Complicated bond

ard.She needed the money to take care of her dieing mother merci while Gabriel needed the contract so that he can get promoted

ad gotten from those past experiences made him not to believe in true love.In other

rci and she has been married to Gabriel on contract for six months now.Gabriel had already started develop

er back.Her fair smooth skin radiates the atmosphere.Her eyes wandered to the tall figure seated near the fireplace who was muscular in appearance an

like he'd stepped out of a painting: handsome in a devastating kind of way, but unreachable, untouchable. The kind of ma

ected him to be

She was here for her mother, Merci, and the money the deal brought. He was in it for the promotion, for the p

" she sai

nked and turned his head slightly, ackn

. Y

hand through his dark hair. "Sleep and

g on the sofa beside him. The scent of his cologne-woodsy and

alone if you wa

too quickly. Then, mo

long moment, only the fi

t lately," she said. "No

narrowing slightly. "Is th

ier when we met," she teased

ved into something like a smir

ckets, staring out into the night. Rain streaked t

lways like

hand lightly on the window frame besid

tch, as though he were debating whether he shou

s though each word cost him something. "There was someone. Years ago. I thought she c

m carefully, her

he company in her name. And when I found out..." He turned to her, eyes sudden

nctively, placing a hand ge

. So I built walls. Ice, like you said." He laughed bitterl

hispered, "thi

r then. Really

d it. It had started with simple things-Gabriel remembering Merci's medication, buying her a book she

id softly. "I

the two of them, the

, voice trembling, "but I... I've started to care

his-they were cracking.Helen had o

you. The one who brings my mother flowers. The one who sat beside me

first time since she'd known him

e shaking. "Scared that if I le

wiping a tear from hi

little feelings of love that she has for h

spoken passed between them-a

might vanish. "Stay with me tonight. Not

lacing her fin

going a

ounded by shadows of the past and the glow of some

friends named Elizabeth, Anita and

with him after your contract expires because he needs you to h

etter you live after your contract expires.You don't marry someone b

t,Helen needs to marry a man she

hat you have said.i feel Anita and Eliza

MERCI DIES OF T

ments. Three days had passed since the last time Merci opened her eyes

e.The nurse had found her in the early hours of the morning, her breathing slowed to stillness, her expression peaceful-like she had simply drifted int

had once lived. The oxygen machine had been packed away. The scent of lavender still clung to the she

mastered over the years. Not the hidd

mother. Like a girl who was suddenly alon

ft footstep

to turn to kno

er. Then the bed dipped under his weight, and his arms wrapped around her

chest, tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt. He held her tighter,

whispered, voice hoarse. "She was

e just held her as if t

said, clutching at his shirt, her v

ainst her hair. "You're still

and deep. This wasn't just comfort. This wa

her face damp. "Why are you doing this?" she aske

e I lov

Not just for what they mean

d. Maybe it was the night you made me talk. Or when you smiled at me like I was wort

hed, her breath cat

because she had only little feelings for him ev

n he ki

s lingered against hers like a q

threading her fingers through his hair, needing

but in a way that made it bearable. Together, in each other'

reak. They undressed each other slowly, carefully, every movement a promise. And

about h

t something more now. Something sacred.Their bodies moved in rhythm, wrapped in gri

his lips pressed to her forehead.Neither of them spoke.They didn't nee

OVERS SHE

nancy test. The two pink lines stared back at her like a verdict-final, irreversible. Her

as pr

appy..." That call from the hospital, the quiet voice of the nurse saying "she's gone"-it had shattered something inside her.She felt asham

how it started-just that he was there. Solid. Warm. Quietly protective in the way only he could be. She remembered the

One moment

, pale skin, tangled hair. One month left in the contract marriage. Thirty days, and she'd be free. T

wasn't part

s," she whispered to he

d over her belly, a

ect you.

if it meant breaking Gabrie

l Morning at Ga

rs. Helen stood by the door, a suitcase by her side and a silence hanging heavy in the air. She wore a soft cream dress,

nse but his eyes-those dark, once-cold eyes-softened, conflicted. He looked at h

y going," he

d into a pale, almost determi

"I wanted to tell you so

looked

t really. Somewhere along the way, I started needing you. Your l

y on her too-but a different truth. She was carrying his child. A secre

, deflated, watching her retreat further

ded slowl

at was uncertain-one where she would raise her child alone, build her boutique