardens stretched in disciplined beauty: boxwood hedges, stone urns, white flowers glowing beneath low lights.Everything here had been trained to grow in acceptable shapes.Lena understood the feeling.She stood near a stone balustrade, arms folded, staring into the dark.“Please tell me you’re not planning to climb the wall,” Ethan said behind her. “Because if you are, I’d like to help.”She turned.He stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, his dinner jacket open. Without the bright party lights and easy audience, he looked less like the charming Vale brother and more like someone tired of playing him.“I was considering it,” Lena said.“Good. I know a weak spot near the east hedge.”“Of course you do.”“I was a difficult child.”“Was?”He smiled.

The Harrington pre-wedding luncheon was supposed to be simple. That was the first lie. Nothing involving the Harrington family was simple, and nothing held at the Vale estate remained only what it claimed to be.By noon, the south terrace had been transformed into a polished display of wealth and restraint. White linen tables sat beneath cream umbrellas. Crystal glasses caught the pale sunlight. Low arrangements of garden roses and olive branches ran down the center of each table. Beyond the terrace, the lawns rolled out in perfect green waves toward the lake.The luncheon was officially a small gathering between both families to review final cultural and ceremonial traditions before the wedding week.Unofficially, it was another battlefield.Lena arrived early with her assistant Priya and the temporary event staff. She reviewed the place cards twice, checked the kitchen service route, confirmed dietary notes, and ensured the quartet positioned near the fountain knew when to pause for