A Marriage Under Contract

PTE

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ntha

Tower's gleaming lobby, I hold the battered handbag strap as though it were the only solid object in my life. The hum of vital conversations around me

riches, power, dominance everywhere. Every instinct I have drives me to dash to grab Ethan and vanish. But there is nowhere left to go. There are less pla

mbiguous language. This is not a marriage in any sense, not one motivated by even convenience or affection. It's a b

ne voice piercing and exac

tting black dress whose features match h

am being guided toward my execution. The pit in my gut gets deeper as the elevator doors slide close with a gentle, mechanical hum. Men like Adrian Black

he city extends broad and apathetic far beyond the window. It seems like the life I

oman knocks once, opens them without waiting for a

He is suffocating; towering, broad, his dark suit fits his shape exactly. His piercing, icy eyes evaluate me with

is voice lacking warmth

t stop my hands from shaking. His eyes again darted over me, evaluating, computing. I detest the way

ontract," he adds, his voic

a nod. A

p what's expe

ds stuck in my throat

m not sure whether he's just savoring his current control over me or w

down across from me and his face is

ically. I am acting for him in all I do. But it is difficult to breathe

on. "In our arrangement, appearances are key, hence you should successfully play

ore like a puppet w

g for a real marriage," with eyes never leaving mine.

though I have a shiver dow

relentless. "We will notify you of the participati

as my stomach turns a

ckwood." His tone is decisive, therefore

leave his office. There is no marriage here. One is in a cage.

ything to keep Ethan safe-even if it means s

the little room, naive and pure, totally ignorant of the storm building around us. Thinki

ll I have done-for him-has been? He is young enough not to know. To

shing a tear off my cheek. I picked t

y grasp is Adrian Blackwood. Walking into his world, I thought I could endure and that I could shield Ethan. But just ho

ave done will fall

et that al

. My pulse leaps into my throat. Nobody shows up here at this hour. I

d turns

its a man I believed I had left

with Adrian Blackwood seems