Chapter 2 The contract she was meant to refuse.

Ariella didn't open the folder right away.

She stood there, fingers resting lightly on the edge of the paper, as though it might bite if she touched it too firmly. Lucien Blackwood had already turned back to the window, his attention apparently returned to the city below, as if the decision before her was a minor inconvenience rather than the axis on which her life was about to tilt.

"You summoned me," she said finally. "The least you can do is explain."

Lucien didn't turn around. "Explanations invite arguments."

"And threats invite resistance."

A corner of his mouth twitched-not quite a smile. "Yet here you are."

That irritated her more than his indifference.

Ariella pulled the folder closer and flipped it open.

The first page was clean. White. Precise. No dramatic headings. No emotional language.

Just facts.

Marriage Agreement.

Her breath caught despite herself.

She skimmed the page quickly, then again, slower this time. Legal language flowed in neat, merciless paragraphs. Terms. Obligations. Duration. Confidentiality clauses so thick they felt like walls closing in.

"This is insane," she said quietly.

Lucien turned at last, leaning against the desk, arms folded. "It's legal."

"That's not the same thing."

"For my lawyers, it is."

She swallowed and kept reading.

No romance clauses. No promises of affection. No requirement for intimacy-something that startled her more than she cared to admit. Instead, the document focused on public conduct, discretion, residence requirements, and control of information.

Her chest tightened.

"You want to own me," she said.

"I want to protect what I'm responsible for."

"I am not one of your assets."

Lucien's gaze sharpened. "You became my responsibility the moment your family crossed paths with mine."

Ariella snapped the folder shut. "We didn't cross paths. You ran us over."

Silence fell again.

This time, Lucien didn't break it immediately. When he did, his voice was lower. Heavier.

"You think this is about punishment," he said. "It's not."

"Then what is it about?"

"Containment."

The word settled between them like ash.

Ariella laughed, the sound brittle. "You talk about me like I'm a liability."

"You are," he said calmly. "Just not in the way you think."

Her heart hammered. "You don't get to decide my life because your enemies exist."

His eyes darkened. "You don't get to pretend they don't."

She looked away, forcing herself to breathe. The city stretched endlessly outside the windows, bright and indifferent.

"You said my mother's accounts were flagged," Ariella said. "Was that you?"

"No."

"But you can fix it."

"Yes."

The simplicity of his answer chilled her.

"And if I don't sign?"

Lucien didn't hesitate. "Then I step back."

Her stomach dropped. "You let them destroy us?"

"I stop interfering."

"That's the same thing."

"No," he corrected. "It's worse."

Her fingers curled into fists. "You're forcing me."

"I'm offering you the only path that doesn't end badly."

She stared at him, fury and fear tangling in her chest. "For who?"

"For everyone," Lucien said. "Including you."

She reopened the folder, this time flipping through page after page. Every clause tightened the invisible net around her. She was expected to live in his residence. Attend public functions as his wife. Present unity. Silence.

"So I smile," she said bitterly. "And play the part."

"You survive," he corrected.

Her jaw clenched. "And when I stop being useful?"

Lucien's gaze held hers. "Then we renegotiate."

That wasn't reassuring.

"How long?" she asked.

"One year," he replied. "With options."

"Options," she echoed hollowly.

"Yes."

She closed the folder again and pressed her palms against the desk. "Why me, Lucien?"

He hesitated.

Just for a second.

That was all it took for her to notice.

"You knew my father," she said slowly.

His expression shuttered. "I knew of him."

"You knew exactly what would happen when your company moved against his."

"I knew consequences were inevitable."

Her voice shook. "And you didn't care."

"I cared about outcomes."

She shook her head. "You destroyed people."

"I protected more than I destroyed."

Her laugh was soft, broken. "You say that like it matters."

Lucien stepped closer, lowering his voice. "It matters because if I hadn't intervened when I did, your family wouldn't be facing financial ruin. They'd be facing something far worse."

Her pulse raced. "What does that mean?"

"It means the attention on you was not accidental."

The air felt suddenly too thin.

"You're saying someone else did this?" she whispered.

"I'm saying you were collateral."

Her knees weakened slightly. She gripped the desk harder.

"And marrying you fixes that?"

"It puts you under my protection," he said. "Publicly. Legally. Permanently-for the duration of the contract."

"And that scares them?"

"It deters them."

She closed her eyes briefly, fighting the urge to scream.

"So my choices are marry the man who ruined me," she said, "or risk losing everything anyway."

"Yes."

The honesty hurt most of all.

A knock sounded at the door.

Lucien straightened. "Come in."

A woman stepped inside-elegant, composed, carrying a tablet. "Mr. Blackwood. The legal team is ready."

Lucien nodded. "Give us ten minutes."

The woman glanced at Ariella, unreadable, then left.

Ariella looked back at Lucien. "They're already prepared."

"They don't waste time."

"So this was always going to happen."

"Yes."

Her throat burned. "You never intended to let me walk away."

"No."

She sank into the chair opposite his desk, suddenly exhausted. The weight of the moment pressed down on her, crushing and inescapable.

"My mother," she said quietly. "She doesn't know."

"She won't," Lucien replied. "No one will."

"That's part of the deal."

"Yes."

She picked up the pen resting beside the folder.

Her hand trembled.

"What happens after I sign?" she asked.

Lucien watched her closely. "You move into Blackwood House tonight."

Tonight.

Her head snapped up. "That's not-"

"You'll need security immediately."

"You didn't say that."

"I didn't need to."

Her fingers tightened around the pen. "You plan everything."

"I account for variables."

"I'm not a variable."

Lucien met her gaze steadily. "You are now."

The pen hovered over the paper.

Ariella's thoughts raced-her mother's tired smile, her brother's anger, the endless calls she couldn't answer. The fear that had followed her for months, tightening with every passing day.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you," she said.

Lucien's expression softened just enough to be dangerous. "I don't expect forgiveness."

"It doesn't mean I trust you."

"I don't require trust."

"And it doesn't mean I belong to you."

His eyes held hers. "Legally, you will."

The pen touched the paper.

Her signature flowed out shakily, each letter feeling like a step off a cliff.

When she finished, she dropped the pen as though it burned.

Lucien picked up the contract, scanning it quickly. Then he nodded.

"It's done."

Ariella stood, her legs unsteady. "So that's it."

"For now."

She turned toward the door, anger and grief swirling together.

"Ariella."

She stopped.

Lucien's voice was quieter now. "You should know one thing."

She looked back.

"This marriage may have saved your family," he said. "But it just made you a target."

Her stomach sank.

"Target for who?" she asked.

Lucien's gaze darkened.

"For the people who won't stop until they take something from me that I can't replace."

Her breath caught. "And that is?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he opened the door and gestured toward the waiting corridor.

"Welcome to Blackwood," he said softly. "Mrs. Blackwood."

The title echoed in her ears as she stepped into the hallway.

And for the first time since the call at 9:47 p.m., Ariella realized-

Signing the contract wasn't the end.

It was the beginning of something far more dangerous.