Chapter 1 Signed and Sealed

CHARLOTTE'S POV

You know those stories where the girl gets whisked off into a surprise marriage and ends up living happily ever after?

Yeah, this might not be one of them.

I was halfway through a cup of coffee and a chapter deadline when the world decided to flip itself upside down.

"Charlotte, your mother and I need to talk to you". That was Barry, my charming, overly groomed stepfather, whose love for tailored suits almost equals his obsession with control.

He never "needed to talk". He ordered meetings like a CEO who forgot he was also part of a family. I thought it would be about my writing again. Something about it wasn't "career-worthy" or "profitable" enough for someone with a legacy like mine. Whatever that meant. They seize every opportunity to make fun of me and my career path.

I dragged myself into the dining room and immediately regretted it.

Barry sat at the head of the table, arms crossed, a folder in front of him like he was about to present or pitch a business deal to a potential client. My mother, Dianne, perched beside him, wearing that same silk robe she always wore when she had something to hide.

I should have turned around. I should have walked out.

But I didn't, because I'm polite and stupid. And apparently, the bride-to-be.

"You are getting married," Barry announced.

I laughed out loud. A full-on snort. "Funny."

He didn't laugh.

Neither did Mom.

My stomach dropped.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked again, hoping I had heard wrong. Maybe they said "You're not getting married" or "You're burying someone," which honestly sounded more pleasant.

Barry opened the folder and slid it towards me. A neat, clinical contract. One glance, and my name was there, bold letters, right next to AIDEN KINGSTON.

I blinked. "Is this a prank?" I asked Barry, expecting an answer.

"This is real," Barry said. "The company is going under. We are at the edge, Charlotte. If this marriage goes through, the Kingston's will bail us out."

"You mean they will own us," I snapped.

My mother reached for my hand. Hers was cold, trembling.

"Sweetheart, we wouldn't do this unless we had no choice."

"No choice?" I pulled my hand away.

"You always have a choice. Like not selling off your daughter like a cheap product. I am your only child for crying out loud."

Barry narrowed his eyes. "It's for your good. The company was your father's.....

"Don't," I warned. "Don't bring my father into this."

His face tightened and I recognized that look. It was the same one he wore when he came into my life after my father died in a car accident. The same one he had when he married my mother barely three months later.

I've never said it out loud, but some truths don't need words. Barry wasn't my father's brother in any way that mattered except maybe in blood, and even that felt like a stain.

"Why him? I don't even know him," I said quietly. "This Aiden guy."

"You'll get to know him," Barry said as if that made it any better. "He's a good and handsome man, from a good family. Their family has power, money and we are drowning in debt. This marriage is the only thing that can save Parker & Co. "

"But it's Dad's company," I shot back. "You're just...." I caught myself not finishing my words: You are just the man who married my mother after my father died.

Barry leaned forward, with a calm and calculated voice. "Your father left this company to me and all I am trying to do is to save what's left of it, so you should be grateful. And like I said earlier, Aiden is very powerful"

"Translation: He's rich and can save your reputation," I said in sarcasm.

Neither of them responded.

I stared at the contract again, my fingers hovering above the paper like it might bite me.

"You want me to just sign away my life?"

"No" Mom whispered. "We want you to survive."

There it was.

Not "be happy." Not "fall in love." Just survive.

And suddenly, it made sense. The hushed meetings, the growing tension. The way Barry's name had started disappearing from company headlines. It was obvious the board of directors was on his neck.

The man was drowning and he'd rather throw me overboard to save himself.

What a father he was.

I stood with anger, the chair scraping against the floor.

"This isn't over."

Barry didn't even flinch. "It never is"

I spent the rest of the day pacing my room, biting back panic. I needed to see him. I took out my phone and googled "Aiden Kingston" like a mad woman. Spoiler alert, he is disgustingly attractive in that dark hair, chiseled jaw, brooding way. GREAT.

What was even better? He had zero social media, zero interviews, and zero expression in the few pictures I found. A mystery wrapped in expensive suits and silence.

And he was going to be my husband.

I was twenty-two, a writer and a dreamer. Someone who cried during dog commercials and believed love should be a choice, not a transaction.

But in 48 hours, I'd be engaged to a stranger whose name felt like a headline, not a future.

And deep down, I knew something was off.

Barry wanted this marriage too much.

My mother looked haunted. And the Kingstons.....they didn't need us. But they wanted me.

Why?

This whole getting married is so sudden and strange. I mean who still does arranged marriage in this century?

A few minutes ago I was excited about finishing my second book and submitting it to the editors and publishers. And now I find myself in this mess.

Why does God hate me?

Why has the universe decided to punish me?

I didn't have answers to any of my questions, but I had one feeling I couldn't shake;

This marriage wasn't the end of my story, it was only the beginning.