I was called to his private study. Again.
The long corridor leading there felt like a tunnel swallowing me whole. Each step echoed my heartbeats. Faster. Louder.
I didn't know what to expect this time. Cold stares? Another cruel remark? A dismissal?
But I never expected a thick document waiting for me on the table when I stepped inside.
"Sit," he said without looking up.
His voice was deep, unreadable as always.
I sat.
"Read this," he pushed the folder toward me. "It's our marriage contract."
My hands trembled slightly as I opened it. The first page bore our names. Mine Reina Callista. His Leonel Adrian Wistgrave.
The name alone was enough to send chills down my spine.
A billionaire. A future CEO. A man who barely looked at me, but was suddenly about to become my husband.
Why?
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He finally looked at me. "Because we're getting married next week."
My mind spun.
"Excuse me?" My heart pounded like a drum. "Next week?"
"Yes. It's already arranged."
"But… why?"
"You'll find the reason inside. Keep reading."
So I did.
Clause One: Reina Callista agrees to become the lawful wife of Leonel Adrian Wistgrave through a legal marriage ceremony held in accordance with family and public obligations.
Clause Two: This marriage is to remain strictly professional. No romantic entanglement will be expected nor pursued unless mutually agreed.
Clause Three: Public appearances as husband and wife will be mandatory. Living arrangements will be shared under one roof, but separate bedrooms.
Clause Four: Any personal involvement or intimacy must be pre-approved by both parties and is subject to termination if boundaries are crossed.
Clause Five: This contract shall last for 2 years, after which a peaceful and amicable divorce will be arranged.
I stopped reading.
This wasn't just a contract.
It was a cold business deal.
I looked up, tears threatening to form, but I held them back. "So I'm just a tool to you?"
He narrowed his eyes. "You're a solution."
"To what?"
"My mother's health is failing. Her only wish is to see me married. And your family… well, they need this alliance more than you realize."
I clenched my fists. "So this is all about appearances? Lies?"
He didn't deny it.
"But you hate me," I whispered.
He gave a small smirk. "That will make pretending easier, won't it?"
His cruelty wasn't in words. It was in the way he made everything sound so… logical. So devoid of heart.
I stood up. "Why me?"
He leaned back in his chair. "Because you're quiet, obedient, and you won't get in my way."
That broke something in me.
A part of me that still hoped there was warmth behind his icy front.
"You think I'm weak?" I whispered.
He raised a brow. "Aren't you?"
I stared at him, my entire body trembling—not from fear, but fury.
"Then you're marrying the wrong girl."
But before I could storm out, he added, "Your father already signed the agreement."
I froze.
What?
"It's done, Reina. Whether you like it or not."
My knees nearly buckled. "So… this is it? I have no choice?"
He got up and walked toward me, slowly, his tall frame towering.
"You do have a choice," he said softly. "Walk away and let your family sink further into debt. Or sign this, and in two years, you'll be free—with their problems solved."
"And in those two years?" I asked.
"You'll learn to be Mrs. Wistgrave. And I…" he looked away for a second, "…will try not to make your life unbearable."
Try?
What a generous promise.
My heart broke in a million pieces. Not because I had to marry a stranger. Not even because it was arranged.
But because somewhere, deep down, a part of me had dreamed of love.
Of being chosen. Cherished.
Not contracted.
I went back to my room and cried.
Cried until my throat hurt and my chest ached.
Why was life so unfair?
But then I remembered something my mother's warm hand, frail but gentle, holding mine last month at the hospital. Her tired smile. Her whispered words.
"Please be happy, Reina… even if it means sacrificing a little first."
I didn't know what kind of future awaited me in that cold mansion with Leonel Wistgrave. But I knew one thing:
I would not break.
Even if I had to marry a man who didn't believe in love, I would still carry mine silently.
Even if he never looked at me as a woman, I would still hold my head high.
Even if I had to sign a piece of paper to save the ones I loved, I would do it with strength—not submission.
So the next morning, I returned to his study.
He looked up.
I said nothing.
I just signed.
Then looked him dead in the eye.
"Remember this, Leonel. You may have chosen me because I was silent… but silence is not weakness."
And I walked out before he could speak.
But behind me, for the first time, I heard something strange.
A soft chuckle.
And maybe, just maybe… the coldest man I'd ever met… had finally found me interesting.