By morning, the storm had calmed, but the chaos inside Elena Brooks hadn't. She hadn't slept. Not a minute.
Her laptop still sat open on the coffee table, the contract glaring back at her like a taunt she couldn't escape. Each line felt like it was burning itself into her mind the conditions, the deadlines, the absurdity of it all. Marry me. The words wouldn't stop echoing.
At 7 a.m., she was still pacing the living room, clutching a cup of coffee she hadn't touched. Her phone buzzed again Mia, calling for the third time.
Elena sighed and answered.
"Where the hell are you?" Mia's voice came loud and exasperated through the speaker.
"At home."
"Good. Stay there. I'm coming over. And if you've been crying again, I swear I'll drag you out for sunlight."
Before Elena could argue, the line went dead.
Fifteen minutes later, Mia burst through the door, wrapped in a bright yellow raincoat that made her look like she'd fought the storm and won. She carried two croissants and an expression that screamed trouble.
"Okay," Mia said, tossing her bag aside. "Start talking. You texted me at midnight saying, 'You won't believe what Adrian Wolfe just said.' I didn't believe it then, and now I demand context."
Elena sank onto the couch with a groan. "You're not going to believe it now either."
Mia sat beside her, handing over a croissant. "Try me. I've seen you cry over a fabric sample; I can handle anything."
Elena gave a weak laugh. "He asked me to marry him."
For a brief moment there was a deafening silence.
Mia blinked. "He what?"
"Proposed. Like, full-on marry-me proposal."
Mia stared for a long moment, then broke into hysterical laughter. "Okay, you officially win the 'most dramatic debt story of the year' award. I mean, who even does that? Was he drunk? High? Possessed?"
Elena buried her face in her hands. "He was serious, Mia. Dead serious."
Mia stopped laughing. "Wait you're telling me Adrian Wolfe, billionaire ice sculpture, looked you in the eye and asked you to marry him?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't throw something at him?"
"I wanted to," Elena muttered. "But I was too shocked to move."
Mia leaned back, crossing her arms. "Okay, explain everything. Slowly. From the top."
So Elena did. Every word, every glance, every condition. By the time she finished, Mia was staring at her like she'd just recited a crime confession.
"So let me get this straight," Mia said finally. "He'll pay off your company's debts, save your mother's business, and secure your future. In exchange, you pretend to be his wife for six months?"
"Basically."
Mia blinked twice. "That's insane."
"Tell me about it."
"No, Elena. This isn't just insane, it's rom-com but make it tragic insane. There's no way he's serious."
Elena sighed, pushing the laptop toward her. "He emailed me a contract."
Mia opened it and her jaw dropped. "Holy crap. This looks like something out of a corporate thriller."
"I told you."
Mia scrolled through the document, eyebrows knitting deeper with each line. "Clause 4.2: Emotional involvement prohibited. Clause 5.1: Confidentiality required. Clause 7.4: Termination of contract upon mutual consent." She looked up. "He's really turning marriage into a business deal."
Elena nodded weakly. "He said it's temporary. Just six months."
"Six months of being Mrs. Wolfe," Mia said, eyes narrowing. "That's not marriage. That's emotional suicide."
Elena groaned. "I know. But Mia… my company"
"Don't you dare start that sentence."
"Mia"
"No, listen to me, Lena. I get it. You want to protect your mother's dream. You've worked your butt off for that company. But you cannot, and I mean cannot, marry a billionaire stranger just because he waved money at your problems!"
Elena rubbed her temples. "You think I don't know that?"
Mia's voice softened. "Then don't do it."
Elena didn't reply. She just stared at the rain outside.
After a long silence, Mia reached over and took her hand. "Hey. You're not alone in this, okay? We'll figure something out. We always do."
Elena gave a faint smile. "That's easy for you to say. You're not the one with three lawsuits waiting."
Mia frowned. "Wait lawsuits?"
Elena winced. "Two clients are threatening to sue for breach of contract because we couldn't finish their projects. And one supplier filed for delayed payment. I have until next week to fix it or…"
"Or?"
"They'll liquidate the company."
Mia swore under her breath. "That bastard knew, didn't he?"
"Adrian?"
"Yes. He probably knew every damn detail before you even walked into that office."
Elena's silence was confirmation enough.
Mia sighed heavily. "God, he's good. Manipulative, strategic, and sexy the unholy trifecta."
Elena glared at her. "Mia."
"What? I'm just saying. If you do marry him, at least you'll have a nice view."
Elena threw a cushion at her. "You're impossible."
Mia dodged it with a grin. "I'm realistic. Look, if you're actually considering this which, by the way, I hope you're not then you need to ask yourself one thing: what's the catch?"
"I already did."
"And?"
Elena hesitated. "He said it's just about his father's will. Apparently, he needs a wife to secure control of the company."
Mia frowned. "That's too neat. Too clean. No one that powerful does something without a bigger reason."
Elena's chest tightened. "You think he's hiding something?"
"I think Adrian Wolfe didn't become a billionaire by being sentimental. He's up to something, and if you're not careful, you'll be collateral damage."
Elena bit her lip, staring at the closed laptop. "I don't have time to find another way, Mia. I've been calling banks for weeks. Investors stopped replying. The only offer I have left is from a man who wants to make me his temporary wife."
Mia's voice softened again. "Then maybe it's time to let it go."
Elena froze.
"I mean the company," Mia added gently. "Maybe it's time to stop fighting so hard to save something that's killing you."
Elena's eyes filled before she could stop them. "You don't understand. That company is all I have left of her."
"I do understand. But she wouldn't want you to destroy yourself to protect her memory."
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Then Elena stood abruptly and grabbed her coat.
"Where are you going?" Mia asked.
"To clear my head."
"Lena"
"I just need some air."
She left before Mia could argue.
******
Later That Afternoon
The city was still wet, the streets slick with rain. Elena wandered without direction, her thoughts a tangled storm. Everywhere she looked, reminders of her mother appeared the furniture store they used to visit, the café where they'd planned her first big project.
She ended up at the park, sitting on a bench overlooking the pond. Children laughed nearby, tossing breadcrumbs to ducks that didn't seem to care about the cold.
Elena pulled out her phone. The contract email still sat unread at the top of her inbox.
She hovered over it for a long time, her thumb trembling.
"Six months," she murmured. "Just six months."
Her rational mind screamed no that it was reckless, humiliating, dangerous. But desperation had a way of silencing logic.
If she signed, her company would live. Her mother's legacy would live.
If she didn't, it would all disappear.
And maybe… just maybe… she could keep her heart out of it.
She exhaled shakily and looked up at the gray sky. "You'd probably hate me for this, Mom," she whispered. "But I don't know what else to do."
Meanwhile Wolfe Tower
Adrian sat at his desk, flipping through reports but not reading a single word. His assistant, Damian, lingered by the doorway.
"She's thinking about it," Damian said.
Adrian didn't look up. "Good."
"You're sure this is the right move? There are other ways to secure your position without dragging a stranger into it."
"She's not a stranger," Adrian said quietly.
Damian frowned. "You met her once."
Adrian's gaze darkened. "No, Damian. I met her twice. You just don't remember the first time."
Before Damian could ask, Adrian stood and walked to the window. His reflection stared back at him cold, calculated, and something else beneath the surface.
"She'll say yes," he murmured.
Damian hesitated. "And if she doesn't?"
Adrian's expression hardened. "Then I'll make her an offer she can't refuse."
That Night
Elena sat at her desk again, staring at the contract. Her heart thudded painfully as she scrolled to the bottom.
Her finger hovered over the "Sign" button.
"Six months," she whispered again. "Then it's over."
She pressed Sign.
A soft chime confirmed it.
The moment she did, she felt the world shift subtly but irrevocably.
Somewhere in the city, Adrian Wolfe's phone buzzed with a notification.
He glanced at the screen, a faint smile touching his li
ps.
"She signed," he said quietly.
Damian froze. "Then it begins."
Adrian's eyes darkened with something that looked almost like regret.
"No," he said, turning away from the window. "It's already begun."