"I couldn't let you walk into that alone," he said, shutting the door quietly behind him. "I saw him follow you. And Mia..." His jaw tensed. "You don't know the kind of man you're dealing with."
I swallowed hard. "You heard everything?"
He nodded. "Enough to know you're in danger."
Danger.
The word tangled inside my chest like barbed wire.
"I know Damon Black has a reputation," I said softly, "but he's offering to save my mother's life."
"Mia, listen to me." Collins stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Damon is powerful. Too powerful. Men like him never help without a hidden motive."
I looked away, my grip tightening on the medical file in my hand.
"What choice do I have?" I whispered. "I need Ten thousand dollars and I can't make that in a lifetime."
"Mia-"
"I can't lose her" I said, my voice breaking. "I can't."
His expression softened, the worry in his eyes shifting into something like helplessness. For a moment, he reached as if to touch my shoulder, but stopped midway.
"He will use you," Collins said quietly. "He will own you."
My heart thudded painfully.
Damon's words echoed inside me:
You will not belong to yourself.
"Why me?" I whispered to myself. "There are thousands of women in this city. Why pick me?"
Collins hesitated... then sighed.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But whatever reason he has... it won't be simple."
I closed my eyes.
One year.
That was all.
One year of pretending.
One year of a contract marriage with a stranger.
A dangerous stranger.
"Just... think carefully," Collins said. "I'm not telling you to refuse. I'm telling you not to trust him blindly."
I nodded slowly, even though trust was the last thing on my mind.
He opened the door just enough for the hallway light to spill in. "If you need me, call me. I'll do whatever I can."
But we both knew there was nothing he could do.
Nothing anyone could do.
When he left, I stood alone for a long moment, breathing shakily, trying to hold myself together.
I walked back to my mother's ward and slipped into the chair beside her bed. She was asleep again, her breathing shallow but steady.
I brushed her hair gently. "I'll fix this, Mom," I whispered. "I promise."
But I didn't know if I was promising her safety...
or my own destruction.
---
The next morning at Sunrise Mall, I moved like a ghost.
Customers came and left.
I smiled mechanically, spraying perfume samples, arranging gift sets, answering questions.
But my mind was still stuck in the hospital with Damon's cold voice replaying in my head.
"Your mother dies."
Those three words haunted me like a shadow that followed every step.
"Girl, you look dead" my coworker Anita said, chewing gum loudly as she folded clothes beside me. "Did you sleep at all?"
"Barely," I muttered.
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you later."
She raised a brow. "If it's that landlord again, I swear I'll come to your house and fight him."
A weak laugh escaped my lips. "It's not the landlord."
Before she could ask more, my supervisor called me.
"Mia! Customer at the fragrance counter!"
I hurried there, trying to focus, but everything felt distant.
During my lunch break, I sat alone behind the mall, staring at my phone. Damon said I had twenty four hours.
Time was running through my fingers like sand.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown Number:
Your time is almost up, Mia.
My throat tightened.
Before I could type anything, another message came.
Meet me at Black Tower. 8 p.m. We will finalize everything.
I stared at the message for a full minute, my stomach knotting painfully.
Finalize everything.
A contract.
A marriage.
A life traded for another life.
I locked my phone with shaking hands.
---
At 7:45 p.m., I stood outside Black Tower the tallest, most intimidating building in the entire city.
The glass walls reflected the night lights like a sword raised toward the sky. Security guards in black suits stood at every entrance. Expensive cars pulled in and out like a parade of wealth I didn't belong to.
I hugged my jacket around myself, feeling terribly small.
Was I really going to walk inside and agree to marry Damon Black?
The idea felt insane, terrifying... unreal.
But when I remembered my mom's weak eyes and cold hands, the fear inside me hardened into resolve.
I walked forward.
Inside, the lobby was silent, elegant, and cold. Everything smelled like polished marble and too much money.
"Name?" the receptionist asked without looking up.
"Mia Carter."
She paused... then typed. Her eyes widened a little before she straightened.
"Mr. Black is expecting you."
Expecting me.
The words made my stomach twist.
A private elevator opened behind her with a soft chime.
When the doors closed, I felt trapped. The elevator shot upward so smoothly that I barely felt movement, but my heartbeat was loud enough to fill the silence.
At the top floor, the doors opened into a dim office with floor to-ceiling windows.
Damon stood there with his back to me, staring at the city lights below like a king surveying his kingdom.
I stepped in slowly. "I'm here."
He turned.
That same intense, unreadable gaze hit me again. He looked calm, composed, almost frighteningly in control.
"You came," he said quietly.
"I didn't have a choice."
"There is always a choice," he replied. "You simply chose the one that saves your mother."
My chest tightened.
He walked toward his desk and picked up a folder. "This is the contract."
I moved closer, my fingers trembling as he opened it.
Rules.
Restrictions.
Expectations.
A one year timeline.
And my compensation spelled clearly:
$50,000 paid immediately after signing.
My breath caught.
Enough for surgery.
Enough for medicine.
Enough to save her.
"Read it," Damon said.
I skimmed through the pages, my pulse racing.
"You understand," he said slowly, "that once you sign this... your life will change."
I nodded. "Yes."
"You understand that I am not a man to cross."
Another nod.
"And you understand that this marriage is not real, and never will be."
The words stung more than they should have. "I understand."
He watched my face, searching for something-fear, hesitation, weakness.
Finally, he spoke.
"Do you agree to the contract?"
My throat closed.
My heart pounded.
Everything inside me trembled.
But I thought of my mother.
"Yes," I whispered. "I agree."
He pushed a pen toward me. "Sign."
My fingers closed around it. Cold. Metallic. Final.
I lowered it to the paper then my phone rang loudly in my pocket.
Damon's eyes narrowed. "Ignore it."
But something in me hesitated. "It could be the hospital."
He said nothing, but his jaw tightened.
I slowly pulled out my phone.
Caller ID: Dr. Collins
A chill crept through my body.
Why was he calling now?
"Mia," Damon said sharply. "Sign first."
But I answered the call.
"Collins? What's wrong?"
His voice came out fast, shaking, terrified.
"Mia, listen to me don't sign anything! I just found something out about your mother's case. Damon isn't helping you he's using you! He-"
The call cut off.
My entire body went cold.
I lifted my eyes slowly. Damon was staring at me.
His expression was Hard, Dark and Dangerous.
"Finish signing," he said quietly. Too quietly.
My hand trembled over the paper.
"Mia," he repeated, stepping closer, "sign it."
I looked at him then at the contract.
And I realized I had just walked into something I didn't understand at all.
Something far bigger, far darker...
And far more dangerous than the man standing in front of me.
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