FREYA'S POV
I stared down at the thick stack of legal documents resting on the laminated diner table while the heavy silence settled over the room. Mason Kingsley simply turned his back toward me, and he walked out of the front door with Leon following closely behind him. They left me entirely alone with the harsh reality of my ruined future, and my hands trembled slightly as I reached out to touch the thick parchment paper.
"You cannot sign that ridiculous contract, Freya," Carl pleaded with genuine panic in his voice as he walked slowly out from behind the cash register. "I will figure out a way to replace the broken window, and I will find the money to pay those dangerous men so you do not have to sell your life to a ruthless billionaire. You have worked in my restaurant for three years, and I absolutely refuse to let you sacrifice your personal freedom to protect my business."
"You do not have ten thousand dollars hidden in the back room, and those violent men will absolutely return tomorrow to destroy your expensive kitchen equipment if they do not receive their payment," I reminded him gently because I refused to let him suffer for my personal financial burdens. I picked up a plastic broom from the utility closet and began to sweep the sharp shards of broken glass into a black dustpan while Carl watched me with deep sadness in his eyes. "Mason purchased the debt completely, so he owns my financial future right now, and I must accept this temporary marriage arrangement to protect you and your business from physical ruin."
"Your deceased parents would never want you to marry a terrible man just to pay off their old corporate debts," Carl argued desperately while he grabbed the broom handle to stop me from sweeping the floor. "We can go to the local police station together, and we can file an official report against those loan sharks for threatening our physical safety."
"The police cannot erase the legal debt, and they cannot protect this diner twenty-four hours a day," I countered firmly, and I pulled the broom away from his hands so I could finish cleaning the dangerous glass off the linoleum tiles. "Mason gave me exactly four hours to make my final choice before he withdraws the offer completely, and that strict deadline forces me to act without proper legal consultation. I will handle the situation carefully, and you must promise me that you will not interfere with this arrangement."
Carl tried to argue with me for another twenty minutes while we rearranged the overturned wooden chairs, but I remained completely stubborn in my final decision because I knew the loan sharks were ruthless criminals who would gladly burn the building to the ground. I untied my stained apron, and I placed the legal contract carefully inside my canvas bag so I could finally leave the restaurant.
After my work shift officially ended, I walked out the back door of the diner to begin my long journey home. I walked six blocks down the cracked concrete pavement until I reached the rusted iron gate of my apartment complex, and I observed the overflowing trash cans and the broken streetlights along the road. This neighborhood was dangerous and depressing, but the low monthly rent allowed my best friend and me to survive on our meager waitressing salaries. I climbed three flights of steep concrete stairs, and my leg muscles ached intensely from standing behind the counter for ten continuous hours. I unlocked the wooden door with my brass key to enter the small, cramped apartment I shared with Talia.
The interior of the apartment was incredibly warm because the window air conditioning unit was completely broken, so I immediately removed my worn canvas sneakers and placed them neatly beside the entrance to cool my aching feet. I walked into the tiny kitchen area, and I washed my hands thoroughly with cheap soap before I filled a scratched metal pot with cold tap water. I placed the heavy pot onto the electric stove and turned the plastic dial to the highest heat setting, and then I waited patiently for the water to boil while I opened a cardboard box of dry pasta. I poured the rigid noodles into the bubbling water and stirred them with a wooden spoon so they would not stick to the bottom of the pot. I opened a glass jar of cheap tomato sauce, and I poured the red liquid into a separate pan to heat it thoroughly because I needed a hot meal to settle my nervous stomach before I made the most important phone call of my entire life.
The front door opened suddenly, and Talia walked into the apartment carrying her own stained waitressing apron over her shoulder. She dropped her heavy canvas tote bag onto the worn fabric sofa and walked directly into the kitchen to inspect the food I was preparing on the stove.
"I am incredibly exhausted, and I am very glad you decided to cook dinner tonight because I do not have the energy to prepare anything," Talia said while she reached into the wooden cabinet to retrieve two ceramic bowls.
"I cooked enough pasta for both of us, but I need you to sit down at the kitchen table because I have to show you something very important," I instructed her while I turned off the electric stove and transferred the hot food into the two bowls.
Talia noticed the serious expression on my face, and she immediately sat down on the mismatched wooden chair without asking any unnecessary questions. I placed the bowls of hot food onto the table, and then I walked over to my canvas bag to retrieve the thick legal document. I placed the contract directly next to her ceramic bowl, and I waited in complete silence while she read the bold black letters printed on the very first page.
"What exactly is this document, Freya?" Talia asked with total confusion in her voice as she flipped the page to read the secondary clauses. "This paper states that you are agreeing to a legally binding marriage with Mason Kingsley, and it outlines a massive financial transaction."
"The loan sharks visited the diner this afternoon to demand the ten thousand dollars I owe them, and they threatened to destroy Carl's entire restaurant," I explained while I sat down across from her and picked up my metal fork. "Mason walked into the building and paid the men immediately, but he purchased my debt in the process. He needs a temporary wife to secure his corporate inheritance from his father, so he is forcing me to marry him for exactly one year, and he will pay me five million dollars when the contract expires."
Talia dropped the paper onto the table, and her brown eyes widened in absolute horror. "You absolutely cannot sign this legal document because Mason Kingsley is a completely ruthless corporate tyrant who will destroy your emotional well-being without a second thought. He views people as disposable objects, and he will treat you terribly while you live inside his massive estate."
"I already know he is an arrogant and miserable person, but I am not marrying him for romantic love or affection," I argued while I mixed the warm tomato sauce into my pasta. "I am signing this contract to protect Carl from physical violence, and the final payment will give me enough money to open my own community bakery downtown. I will never have to worry about violent loan sharks or extreme poverty ever again once this single year is over, so I must endure his terrible personality to secure my financial freedom."
"One year is a very long time to live with a man who despises your working-class background, and he will use his immense wealth to control every single aspect of your daily life," Talia warned me sincerely because she cared deeply about my physical and emotional safety. "He has an entire team of expensive lawyers who probably hid terrible conditions inside this document, and you will be completely trapped in his high-society world. His wealthy family members will likely insult you constantly, and you will have no allies inside that massive mansion."
"I am already trapped by my massive financial debt, so I might as well use his desperate corporate situation to fund my own future," I stated firmly, and I refused to let her negative warnings change my mind because my decision was already finalized.
I stood up from the wooden table and walked over to the kitchen drawer to find a cheap plastic ballpoint pen. I carried the pen back to the table and flipped the thick document directly to the final signature page. I did not allow myself to hesitate or think about the terrifying consequences of my actions, and I pressed the blue ink against the white paper to sign my full legal name on the dotted line.
I picked up the heavy cardstock business card Leon had left on the diner table, and I pulled my mobile phone from my denim pocket. I dialed Mason's private telephone number, and the line rang twice before he answered the call.
"I signed your ridiculous contract to save my employer, but you will transfer the first installment of the money into my bank account tomorrow morning, or I will tear this legal document into pieces," I spoke aggressively into the phone while I glared at the kitchen wall.
Mason replied through the speaker in a completely flat tone that lacked any human warmth. "The financial transfer is already complete, and Leon is currently waiting outside your apartment building to collect you, so you must pack your belongings because you are moving into my house tonight."