The Secret Contract Marriage

No," I blurt out too quickly. "You can't be serious."

Alexander doesn't flinch. Doesn't blink.

He just stands there-tall, cold, still in control.

"I'm very serious," he replies. "And unless you'd prefer to walk away empty-handed, I suggest you listen."

My pulse thuds. "You're offering me a job... as your wife?"

"Technically," he says, stepping toward me, "you're already my wife."

"That marriage was secret," I fire back. "Unregistered. You made sure of that."

"Did I?" His eyes glitter. "Funny how you remember only the parts that suit you."

I flinch, the words hitting too close.

We had gotten married in secret. Hidden from his board, his family, and the media. A courthouse ceremony with no photos, no witnesses. I'd once thought it was romantic-proof that what we had was real, not for show.

But then everything shattered.

I ran. And now here we are.

Face to face again in a house that still smells like the cold life I walked away from.

"Why now?" I ask.

He studies me. "Because I need a wife. Publicly. For thirty days. Then you disappear again."

"You're insane."

"Possibly. But not desperate." He gestures toward the velvet chair. "You, on the other hand..."

I don't sit. I can't. My legs feel like glass.

"I didn't come here to beg."

"You came here for money. And now you'll earn it."

I glare at him. "You think this is easy for me? You think I wanted to walk through that door and find you again?"

"You didn't find me, Elena. I found you."

That stops me cold.

"What do you mean?"

His voice drops. "Do you think this interview was random? I own half the staffing agencies in the state. The moment your name crossed the system, I saw it."

My mouth opens. Closes.

"So this was a trap?"

He nods once. "Call it fate. Or vengeance. Doesn't matter. You need money. I need a wife. The contract writes itself."

A silence stretches between us.

"You said thirty days," I say finally. "What happens after that?"

"You get paid. You walk away. Again."

"And you?"

"I get what I want."

"Which is?"

He doesn't answer.

And I realize-he doesn't even know.

The contract is already on his desk when he leaves me alone in the study. Thick. Legal. Bound by gold clips.

Page after page of clauses.

I'll live in the guesthouse.

I'll attend all public functions with him.

I'll wear my wedding ring again.

I'll say nothing to the press.

I'll be his wife-for show.

I swallow down the panic rising in my throat.

This is dangerous.

But not nearly as dangerous as the alternative: Liam's hospital bills. His oxygen tank is due for a refill. The clinic is warning me again that charity cases won't last forever.

I lower my head and sign.

The pen shakes in my grip, but I finish the signature in one slow stroke.

Elena Grey.

A name I haven't signed next to his in years.

Outside, the sun has dipped into a blood-orange sky. The guesthouse glows warm with low lights and clean linens, but the inside is cold. Impersonal.

The staff has stocked the closet with designer pieces in my size. The bathroom shelves are full of spa products I never asked for.

Everything here feels like a life already prepared.

Like a role I've been cast in-without permission.

I stand in front of the full-length mirror and slip on the ring he gave me the night we ran from his family's gala and got married in a tiny Nevada courthouse.

It still fits.

My stomach twists.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door.

It's not a staff member.

It's Alex.

He walks in without asking.

His eyes drop to my hand. The ring glints under the light.

"So it's official," he says. "We're back."

I nod once. "Until the clock runs out."

He doesn't move closer. Just stands there, eyes unreadable.

"Tell me something, Elena," he murmurs. "Why did you leave?"

I inhale.

"Because I was drowning," I whisper. "Because loving you felt like dying. Because I didn't know how to survive your world."

He watches me in silence.

"You still don't," he says, and walks out.

I close the door behind him and sink into the bed.

My fingers trace the gold band on my hand.

A symbol of a lie we both agreed to tell.

But the real truth?

I left because I was pregnant.

And the man I married-

The man who now owns me for thirty days-

Has no idea that his son exists.