**Chapter 2: The contract he don't explain
The car ride was silent.
Not the comfortable kind.
The suffocating kind.
Aria sat stiffly in the backseat of the sleek black car, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. The city lights flashed past the window, but she barely noticed them.
All she could feel… was him.
Ethan Blackwood sat beside her, calm and unreadable, scrolling through something on his phone as if nothing unusual had just happened.
As if he hadn't just… taken her.
---
"Where are we going?" she finally asked, her voice barely steady.
No answer.
Not even a glance.
Her chest tightened.
"Mr. Blackwood, I really need to go back. I could lose my job—"
"You already did."
His voice was flat.
Final.
Aria's heart dropped.
"What?"
"I bought the company."
---
The words hit like a physical blow.
"You… what?"
He finally turned his head, his dark eyes settling on her.
"I don't repeat myself."
---
Her mind spun.
That hotel—her job—her only source of income—
Gone.
Just like that.
Because of him.
"Why would you do that?" she demanded, her voice trembling now, a mix of fear and anger rising in her chest. "Just to take me?"
---
For a moment, Ethan said nothing.
Then—
"Yes."
---
Aria felt her breath catch.
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't okay.
That was—
Dangerous.
---
The car came to a smooth stop.
Before she could process anything further, the door opened.
"Out."
---
She hesitated.
"Do I have a choice?"
Ethan stepped out first, adjusting his suit as if the night itself obeyed him.
"No."
---
The building in front of her stretched endlessly into the sky, glass reflecting the stormy night. It didn't look like a home.
It looked like a fortress.
---
Minutes later, Aria stood inside a penthouse that felt more like a dream than reality.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
Marble floors.
A city view that swallowed the horizon.
Everything was perfect.
Cold.
Untouched.
---
"Sit."
She turned to see Ethan already pouring himself a drink.
She didn't move.
"I think you owe me an explanation," she said, gathering what little courage she had left.
Slowly, he set the glass down.
Then walked toward her.
Each step deliberate.
Each step making it harder for her to breathe.
---
"You want an explanation?" he asked quietly.
"Yes."
---
He stopped just inches away.
Too close.
"You said earlier," he continued, "that you were working."
She frowned slightly. "Yes…?"
"And now you're not."
Her stomach twisted.
"So," he said, his voice dropping slightly, "I'm offering you a new job."
---
Something about the way he said it made her pulse spike.
"This isn't a job," she said cautiously. "You brought me here without my consent."
"And yet," he replied calmly, "you're still here."
---
Aria clenched her fists.
"I'm here because I don't know what you're planning."
---
For a brief second—
Something almost like amusement flickered in his eyes.
Then it was gone.
---
"Good," he said. "You should be careful."
---
He walked past her toward a sleek glass table.
A file sat on it.
Waiting.
---
"Come here."
---
Every instinct told her to run.
But something stronger—
Something she didn't understand—
kept her feet moving.
---
She stopped at the table.
Ethan opened the file and slid it toward her.
"A contract."
---
Aria stared down at the papers.
Her heart began to pound.
"Read it."
---
Her eyes scanned the first page.
Then froze.
---
**Marriage Agreement.**
---
Her breath hitched.
"This… this has to be a joke."
---
"It's not."
---
She looked up at him, disbelief written all over her face.
"You want me to… marry you?"
---
"Yes."
---
The room felt like it was closing in.
"No," she said immediately, shaking her head. "No, I don't even know you—this is insane."
---
Ethan didn't react.
Didn't argue.
Didn't raise his voice.
Which somehow made it worse.
---
"Finish reading," he said.
---
Her hands trembled slightly as she looked back down.
* One-year contract marriage
* Monthly payment: more money than she had ever seen
* Full financial support
* Strict rules
* Absolute confidentiality
---
Her chest tightened.
"This is… buying a person."
---
"No," he corrected smoothly. "This is a deal."
---
She laughed bitterly. "What's the difference?"
---
Ethan stepped closer again.
Too close.
"There isn't one," he said quietly.
---
Silence fell between them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
---
"Why me?" she asked again, her voice softer this time. "You could have anyone."
---
This time… he didn't answer immediately.
His gaze lingered on her face.
Searching.
Calculating.
---
Then—
"Because I need someone who won't fall in love with me."
---
Her heart skipped.
"That's… your condition?"
---
"Yes."
---
Aria let out a small, disbelieving breath.
"That might be the easiest part."
---
Something in his expression darkened.
---
"You'd be surprised," he said.
---
She swallowed.
"And what do you get out of this… marriage?"
---
Ethan's eyes hardened slightly.
"A wife."
---
"That's not an answer."
---
"It's the only one you need."
---
The air shifted.
Whatever this was—
It was bigger than her.
More complicated.
More dangerous.
---
"I won't do it," she said, even though her voice wasn't as strong as she wanted it to be.
---
Ethan didn't argue.
Instead, he reached into the file—
and pulled out another document.
He placed it gently on top.
---
"Then read the last page."
---
Aria hesitated…
then looked down.
---
And everything inside her went cold.
---
Because printed clearly on that page—
was her mother's name.
And the hospital bill that Aria had been desperately trying—and failing—to pay.
---
Her hands began to shake.
"How… do you have this?"
---
Ethan's voice was calm.
Unmoved.
"I told you," he said. "I don't make mistakes."
---
Tears burned at the back of her eyes.
"This isn't a deal," she whispered.
"This is blackmail."
---
He didn't deny it.
---
Instead, he leaned closer—
his voice low enough to send a chill down her spine.
---
"Sign the contract, Aria."
---
A pause.
A heartbeat.
A decision that would change everything.
---
"And I'll make sure your mother lives."
---
The pen felt heavier than it should.
The room felt colder.
And Ethan Blackwood—
looked like a man who had already won.
---
*To be continued…