Chapter 4 The Decision

Caelen Pov

I didn't sleep at all.

Lying on my back, I watched the ceiling fade from black to gray, counting familiar cracks I knew by heart. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind filled with my mother's face in the ICU, pale, still, machines breathing for her. After a while, I stopped trying. Lying there with my eyes closed wasn't rest anyway.

At six, the alarm sounded unnecessary. I turned it off and sat up, stiff and slow, my body lagging behind my thoughts.

Sebastian's number was already on my screen. I must have pulled it up before dawn, when focusing on details felt safer than feeling anything at all.

I stared at the screen longer than needed before pressing call.

It rang once.

"Mr. Ryn," Sebastian said, alert, as if he'd been waiting. "I wasn't sure you'd call."

"I will," I said, surprising myself with a steady voice. "I'll do it. I'll marry him."

He didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice sounded different.

"I'll send a car at seven. Pack only essentials, clothes, and personal items. Everything else will be provided."

"My mother's surgery," I blurted faster than I intended. "When will it happen?"

"This afternoon," he replied. "The medical team is ready. Once the contract is signed, everything proceeds immediately."

I swallowed. "When do I meet Aldric?"

"At the signing," Sebastian said. "Nine a.m. at Fenmore Group headquarters. You'll have legal representation and time to review the contract."

"I don't have a lawyer."

"One will be provided. Mr. Fenmore insists the contract is legally sound. No future claims of coercion."

Of course he does, I thought.

"Fine," I said. "Seven."

"Caelen," Sebastian said.

It was the first time he used my name.

"Yes?"

"For what it's worth," he added carefully, "you're making the right choice."

The line went dead.

I packed in silence.

***

My suitcase looked too small on the bed. It felt wrong that everything I owned fit inside it. I folded clothes that still faintly smelled of detergent and cheap fabric softener. Everything fit too easily.

I added toiletries, my charger, and my laptop. Then I hesitated, reaching for the photo albums, my parents on their wedding day, my mother smiling at graduation, her hand on my shoulder. I slid the acceptance letter from the marketing firm between the pages, even though it meant nothing now.

At the last second, I grabbed the small stuffed bear from the closet. I hadn't touched it in years, but I couldn't leave it behind.

I walked through the apartment one last time. The desk. The kitchen. The window. The bed. Every corner held something I wasn't ready to leave.

I shut the door quietly behind me.

The car arrived exactly at seven.

The man waiting outside nodded and took my suitcase without a word, though his eyes flickered at its size. The car was sleek, quiet, with soft classical music playing.

As we drove, the city slipped past, my favorite café, campus, and my mother's apartment. I looked away when it disappeared from view.

My phone buzzed.

Hey. How's your mom? Want to grab coffee later?

I stared at the message until the screen dimmed, then turned off the phone.

***

Fenmore Group rose above everything else, all glass and steel, impossible to miss. The car vanished into a private entrance, and I was escorted through security into an elevator that moved smoothly upward.

Sebastian was waiting when the doors opened.

"You look exhausted," he said.

"I didn't sleep."

He nodded as if that was expected. "Coffee?"

"Yes."

The conference room was vast and quiet, sunlight pouring through floor-to-ceiling windows. The city looked small from here. Sebastian poured coffee and slid a cup toward me.

"The legal team will arrive soon," he said. "Mr. Fenmore will join us at nine."

"What's he like?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Sebastian considered. "Private. Controlled. He doesn't waste words."

"Will he be cold?"

"I don't know," Sebastian said. Some people stay cold because it's easier," he said. Whether he takes it off depends on many things."

The lawyers arrived. The contract was thick. Angela went through the contract slowly, stopping whenever I tensed. Separate bedrooms. No forced intimacy. My mother's care is covered for life.

By the time Aldric Fenmore entered, my hands were damp.

He was taller and broader than I expected. His presence filled the room effortlessly. His gaze settled on me.

"You're smaller than the file indicated," he said.

That was the first thing he said.

We shook hands. His grip was firm, impersonal. He sat, glanced at his watch, and nodded at the papers.

"Any questions?"

I had hundreds.

"No," I said.

He signed without hesitation.

I followed.

My hand shook as I signed.

When it was over, he stood. "The wedding is tomorrow. Sebastian will give details. Your room is prepared."

"My mother's surgery," I blurted.

"Scheduled for 1 p.m. You'll be informed," he said.

He paused at the door. "Welcome to the Fenmore family."

Then he left.

The estate was larger than I'd imagined, with manicured grounds, fountains, and staff moving silently and efficiently.

My room was bigger than my entire apartment.

When Sebastian called to say the surgery went perfectly, I sank onto the bed, pressing my face into my hands. I didn't know whether to breathe or cry, so I did both.

That night, alone in the silence, I stared at the ceiling.

Tomorrow, my name won't belong only to me.

I closed my eyes.

I did not sleep.