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The CEO Fell for His Dead Wife
img img The CEO Fell for His Dead Wife img Chapter 6 The Contract
6 Chapters
Chapter 11 The Woman Who Lived img
Chapter 12 Ashes to Armor img
Chapter 13 The Past Stirs img
Chapter 14 Echoes img
Chapter 15 Five Years Later img
Chapter 16 The Twins at Dawn img
Chapter 17 A Name That Stayed Buried img
Chapter 18 Fame Without Roots img
Chapter 19 The Children's Demand img
Chapter 20 The Email from the Dead img
Chapter 21 Conditions and Boundaries img
Chapter 22 Arrival img
Chapter 23 Flora's Gratitude img
Chapter 24 Damian Harrison, Groom-to-Be img
Chapter 25 The Children Roam img
Chapter 26 A Father's Instinct img
Chapter 27 Regina's Breakdown img
Chapter 28 Sasha's Suspicion img
Chapter 29 Blood Never Lies img
Chapter 30 The Call Without a Face img
Chapter 31 A MEETING WITHOUT NAMES img
Chapter 32 THE FAMILIAR STRANGER img
Chapter 33 THE NIGHT THAT WON'T STAY BURIED img
Chapter 34 THE MAN WHO CAUSED HER RUIN img
Chapter 35 CONFESSION WITHOUT A NAME img
Chapter 36 THE LIFE HE WASN'T MEANT TO SEE img
Chapter 37 THE TRUTH THAT SHATTERS HIM img
Chapter 38 A FATHER WITHOUT THE RIGHT img
Chapter 39 THE ENGAGEMENT HE DESTROYS img
Chapter 40 THE WOMAN WHO DIDN'T BREAK img
Chapter 41 UNDER THE SAME ROOF img
Chapter 42 REGRET HAS A NAME img
Chapter 43 THE DOOR SHE DOESN'T CLOSE img
Chapter 44 THE QUESTIONS SHE DOESN'T ASK ALOUD img
Chapter 45 WHAT SILENCE HIDES img
Chapter 46 CLOSE, BUT CROOKED img
Chapter 47 THE AIR BEFORE THE STORM img
Chapter 48 TAKING RESPONSIBILITY img
Chapter 49 UNDER THE SAME ROOF img
Chapter 50 THE NAME PEOPLE LOWER THEIR VOICES FOR img
Chapter 51 THE WAY THE WORLD MAKES SPACE img
Chapter 52 A REPUTATION THAT PROTECTS ITSELF img
Chapter 53 THE PAST SHE DOESN'T OFFER img
Chapter 54 ADMIRATION WITHOUT PERMISSION img
Chapter 55 THE FIGHT WITHOUT VOLUME img
Chapter 56 WHEN STAYING BECOMES A THREAT img
Chapter 57 LOVE IS NOT NEUTRAL img
Chapter 58 THE PROPOSAL THAT ISN'T ROMANTIC img
Chapter 59 THE LIVING DEAD img
Chapter 60 A WEAKNESS THAT NO LONGER EXISTS img
Chapter 61 THE REUNION TRAP img
Chapter 62 THE WOMAN WHO NEVER PANICS img
Chapter 63 A HOSTESS LOSING CONTROL img
Chapter 64 THE SMILE THAT MEANS WAR img
Chapter 65 THE EVIDENCE VAULT img
Chapter 66 THE SECRET THAT SHOULD HAVE STAYED BURIED img
Chapter 67 The Space He Forgot to Guard img
Chapter 68 THE EVIDENCE UNFOLDS img
Chapter 69 The Man Who Learned Her Silences img
Chapter 70 The Line She Refuses to Cross img
Chapter 71 The Night Regina Died img
Chapter 72 The Child No One Claimed img
Chapter 73 The Woman She Built Alone img
Chapter 74 The Fear That Wakes Too Late img
Chapter 75 The Plan That Requires Patience img
Chapter 76 The World That Turns Quiet img
Chapter 77 Two Equals at Last img
Chapter 78 The Man Who Didn't Hide His Eyes img
Chapter 79 The Question He Avoided for Years img
Chapter 80 A Mother Made of Light img
Chapter 81 Blood on the Mirror img
Chapter 82 The Woman Who Didn't Flinch img
Chapter 83 The Night They Finally Chose Each Other img
Chapter 84 Strength Without Armor img
Chapter 85 A Legacy Built on Blood img
Chapter 86 Love Walking Toward the Blade img
Chapter 87 The Truth That Can End Everything img
Chapter 88 The Silence After the Truth img
Chapter 89 The Cost of Standing Still img
Chapter 90 The First Crack in Love img
Chapter 91 The Public That Smells Blood img
Chapter 92 The Night Regina Packs img
Chapter 93 Love Without Leverage img
Chapter 94 The Name Helen Protects img
Chapter 95 When Love Is No Longer Safe img
Chapter 96 Two Titans, One Woman Between img
Chapter 97 The Trap Within the Trap img
Chapter 98 A Past That Slips img
Chapter 99 The Arrest That Changes the Game img
Chapter 100 The Man Who Makes Enemies Permanently img
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Chapter 6 The Contract

The document was heavier than it looked.

Regina stared at the folder resting on the polished mahogany table, its dark blue cover embossed with a silver crest she didn't recognize-but somehow already hated. The room smelled faintly of leather and expensive cologne. Everything about this place screamed power, control, and finality.

Across from her sat two lawyers. Beside her sat her parents.

Sasha was not there.

"You may review the terms," the older lawyer said smoothly, sliding the folder closer to Regina. "Though the agreement has already been approved by both families."

Approved.

Not *discussed*. Not *negotiated*.

Approved.

Regina's fingers trembled as she opened the folder. Page after page of legal language stared back at her-clauses, conditions, obligations. She scanned them slowly, her chest tightening with every line.

**No public refusal.**

**No scandal.**

**No pregnancy prior to official announcement.**

**Obedience to public appearances as required.**

Her vision blurred.

"This is... a contract," she said quietly. "Not a marriage."

The younger lawyer smiled politely. "In families like yours, Miss Gray, there is no difference."

Her mother placed a manicured hand over Regina's wrist. The touch was light, almost affectionate-and completely restraining.

"This is an honor," she said softly. "Do not embarrass us."

Regina looked up at her father. "Have I ever?" she asked, unable to stop herself.

He didn't answer.

That was answer enough.

---

The Harrison estate loomed larger than Regina expected.

She stood at the gates later that afternoon, her breath shallow as she took in the towering iron bars, the perfectly trimmed hedges, the guards stationed like silent sentinels. This was where Damian Harrison lived.

Where her future had already begun-without her.

She wasn't there to meet him.

Not yet.

This visit was symbolic, her mother had said. A reminder. A warning.

"The Harrisons value order," her mother whispered as they walked the stone path. "You would do well to remember that."

Inside, the house was quiet. Too quiet.

A staff member led them through corridors that felt cold despite the warm lighting. Regina's footsteps echoed, each one sounding like a countdown.

She wondered what kind of man lived in a place like this.

Someone cruel?

Someone distant?

Someone who wouldn't care that she had been forced into his life?

She almost hoped so. Indifference would hurt less than contempt.

"He is not here," the staff member said finally. "Mr. Harrison is... occupied."

Regina exhaled without realizing she'd been holding her breath.

Occupied.

The word lingered.

---

That night, Regina couldn't sleep.

She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, the contract's words replaying endlessly in her mind. Marriage. Duty. Silence.

She felt like she was slowly disappearing.

Her phone buzzed.

A message from Sasha.

**Sasha:**

*I heard everything went smoothly today. I knew you'd handle it well.*

Regina stared at the screen, her fingers numb.

**Regina:**

*Did you ever consider saying no?*

The reply came almost instantly.

**Sasha:**

*Why would I? This is your strength, Regina. You endure. I shine.*

Regina closed her eyes.

That was it.

The final confirmation that she was alone.

---

By the third day, the walls felt like they were closing in.

Her lectures blurred together. Her notes made no sense. Even the library-once her refuge-felt suffocating.

That was when Harris approached her again.

"You don't look well," he said gently, sitting across from her.

"I'm fine," Regina replied automatically.

He studied her for a moment. "You always say that. But you don't mean it."

She almost laughed. Almost cried.

"I just need... air," she said suddenly, standing.

"Then take it," Harris said. "Come out tonight. Just for a drink. No expectations."

Regina hesitated.

Her mother's voice echoed in her mind.

*No scandal. No mistakes.*

But something inside her snapped.

"One drink," she said.

---

The bar was dimly lit, pulsing softly with music and life. It was nothing like the places her family frequented. No judgment. No expectations. Just strangers existing freely.

Regina felt out of place-and strangely alive.

She ordered a drink she'd never had before and sat alone, watching the crowd. For the first time in days, her chest loosened.

Then she felt it.

A presence.

She looked up.

He stood at the bar a few feet away, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up, his posture relaxed in a way that felt dangerous. His face was half-shadowed, but his eyes-

They were watching her.

Not dismissively.

Not possessively.

Intently.

Regina's breath caught.

There was something familiar about him. Not his face-she would have remembered that-but the weight of his gaze. Like he could see the fracture lines beneath her skin.

Their eyes met.

And the world seemed to tilt.

She didn't know his name.

She didn't know who he was.

She only knew one thing with terrifying certainty-

This man was about to change everything.

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