Chapter 4 Signed in Silence

The contract arrived before noon.

It was delivered by a man in a gray suit who spoke in clipped, professional sentences and didn't once meet Aria's eyes. He placed the folder on the dining table like it was a business proposal instead of the document that would seal her life shut.

"This is the prenuptial agreement," he said. "And the marriage contract."

Aria stared at the thick stack of papers. Her name was printed on the first page in bold letters.

Aria Cole.

Soon to be Aria Blackwood.

Her stomach twisted.

"Where's Julian?" she asked.

"He'll join you later," the lawyer replied. "For now, I'll explain the terms."

She listened as if underwater.

No emotional obligations.

No claim to Blackwood assets.

A fixed term of three years.

Absolute confidentiality.

And one line that made her fingers go cold.

Public cooperation required.

"What does that mean?" she asked quietly.

The lawyer adjusted his glasses. "You will appear as a devoted wife in public. Events. Interviews. Social functions."

"And in private?" Aria asked.

A pause.

"In private," he said carefully, "Mr. Blackwood will not interfere with your daily life-provided you follow the rules."

"What rules?"

"Do not embarrass him. Do not leave without notice. Do not develop relationships outside the marriage."

Her jaw tightened. "So I'm a prisoner."

The lawyer didn't respond.

Aria flipped through the pages, her pulse pounding with every turn. At the end, there was a space for her signature.

She picked up the pen.

Her hand shook.

"I want to see him," she said.

The lawyer hesitated, then nodded. "He's waiting."

Julian's office was nothing like her father's had been.

No warmth. No personal photos. Just glass, steel, and a city stretched endlessly behind him.

Julian stood by the window, his back to her, hands clasped behind him.

"You wanted to see me," he said without turning.

"Yes."

She walked forward until she stood a few feet behind him. "Is this what you wanted?" she asked softly. "To reduce my life to clauses and conditions?"

He finally turned.

Up close, his eyes were even darker than she remembered. Cold but not careless.

"This is the cleanest way," he said.

"For you," she replied.

Julian studied her for a moment. "You didn't have to come."

"I didn't have a choice," Aria said.

Something flickered in his expression. Annoyance? Guilt?

It vanished.

"Did you read the contract?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And you still intend to sign?"

She met his gaze, forcing her voice steady. "You promised to protect my family."

"I keep my word," Julian said.

"Even when it hurts me?" she asked.

His jaw tightened slightly. "Especially then."

The words cut deeper than she expected.

Aria turned back toward the table in the center of the room. The contract lay open, waiting.

She signed.

The ink dried quickly.

That was all it took.

No witnesses.

No vows.

No celebration.

Just a signature that erased who she used to be.

The announcement went public an hour later.

BLACKWOOD CEO TO WED MYSTERY WOMAN

Aria's phone exploded.

Messages from old friends, distant relatives, strangers who suddenly cared. Headlines speculated wildly gold digger, secret lover, arranged alliance.

She sat on the edge of her bed, numb.

Her mother called from the hospital, her voice shaky but relieved. "Julian's people took care of everything," she said. "Your father... his lawyer says there's hope."

Hope.

The word tasted bitter.

That evening, Julian's driver arrived to take her to the Blackwood estate.

Aria stood in the doorway of her childhood home one last time. The walls felt thinner now, stripped of safety.

She stepped outside.

The car door opened.

Inside, Julian waited.

He didn't look at her when she sat down.

The car pulled away.

"This is temporary," Aria said quietly, staring out the window.

Julian's voice was low, controlled. "Nothing about this is temporary."

Her heart clenched.

She turned to face him. "What do you want from me, Julian?"

At last, he looked at her.

And for the first time, there was something raw in his gaze.

"Obedience," he said. "And silence."

The gates of the Blackwood estate loomed ahead, tall and unforgiving.

As the car passed through them, Aria realized

she hadn't just signed a contract.

She had crossed into a life she might never escape.