Chapter 4 The Contract

Isabella

"Declan?"

I wasn't expecting him to reach out so soon, or at all. After what he'd done, I thought he would be the last person to contact me. My fingers trembled as I stared at the screen again, the message burning into my mind. What does he want from me? Hasn't he done enough? I hissed and put back the phone into my purse.

I walked through the quiet streets, my mind racing. The pain in my heart felt unbearable, but I refused to let it consume me. As I walked, I was beginning to think about what to do next.

After a while, I found myself at a small café. I can smell coffee everywhere. I sat at a table by the window, hoping to find some peace.

But as I cast my gaze outside the window to the street, my thoughts took me back to Declan and Annabella."Why would they do this to me?" I whispered to herself, feeling the hot tears falling on my cheeks. Just then, my phone buzzed again in my purse, bringing me out of my thoughts. It was a message from Kate, my best friend. "Are you okay? I saw you run out. I'm worried."

I sighed and typed back quickly. "I'm fine. Just needed some air."

But I wasn't fine. I felt lost and betrayed. As I sat in the café, I thought about how Annabella had always wanted what was mine. The jealousy had always been there, but now it felt like a knife in my back.

Suddenly, a plan began to form in my head. I wouldn't just sit back and let them hurt me like this. No, I must do something quickly. But what can I do? I quickly ordered a cup of coffee.

The waiter brought the coffee, and I paid for it. As I sipped my coffee, and then bent my head forward trying to arrange my hair behind, lifting my head, I saw a tall figure standing in front of me. He had dark hair and a confident smile. I recognized him immediately, it's the guy from the previous night. Fuck! What's he doing here? Has he been following me? I thought I had hidden from him.

"Hello!" he said, stretching his hand towards me for a handshake. Just then, he noticed my eyes had been red from crying. "Are you okay?" I forced a smile, trying to hide my pain. "Yeah, just taking a break."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me. "You don't look fine. Your eyes are red and swollen. Do you want to talk about it?"

I smiled, asking him to sit down if he wishes. There's something about his presence that makes me feel a little better. He didn't hesitate as he sat on the chair facing me.

I coughed to clear my throat, "I want revenge on them."

He looked surprised. "Revenge on who?"

I sighed, feeling a mix of sadness and frustration. "It's just hard to believe that Declan would do this to me. And with Annabella, of all people. As if that wasn't enough,he had the guts to accuse me of cheating after rejecting me publicly."

He smiled, calling the waiter for a cup of coffee and then turned to me again, "family can be complicated."

I nodded in agreement, but my mind was racing.

"People have different things they want in life. This is me looking for someone to make my wife for business purposes. We do lots of things for our family." He sipped his coffee.

How can he not have a relationship? Why is he looking for a wife, maybe...

"Hello!" His voice brought me back from my thoughts. And I gazed at him "I don't care anymore, all I want is to make them pay for what they did."

He stared at me with so much seriousness in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I want to live again," I said, my voice shaking. "I can't let them win. I want to show them that I'm not just some victim."

He leaned back in his chair, with so much focus on me, "What do you have in mind?"

I took a deep breath, leaning forward, I whispered. "I want you! I want you to help me get back at Declan and Annabella."

He immediately adjusted the collar of his white as if what I said was coming from there, he then asked me how he would be of help to me.

"I want to be in an open relationship with you, and..."

He laughed like I was making some kind of serious joke, "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded. "I want a contract marriage."

He leaned forward too with a hint of surprise crossing his face."A contract marriage? With whom?"

Immediately, I looked him in the eye, feeling a rush of courage. "With you."

He paused, clearly taken aback. "Me? Why would you want that?"

"Because you need something too. You want a wife for a business purpose and I need a man to get back at my betrayers, so we both need this marriage, right? We could help each other," I explained, my mind racing with possibilities.

The place was quiet and he then broke the silence, with a mix of curiosity and caution in his eyes, he uttered. "It's a risky move."

I nodded. "I know it is. But I need to do something. I can't keep feeling like this."

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. "Okay, let's talk about it. But we need to set some ground rules."

A sense of relief washed over me as I let out a deep breath. "Thank you!"

Yes! This is my chance to take control, to show Declan and Annabella that I won't back down.

Immediately, we began to discuss the details of our contract marriage and how a lawyer would help with the process. I became hopeful again for the first time since the betrayal.

I was ready to fight back, Annabella will not always get away with her greed and Declan must pay for humiliating me in that manner.

Just as we were about to finalize the details, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, his face looked worried.

"I have to take this," he said, excusing himself.

I watched him step outside, pacing as he spoke. Something about his body language made me uneasy. What was going on? A chill ran down my spine as I realized, maybe he had his own secrets. Could I really trust him?

When he came back, his expression was unreadable. "We might have a problem," he said, picking up his file and walking away.

My heart skipped a bit.