"Three months," he said, sliding the document across the table. "You'll be my wife."
Lena almost laughed.
Not because it was funny—but because it sounded ridiculous enough to be a joke.
Except the man sitting across from her didn't joke.
Adrian Cole.
His name alone carried weight. Power. The kind of authority that made people lower their voices without realizing it.
And right now, his attention was completely on her.
"I'm sorry," Lena said slowly, leaning back in her chair. "I think I heard you wrong."
"You didn't."
His tone was calm. Certain.
Like he had already decided how this conversation would end.
Lena glanced down at the document in front of her but didn't touch it yet. Her fingers curled slightly against the table instead.
Contract Agreement.
Even from a distance, the words felt heavy.
"Why would you need something like this?" she asked.
Adrian didn't answer immediately. He studied her, his gaze sharp but unreadable.
"As far as the public is concerned," he said at last, "I need a wife."
"And you think I'm the best option?"
"I think," he corrected smoothly, "you're the most suitable."
That word again.
Suitable.
Lena let out a quiet breath, shaking her head slightly. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
His eyes flickered briefly—just for a second—before returning to her.
"You're an event planner," he continued. "Or at least, you were."
Her chest tightened.
She didn't respond.
"You ran a small business," he went on, voice steady. "Until recently."
The words landed harder than she expected.
Lena looked away this time.
Her shop.
The place she had built from nothing… gone. Lease expired. No funds to renew. No clients willing to wait.
Everything she had worked for—just slipping through her fingers.
"That's none of your business," she said quietly.
"No," Adrian agreed. "But it explains your situation."
Her jaw tightened.
"I don't need you to explain my life to me."
"Then I'll be direct."
He leaned forward slightly, his presence suddenly more intense.
"You need financial stability. Urgently."
Silence.
Lena didn't speak.
Because denying it would be pointless.
Unpaid bills. Calls she had stopped answering. The quiet, growing fear she carried every single day.
And then…
The hospital.
She pushed that thought away quickly.
Adrian watched her carefully, as if he could see every thought she was trying to hide.
"In exchange," he continued, tapping the document lightly, "you play your role. Public appearances. Events. You stay in my house when necessary."
"Act like your wife," she said.
"Yes."
The simplicity of it made it more dangerous.
Lena finally reached for the contract, her fingers brushing the edge of the paper.
"And after three months?"
"It ends."
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Just… over.
Something about that unsettled her more than it should have.
"And what's stopping me from telling people?" she asked.
Adrian's expression didn't change—but his voice dropped slightly.
"The agreement includes a confidentiality clause."
Of course it did.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you don't speak about this arrangement to anyone."
Lena let out a small breath, scanning the first page without really reading it.
"And the second rule?" she asked.
His gaze locked onto hers.
"You don't fall in love with me."
That almost made her smile.
Almost.
"You're very confident," she said.
"I'm very practical."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The air between them felt… different now.
He wasn't asking.
He was offering.
And somehow, that made it harder to refuse.
Lena stared at the paper again.
Three months.
A fake life.
A solution to problems that were already closing in on her from every side.
Her business was gone.
Her options were running out.
And time…
Time was no longer something she had.
Her fingers tightened around the pen.
This wasn't how she imagined fixing her life.
But maybe…
It was the only way left.
Slowly, she signed.
The sound of the pen against paper felt louder than it should have.
Final.
Adrian reached forward, closing the file with a quiet snap.
"Good," he said.
Then, after a brief pause—
"Welcome, Mrs. Cole."
Lena's grip on the pen loosened slightly.
And as she sat there, staring at the contract she had just signed…
She couldn't shake the feeling that this decision would change everything.