THE CONTRACT

TER

ights

r heart raced, thudding painfully against her chest as fear overtook her. The scent of his skin was intoxicating, a mix of cologne and something deeper-something dangerous. Eleanor trie

elt herself falling-falling straight to the bed. The softness of the mattress caught her like a gentle hand, though it did nothing to calm her racing heart.

meet the stranger's eyes-his presence commanding, magnetic, yet unsettling. The room felt li

almost unreadable-shifted from her face to her lips. His presence seemed to fill every corner of the room, suffocating yet oddly comfortin

of the moment. But something within her stirred. Maybe it was the way his mouth claimed hers with such certainty, or maybe it was the desperation

liding down the sides of her neck, down to her shoulders, and further still, tracing the lines of her body. It was as if t

e intensity of what was happening. It was reckless. It was impulsi

e aftermath of the kiss. His eyes, still locked on hers, were full of something unreadable, a mixture of hunger and admiration. His hand moved to her jacket, fingers brushin

k she had always been self-conscious about, but in that moment, under his gaze, it fe

though gentle at first, grew bolder, sliding down her body, finding their way to her chest. Eleanor's heart raced in

erfect, but somehow made to fit. His hands roamed over her body, exploring with the same hunger in his eyes. Eleanor found he

ng. But in this moment, Eleanor was no longer thinking. She was s

ORN

0 a

nd her. The memories felt blurry, distorted, like a dream she couldn't quite grasp. She groaned softly, reaching up to rub at her temples, willing t

anor froze, her heart skipping a beat as her gaze slowly trailed upward. She followed the line of his leg, past his thigh, until her e

hts scrambled, one clear realization hit her like a slap across the face. She wasn't dreaming. The events of the p

out thought. She scrambled to the edge of the bed, stumbling as she stood, disoriented and terrified of the consequences of her a

he needed t

the handle. She threw it open, nearly slamming it in her haste to escape. She didn't look back. S

r the voices of her family members echoing down the hallway. Panic gripped her once more. Where

ough the haze of her thoughts. Eleanor winced, taking another step back, but the so

ays been using her?" Ethan's voice was laced

is act like a fool. Dad, thank you; I love you,

d to steady herself. She could hear them all-her family. But they weren'

talent," Mr. Wilson added, his voi

'll be signing everything over to me-her fortune, both the company and this hou

ess what she had just heard. The family she had trusted, the ones who had always trea

h, a gasp escaping her li

face was sickeningly satisfied. "He must have been so satisfied with

to her stepmother answer the call, t

Mrs. Wilson greeted,

nly, the mo

lay with me? You said the girl knew everything about it!"

me and run away fro

le. The world was collapsing around her. She had been us

ly, trying to pus

son mouthed, disbelief w

eyes. Her voice shook with