The Hidden Contract
Eve's POV
The front doors of our house creaked open, and I stumbled in, every muscle aching from a double shift at the café. My feet screamed inside cheap heels, my hair was plastered to my forehead with sweat, and my head buzzed with exhaustion. All I wanted in this world was a hot shower, pajamas, and eight hours of sleep.
Instead, I found my father and stepmother waiting in the living room.
Not watching television. Not sipping wine. Just sitting there, faces tight, the chandelier blazing above them like it was the middle of the afternoon.
Dread pressed against my ribs.
"Evelyn," my father said, his voice unusually stern. "Come here. We need to talk."
I froze in the doorway, clutching my bag. "Can it wait until morning? I opened at six, closed at nine. I smell like espresso and fryer oil."
"No, it cannot," Leona, my stepmother, replied smoothly. She crossed one elegant leg over the other, a faint smile tugging her lips as she held up a cream-colored envelope with a gold seal. "This arrived today."
Something about the way she said it made my stomach twist. I dropped my bag by the door and stepped closer. "What is it?"
Dad's jaw flexed. "Sit."
I sat, my skin prickling. Leona laid the envelope on the glass table between us. It looked harmless enough, but the sight of that embossed seal made my heart beat faster.
"Open it," she said.
I hesitated, then slid a finger under the flap. Thick paper slid out, heavy and expensive. My name stared back at me in flawless black script: Evelyn Damascus. Beneath it were words that made my blood run cold.
Marriage Agreement.
My throat closed. "What the hell is this?"
"A solution," Dad said quietly. His tie was perfectly straight, but his eyes flicked toward the bar cart, as if he needed a drink but wouldn't allow himself one. "For all of us."
I shook my head, almost laughing. "No. Absolutely not. A marriage agreement? With who?"
Leona's smile widened, sharklike. "Alexander Knight."
The name slammed into me like a thunderclap. I didn't need an introduction. Everyone in this city knew who Alexander Knight was — the billionaire CEO who ruled Knight Enterprises with an iron fist. The man whose face appeared on every magazine cover, always in a black suit, always unsmiling. A man so cold people whispered he had ice instead of blood.
"You can't be serious," I whispered.
Dad stood, towering over me. "This is the only way, Eve. The Damascus name is drowning. The debts, the gallery, our reputation—"
"So you're selling me off?" My voice cracked. "That's your solution?"
His face tightened. "You think I want this? You think this is easy for me?"
Leona cut in smoothly. "You're of age, you're presentable, and you still carry the Damascus legacy. The Knights value history. They want a link to your grandfather's collection. In return, your family will have financial stability again."
My chest burned, anger and betrayal clawing inside me. "I'm not some piece of art you can trade for funding!"
"Enough." Dad's voice snapped through the room like a whip. His shoulders sagged, just for a second, before he straightened again. "If we don't do this, Eve, we lose everything. The gallery. The house. Everything your mother cherished."
The mention of her — of my late mother — felt like a knife.
Leona leaned forward, her eyes gleaming. "Think of it this way. You'll be Mrs. Alexander Knight. Wealth. Security. Luxury beyond your wildest dreams."
"I don't want luxury," I snapped. "I want choices."
She smirked. "Choices are for people who can afford them."
I shot to my feet, fists clenched. "No. This is insane. I won't do it."
Dad's voice softened, almost pleading now. "Eve… please. Just meet him tomorrow at Knight Tower. Hear the terms. If you still refuse, then…" His voice trailed off, but the threat was clear. If I refused, I'd be walking away from the only family I had left.
I stared at him, my heart shattering. My own father, the man who used to braid my hair before school was pushing me into a stranger's arms because of money.
"You're asking me to give up my life," I whispered.
"I'm asking you to save our family," he whispered back.
Leona slid the papers closer, her manicured nails tapping the gold seal. "Be grateful, Eve. Girls would kill for this chance."
My stomach churned. I wanted to scream, to tear the papers in half, to run until my lungs gave out. But then I thought of the gallery my grandfather built from nothing. The Damascus Wing, filled with art my mother had curated before she died. If we lost it… her memory would be erased.
My eyes burned. "Fine," I said, my voice breaking. "I'll meet him. But that's all."
Dad exhaled, relief flickering across his face. Leona's smile widened in triumph.
I grabbed the envelope with trembling hands and stormed upstairs before they could see the tears spilling down my cheeks.
Inside my room, I slammed the door and collapsed onto the bed, clutching the contract. My vision blurred as I read the cold, impersonal terms. Private ceremony. Confidentiality agreements. A generous "philanthropic allocation" in my mother's name.
At the bottom, one line waited for signatures. His name was already printed in bold black ink:
Alexander Knight.
The space beside it was blank, waiting for mine.
A sob tore out of me. I pressed the papers against my chest, shaking with rage and grief.
Then my phone buzzed. A single message lit up the screen from my best friend, Chloe.
You alive?
I typed back with trembling fingers: Come over tomorrow. Emergency.
Another tear slipped down my cheek as I stared at the contract.
A hidden bride. That's all I would ever be to him.
But if I was going to be trapped in Alexander Knight's icy world, then I'd find a way to survive it — and maybe, just maybe, to fight back.