Edward Carter sat calmly, watching the father-daughter drama like it was a movie. His brown eyes remained fixed on both of them.
Emily's eyes met Edward's, and she immediately redirected her anger toward him.
"Why would you do something like this?" she demanded.
"Your father made the offer. Since he couldn't pay his debt, I accepted."
"You would've rejected it," she growled.
"He owes me, Cupcake," he interrupted calmly. "And in my world, everything has a price."
"How much?" she asked.
"Five million dollars."
His words sent goosebumps across her skin.
"Fi...five million?"
Her father grabbed her wrist, squeezing it tightly. "Stop the drama and sign the papers."
Emily forcefully pulled her hand away.
"You want to gamble away my life just like you did with yours?"
"Watch your words!" her father spat, his eyes filled with fury.
"My words?" She smiled bitterly. "You are giving your daughter away like an object, and you're worried about my words?"
Her heart broke as she looked at the man she had spent her entire life desperately trying to please.
"Well, I'm not agreeing to it," she said firmly.
"Enough!" He slammed his hand against the desk. "I said enough, girl. Just sign the goddamn papers!"
Silence filled the room.
"I am not signing anything," Emily repeated, her voice echoing through the room.
Her father's gaze darkened.
"You ungrateful child," he spat. "Do you have any idea what kind of problem we're in?"
"It's your problem, not ours."
"I WILL DIE if you don't sign the contract!"
His words echoed through the room.
Emily trembled.
Fear slowly crept into her chest, tightening it until she struggled to breathe. She turned toward her father and saw something she rarely saw in his eyes.
He looked terrified.
"This is insane," she whispered.
Her father walked toward her and gently took her hands.
"Emily... please," he pleaded. "Even if it's the last thing you ever do for me, I would forever be grateful."
Her anger weakened.
Then, to her shock, her father fell to his knees.
Emily stared at him in disbelief.
For almost twenty years, this man had barely regarded her feelings. He had never treated her like his daughter. Yet, despite everything he'd caused her, she still loved him.
She came to a painful realization that she could hate what he'd done to her, but not hate him.
A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head. She picked up the contract and slowly lifted the pen.
The entire room fell silent as she signed the papers, tears filling her eyes.
"Debt paid, right?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"We've got an agreement, Princess," Edward interrupted.
His gaze shifted toward her father.
"You are free. You can leave."
Her father released a relieved breath.
"Enjoy yourself, girl," he said nonchalantly before walking out of the room.
Emily watched him leave, and not once did he look back. That hurt her more than she wanted to admit.
She lowered her gaze to the contract in her hands, realizing that she had just signed away seven years of her life.
*****
Four months had passed since Emily signed the contract with Edward Carter.
After countless disagreements, she had slowly begun to understand that the arrangement wasn't as terrible as she had initially imagined.
At first, Emily saw it as the end of her dreams.
She had believed Edward would treat her like property because that was exactly what the contract made her sound like, but he never did.
Although the contract stated that she would be his servant, Edward never treated her like one.
To his family, she was his wife, in his office, she was his personal assistant. Behind closed doors, she was his secret wife and lover of the most powerful man in California.
The first few weeks had been difficult.
Emily did not know how to behave around him. She was constantly waiting for him to remind her of the contract or demand something from her.
But Edward surprised her.
He never forced her to do anything she didn't want to do.
He gave her a room of her own, bought her clothes when he noticed she was uncomfortable wearing some of the things she had brought with her, and even made sure she had everything she needed.
He had a strange way of caring for her without making it obvious. Whenever they went out together, he never allowed her to walk behind him.
He always kept her beside him.
And whenever someone asked about her, he introduced her with a confidence that often left her speechless.
"She is my woman."
Those words always made her heart skip a beat.
At first, she had assumed he was only doing it because of their arrangement.
But slowly, she began noticing the little things.
And it made her realize that Edward Carter was not the cold, heartless man she had expected him to be.
He was still arrogant, controlling, and incredibly infuriating, but there was another side of him that only she seemed to see.
And that side of him became difficult to resist.
Emily had also become more comfortable around him.
Their arguments had reduced, replaced by playful bickering and quiet conversations that sometimes led to crazy lovemaking. There were nights when they sat together watching movies together.
Edward had a way of making her feel cared for without asking for anything in return.
And that was the most dangerous part.
Because somewhere along the line, Emily stopped seeing him as the stranger she had been forced to marry. She began seeing the man behind the contract.
The man who made her laugh when she wanted to cry.The man who stood beside her when she felt alone.
The man whose presence had become comforting and safe. Before she realized what was happening, Emily had begun to fall for him. She didn't know when it happened.
She only knew that whenever Edward walked into a room, her eyes searched for him. Whenever he touched her, her heart reacted before her mind could stop it.
And whenever he was away for too long, she found herself wondering when he would return.
The contract is supposed to last for seven years.
But four months in, Emily was already in love with the man she'd been forced to call her husband.
And it felt like he loved her too.
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