Chapter 1: Terminated
The laughter was the worst part.
It echoed across the glass-walled conference room as if it had been rehearsed.
“Elena Carter, your performance has been… disappointing.”
The words were smooth. Controlled.
Delivered with corporate politeness.
But the smirk on her manager’s face told a different story.
Elena stood frozen at the head of the long mahogany table, thirty pairs of eyes watching her humiliation unfold.
“I—I stayed overtime every night this week,” she managed quietly.
“And yet,” her manager replied, sliding a folder toward her, “the board has decided to go in another direction.”
A thin white envelope.
Termination notice.
Effective immediately.
The room blurred for a second.
Someone whispered.
Someone else chuckled.
She didn’t cry.
Not here.
Not in front of them.
She gathered her things with shaking hands, her file slipping from her grasp as she rushed toward the door.
Papers scattered across the polished marble floor.
And a pair of black leather shoes stopped in front of them.
Elena froze.
Slowly, she looked up.
Tall.
Impeccably dressed.
Tailored charcoal suit.
Cold gray eyes.
Adrian Blackwood.
She recognized him instantly.
The heir.
The future CEO.
The man employees barely saw unless something serious was happening.
He bent down and picked up one of the fallen papers.
His gaze skimmed it.
Termination letter.
Another slip of paper.
Hospital invoice.
Final notice: Payment required within 72 hours.
His eyes lifted to hers.
They were unreadable.
“You dropped these,” he said, voice low and smooth.
She quickly snatched the papers back, embarrassed.
“That’s none of your concern.”
His gaze didn’t move.
“You were dismissed.”
It wasn’t a question.
Her throat tightened. “Yes.”
Silence stretched between them inside the elevator.
The doors closed.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She hesitated before answering.
“Miss Carter? This is St. Mary’s Hospital regarding your mother.”
Her heart stopped.
“We’ve tried reaching you. The payment for her treatment is overdue. If we don’t receive confirmation within seventy-two hours, we’ll have to suspend the procedure.”
Her breath hitched.
“No, please. I—I just lost my job. I’ll find a way. Please don’t stop her treatment.”
The call ended.
The elevator felt too small.
Too tight.
Too suffocating.
She pressed her forehead briefly against the cool metal wall.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not today.
Not all at once.
When she turned...
He was watching her.
Not with pity.
With calculation.
“You need money,” Adrian said calmly.
Her jaw tightened. “I’ll manage.”
“How?”
The single word sliced through her pride.
“That’s not your problem.”
The elevator doors opened to the underground parking lot.
He stepped out first.
She followed, because she had nowhere else to go.
Then he stopped walking.
Turned.
Looked directly at her.
“I have a proposal for you.”
Her chest tightened.
“I don’t take charity.”
“It isn’t charity.”
He stepped closer.
Not too close.
Just enough.
“I need a wife.”
Silence.
Her brows drew together. “Excuse me?”
“A contractual marriage. You will play the role of my wife. In return, I will settle your mother’s hospital bills. All of them.”
Her mind refused to process the words.
“You’re insane.”
“Perhaps,” he replied smoothly. “But you’re desperate.”
Anger flared in her chest.
“I would never”
“Seventy-two hours,” he interrupted.
“That’s what they gave you.”
Her heart dropped.
He had heard.
Of course he had heard.
He held her gaze steadily.
“No love. No expectations. A performance. That is all.”
The air between them shifted.
Her phone buzzed again.
A reminder notification from the hospital portal.
Payment due.
Her hands trembled.
He slipped a sleek black business card from his pocket and held it out to her.
“My answer won’t change,” he said quietly. “But your options will.”
She stared at the card.
Adrian Blackwood.
Blackwood Holdings.
Cold.
Untouchable.
Dangerous.
“This is crazy,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
He stepped back.
“But it will save your mother.”
And for the first time that day—
Elena Carter didn’t know what scared her more.
Losing her pride.
Or losing her mother.
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