"Diana!"
"Diana!"
Diana woke up to the loud banging on her door, she sighed and got up from the bed. Maya never knew how to be quiet—always so loud.
She opened the door to an angry Maya, "Didn't you hear me knocking? I have been calling your phone since yesterday, you weren't picking!"
"What are you here for this early? Isn't it too early for all this noise?" Diana said and walked to the kitchen to get Maya a glass of water.
Maya closed the door and settled herself on the couch.
"What happened to your cheek, Di? Why is it swollen?" Maya asked turning Diana's cheek to hers to see clearly.
Diana removed Maya's hand from her face and shrugged, "It's nothing—just a slight bump."
Maya narrowed her eyes—she could sense the lie her best friend just told her now. "You are lying, Di. What happened? Tell me!" She probed.
Diana sighed—nothing could really escape Maya's eyes. "It was the loan sharks—they came visiting yesterday and demanded I pay their money tomorrow."
"What?! What are we going to do now?" Maya asked anxiously. She didn't want her friend to get hurt, she would have loved to help but she wasn't well off either. Her little salary would not even graze the surface of Diana's debts.
"I don't know." Diana sighed for the umpteenth time. "That's right! Who was the man you texted me about yesterday?"
"What man?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Maya. The man you said had an offer for me? Who is he? Where did you meet him?" Diana questioned.
"Did you meet him already?"
"Answer my question first." Diana said, getting frustrated already.
"Fine." She said. "I mentioned your case to my boyfriend and discussing ways we could help you out—when he suddenly said he had someone who could help you and that I just needed to send him your picture and name."
Maya cleared her throat before she continued, "I did just that and Jayson told me that the man was willing to help you—I honestly have not seen the man before and I thought maybe you might know him which led him to say he was going to help you and that's when I sent you the message—I'm not lying, Di."
"I know. I I believe you." Diana clarified. "I have met the man and I can swear that I haven't seen him before."
"You have? What did he say? Did he say why he was willing to help you?"
"No, he actually offered a marriage contract instead." Diana said with a frown.
"What?!" May who had just taken a sip from the glass, spat it out immediately.
"Eww! Maya!"
"Sorry." Maya apologized. "But a marriage contract? His offer his ridiculous."
"One I can not back out from."
"What do you mean you can't back out from it?"
"Literally, Maya. He had promised to make my life a living hell if I refuse—and I don't think I have much of a choice, do I?"
Maya's eyes flashed. "If that man lays a single finger on you, Di, I'll burn down his fancy tower to the ground myself!"
Diana gave a small, weary laugh, though her chest tightened. Maya always made threats she couldn't possibly carry out, but the loyalty behind them was real—and it almost made her cry.
"How's mum doing?" Maya asked.
"She's good—at least that's what the doctor said. I'm going to see her today, do you want to come along?"
"Sure." Maya agreed. "But what will be your response?"
Diana shrugged.
•••••
Monday morning came earlier than expected and Diana was all jittery and shaken up. She didn't know how the day would unfold but she hoped it would be good.
She stood outside Maxwell Tower, in the day it was even more beautiful. The glass building was tall, its mirrored walls reflecting the bustling city below—she admired.
She had barely slept, the decision gnawing at her for the last forty-eight hours. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw images of her mother hooked up to machines, the loan sharks in her house, and most importantly—Gabriel Black's piercing gaze as he said, "One year, all problems… gone."
A part of her still wanted to turn back, to run far from everything. But she had no place to run and time was not something she had on her side.
She stepped into the building. The receptionist recognized her immediately and offered a small nod, "Mr. Black is expecting you."
Diana nodded and approached the elevator. Her reflexion stared back at her in the mirrored walls—but the shadow in her eyes was harder to mask.
The elevator opened with a soft chime.
She stepped out of the elevator and through the office glass doors she saw Gabriel sitting behind his large desk, a fountain pen in his hand. He didn't look up right away, his attention still fixed on the document before him.
When he finally did, his hazel eyes locked on hers, with the same unreadable expression. "You are here."
For a fleeting second, as his gaze lingered on her face, Gabriel stilled. Something flashed across his features—confusion? Recognition? He blinked it away, his mask sliding back into place.
He clenched the fountain pen harder, almost enough to snap it in half. A flicker of memory tugged at the edge of his mind—an old painting, a face to familiar. Impossible.
He blinked, and the thought was gone, buried deep.
"Not much of a choice, is there?" Diana retorted, her voice quiet but steady.
Gabriel leaned back in his chair, fondling the fountain pen between his fingers. "You always have a choice, Miss Moore. Some are just… more expensive than the others."
He slid the same black folder toward her. The black-gold letters Marriage Contract gleamed under the moonlight.
"Sign," he said, "and your mother's treatment continues today."
Gabriel noticed her hesitation and he smiled—a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Time is of the essence, Miss Moore." He reminded.
Diana gulped and couldn't help but want to negotiate with him. "Uhm… sir, is there nothing I can do aside the marriage?" She would do absolutely anything but this marriage of a thing was… she didn't know what to even call it. "I wou-"
Gabriel cut her off. "Your mother's hospital… is under the Black family foundation."
Diana's eye widened in realization of what he was trying to say. Her mind blanked, "W- what?"
Gabriel opened a drawer by his right and pulled out a sleek black tablet. Tapping the screen, an image of the hospital appeared—her mother's ward and all the information on her health was displayed.
"I don't have to spell it out for you—you know what that means."
It was like a knife was being twisted in her chest. She could almost hear her mother's gentle voice telling her not to cry, telling her to be strong. But what strength could stand against this man?
Her throat tightened. "You'd let her—"
"I'd do whatever it takes to protect my interests," he said flatly. "And right now, my interest is you… as my wife."
The room felt smaller and Diana gripped the edge of her chair to steady herself. "Why me? You could have anyone."
"I could," Gabriel agreed, "but I don't anyone. I want you."
The way he said it made it sound less like a confession and more like a verdict.
She shivered. She thought of her mother's smile. She thought of the machines keeping her mother alive. She thought of the man in the leather jacket who might return with worse threats next time.
"Your choice, Miss Moore."