" I want to marry you."

They suspended themselves in the air like smoke, dense and stifling.

I wondered if I had misheard him. My jaw fell; then it clapped back together. My head could not frame sentences. My chest was hollow, as if the oxygen had been pulled from the air.

Then, finally, something slipped out of me.

"What?" I stuttered. "Marry me? Are you crazy?"

It didn't even phase Adrian Hunter. He slumped back a little, his hands disappearing into his pockets as if this was no biggie. A little grin pulled on his mouth, that kinda self-satisfied angle that peeved me.

No," he saidSmoothly, the voice sharp enough to cleave me in two. "I've never been more serious.

I stared at him, gathering the blanket around me. "You cannot…you do not…ask someone to marry you that you've blackmailed. It's not marriage. It's crazy."

His smile grew wider. "And yet here we are.

I wished to scream at him, to throw something, to tear that smug expression off his face. But I couldn't push the word through the constriction. My voice fell instead, shivering even as I fought to keep it that way.

"How?"

He tilted his head to the side, like he was already expecting me to ask that question.

"Because," he said at last, "I must secure the inheritance I'm due."

My breath caught. "Excuse me?"

"The board," he went on, taking a step forward so that the air between us grew dense. "They need to be reassured. They want to see that I'm capable of running Blackwood Corporation. That I'm calm, composed. A man who's ready to dominate." He emitted a quiet, mirthless laugh. "My father had his little perfect marriage. His little perfect family. And now they want me to be the same."

I could do nothing but look at him, the nails digging into the blanket fabric. He was insane. He was flat-out insane.

"And the absolute best way to do that?" He leaned forward. "Is to settle down. Get married."

I shook my head, hardly able to breathe. "So. what? You gazed around the room, saw me as some. some pawn, and thought I'd do?

His smirk twitched. “Not exactly. The moment I saw you at the ball, standing tall, representing your father when everyone else had already abandoned him…” His gaze raked down my body, lingering in a way that made heat crawl up my neck. “… I knew you’d be perfect.”

Excellent.

The term gave me the urge to vomit.

Panic and humiliation burst through me, knotted so thick I almost couldn't untangle the emotions. Dumb. Stupid. Blind. I was. I'd believed it was luck that I'd merely wandered into the arms of a very dangerous stranger.

But no. Everything had been decided.

My father's debt. Our family embarrassment. About that single irresponsible night. Everything was bait in his trap.

I choked on a sob before I could do anything about it. My hands leaped up to cover up my face as tearful heat leaked around my fingers.

It was a noise, a harsh, angry noise, as if I was disturbing him. "Don't," he muttered. "I'm not here to see you cry. Decide, Aria."

My head sprang up, tears running down my face. "Make up my mind? You're joking. If you wanted to kill me, you would've done so by now!"

His eyes flashed, black and menacing. "Don't believe I won't post those photos. If I'm capable of straightening this all out within less than twenty-four hours, think about all that I'm capable of doing if I'm allowed more time." He moved closer, so close his breath ghosted across my face. "So. are you prepared to be Mrs. Blackwood?

My stomach roiled. Every fiber of me cried out to refuse, to battle him, to turn away.

But the vision of my father, his hunched shoulders, his business failing around him, seared in my heart.

My lips shuddered as I responded, "Okay."

His smile grew. "Good girl.

I wished I could slap him. I wished that I could rip that smile off his face. But hands would not stir.

Rather, Adrian came around behind him, took the folder off the lamp stand, and set it before me. "Sign."

I stared at it, then him. "What is this?"

"A contract," he said matter-of-factly. "You will be my wife for the next five years. While that holds true, we'll persuade the board that I am up to running Blackwood Corporation. And as payment…" His eyes glinted. "… I will pay off your father's debt. I will secure Montgomery Global. And I will make Montgomery Global a valuable partner of Blackwood Corporation. All it requires is your signature." My jaw dropped. It sounded too good to be true. My father saved. His company saved. My family’s name saved.

But something within me cried that there must be more.

So I went through the papers. My hands were shivering, yet I forced myself to read.

And then I saw it.

A buried clause half way through, set off in nice sharp lettering:

After being wed for five years, Aria Montgomery shall produce an heir to Adrian Hunter.

My chest constricted. My voice trembled as I looked up to him. "What the hell is this?"

He arched his eyebrow, expressionless. "Ah. You even read it."

"You want… you want me to get pregnant?"

To secure his inheritance," he stated slickly. "The board will be looking for guarantees of stability. A wife. A child. A legacy. It's necessary.

Essential.

The word ripped through me like a blade.

My entire being reduced to a bargaining chip. My flesh written on a contract as a piece of property.

"You bastard." I pushed the documents away and stood, gathering the blanket around me. I was shuddering with anger. "You think that you're just.just going to use me? What about me? What about I want?"

His jaw tightened, his smirk thinning into something colder. “This isn’t about what you want. It’s about what must be done.”

Anger churned up inside me. My heart thudded so violently that it was painful. "You're a calculating man who doesn't feel anything. And you know something? Do your worst."

I spun, storming around the room. My heels rang off the marble as I pulled up my skirt, yanking the dress off over my head with shuddering hands.

Behind me, his voice came, calm and cutting. "Be very careful, Aria. This is your father's last lifeline."

I did not look behind. Iclosed the doorand didn't slow down until I got home.

As soon as I arrived home, I ran hastily to the garden where I believed I would find father.

The garden reeked of booze.

My father leaned forward in a chair, a bottle dangling from his hand, his eyes unfocused. He had been drinking more regularly lately, plummeting further every day as his empire crumbled.

"Hey, pops," I said quietly.

His head jerked, eyes narrowing. “What do you want, you dumb child?”

I froze.

"If only you were as smart as your father," he slurped, waving the bottle around, "then you would've helped me rescue this company. But instead, you drain me. Next, you'll dump me too, just like your mother. Gold digging. Leeches."

The words stung, but I bit my tongue. He wasn’t wrong. I’d never cared about the company. All I’d wanted was art school, freedom, a life away from this cage.

And when the empire started collapsing, Mom had proved what she valued most. She’d stripped accounts, sold properties, and left.

It was us alone now.

And he hated me because of that.

I swallowed, mustering courage.

"I ran into Adrian Blackwood," I whispered. "He … he proposed to me."

His head came up. Hope sprang into his eyes.

“Really?” His mouth stretched into a drunken smile. “Finally, you have some use. Adrian Blackwood…such a good man. Still supporting us, and he found interest in my daughter. If you marry him, we’ll be tied to the most powerful company in the state.”

My stomach dropped.

He wasn't asking me how I was. He wasn't even asking why. He wouldn't even be bothered that Adrian had screwed everything up.

All he saw was salvation.

All were selfish.

And I had had enough.

I'm not taking it," I snapped.

His smile froze. "What did you just say?

I said," I raised my voice, strong and harsh, "I will not marry him.

The bottle shattered on the ground as his hand struck my face.

PAK

I stepped back, holding my face.

You selfish witch!" he bellowed, standing up. His hands grasped my throat. "Just like your mother. Good for nothing. Worthless. I regret the day I ever fathered you.".

"P…please," I struggled, desperately trying to scrape his hold.

I shoved at him, and by some miracle, his drunken body staggered, collapsing to the ground.

I ran. My heels rang off the marble, echoing off like gunshot. I closed the door to the bedroom, locked it, slid to the ground until the floor stopped me.

Adrian Blackwood.

That name burned into my mind. That man thought that he could toy with me, use me, own me.

No. He wouldn’t win.

I frantically searched for my phone, my hands trembling.

"Elena," I huffed when my assistant answered. "Find me Adrian Blackwood's phone number. Now."

Minutes after that, came the text.

I didn't think. I called.

It rang once. Twice.

Then, his voice. “Hello.”

"This is Aria Montgomery," I told.

I could hear the smirk in his silence.

"I recognized that you would return," Adrian said softly. "So… do we have a deal?"

My chest heaved. My father still hurt me. My face still burned. I had no choice.

"Yes," I said quietly. "I do. I will be your wife."

Good," he said, as calm as a summer breeze. "Two days to the wedding. We've no time to sit around.". My heart stopped. Two days.