The week passed in a blur of anxiety.
Elena threw herself into the flower shop, arranging bouquets until her fingers ached, working extra hours to avoid the gnawing decision that lingered in the back of her mind. Yet no matter how many roses she cut, no matter how many lilies she arranged, the reality remained: the debts were growing, and time was running out.
On Wednesday, she found her father collapsed in the kitchen.
"Dad!" Elena rushed to his side, heart hammering as she knelt beside him. His breathing was shallow, his lips pale. She managed to help him onto a chair, her hands trembling.
"I'm fine, Ellie," he wheezed, though his eyes betrayed the truth. "Just dizzy. I didn't eat enough today."
"You're not fine," she snapped, panic making her voice sharper than she intended. "I'm calling the doctor."
By the time the physician arrived, her father had steadied, but the verdict was grim. "His condition is worsening. He'll need regular treatment—immediately. Without it, I can't guarantee…"
The doctor didn't finish the sentence, but the weight of it settled heavily in Elena's chest.
When the door closed behind him, she sank into the worn armchair, her father's soft coughs echoing from the bedroom. She buried her face in her hands, fighting back tears.
The bills were already stacked high on the counter. Hospital fees would only add more weight. She could almost hear the walls closing in around her.
And like a cruel echo, Adrian Blake's voice returned to her mind:
> "You care too much about your father to let him suffer. And I have the power to take that suffering away."
Elena clenched her fists. She didn't want his money. She didn't want his arrogance, his coldness, or the invisible chains he was trying to bind her with. But what choice did she have when her father's life hung in the balance?
---
The next day, she sat with Maya in the shop, staring blankly at the wilting carnations on the counter.
"You're thinking about him again," Maya said softly, tying a ribbon around a bouquet.
Elena didn't deny it.
"You should just say yes," Maya continued. "Ellie, I know it sounds crazy, but maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. It's just a year. And after that, you'll be free. You'll have your shop, your father's health… everything you need."
Elena's throat tightened. "And in exchange, I give up my freedom. My pride. My—"
"Your pride won't pay the hospital," Maya interrupted gently. "And your father won't survive on pride either."
The words stung because they were true. Elena turned away, tears pricking her eyes.
"I just… I always believed marriage should be about love," she whispered.
Maya's expression softened. "And maybe someday, it still can be. But right now, maybe marriage has to be about survival."
Elena pressed her lips together, her heart aching. She wanted to protest, but she couldn't. Not when the reality was staring her in the face.
---
That evening, Elena returned home to find her father asleep on the couch, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. She tucked a blanket around him and sat quietly by his side.
She remembered her parents' wedding photo that still hung on the wall—a younger version of her father, smiling brightly, her mother radiant in her white dress. Their marriage had been full of love, laughter, devotion. That was the kind of marriage Elena had always dreamed of.
And now she was considering throwing that dream away for survival.
Her gaze drifted to the contract lying on the table. The bold letters glared back at her like a cruel dare:
Marriage Agreement Proposal
Elena's hands shook as she picked it up. She ran her fingers over the paper, imagining Adrian's cold gray eyes, his steady voice, his certainty that she would come back to him.
She hated him for being right.
Closing her eyes, she whispered into the silence of the apartment, "I don't have a choice, do I?"
Her father stirred in his sleep, coughing softly. Elena's heart clenched.
She rose slowly, the contract in her hands. Tomorrow, she would go back to Blake Tower. Tomorrow, she would face Adrian again.
And t
omorrow, she might just say the one word she never thought she would say.