Chapter 2

A MOTHER'S PLEA

The dim light from the single bulb in the room flashes faintly, casting shadows across the pale wallpaper. Sophia sat on a small wooden stool beside her mother’s bed, her hands clasped tightly together. The once-vibrant Mrs. Carter, now pale and fragile, lay motionless under a thin blanket. Her poor breathing occupied the silence, an visible reminder of how illness had stripped her of strength and nourishment.

Sophia's gaze hanging on her mother’s sunken cheeks and the dark circles below her closed eyes. Her heart ached with the burden of helplessness, a choking burden she could no longer bear alone.

How did it come to this? Sophia thought bitterly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. A contract marriage. Selling my future to a man like Alexander Blackwood just to keep this house standing and pay for the medicine she needs to avert untimely death like her father.

Her fingers hold strong around the edge of the stool, her knuckles turning white. She abhorred how desperate she felt, how restricted she was by circumstances beyond her control. The thought of Alexander’s superior face flashed through her mind—his arrogant tone, his disdainful remarks about their dilapidated home.

But what choice do I have?

Her mother moved slightly, her eyes fluttering open. Sophia leaned forward, her face softening. “Do you need anything? Water? Medicine?”

Mrs. Carter smiled faintly, her hand reaching out to touch Sophia’s. Her voice was weak but laced with love. “No, my darling. I just need to see you.”

Sophia brought back tears, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I’m here, Mama. I’m not going anywhere.”

Mrs. Carter’s feeble fingers shining around Sophia’s hand. “You’ve been so strong, Sophia. Too strong to carry the burden your age. I wish I could take this load from you.”

Before Sophia could reply, the door screeched open, and Ethan stepped inside. The boy, barely sixteen, carried the weight of the world in his hunched shoulders. His clothes were worn, his face drawn with tension 

“Sophia,” he said quietly, his voice influenced with sorrow. “How is she?”

Sophia looks at their mother, then back at Ethan. “She’s awake. Come sit with us.”

Ethan moved to the other side of the bed, his eyes filling with hiding tears as he looked at their mother. “Mama, you’re getting worse.”

Mrs. Carter gave him a weary smile. “Oh, Ethan. Don’t look so sad. I’m still here, aren’t I?” The statement echoes an atmosphere of hope.

“But for how long?” he burst out, his voice breaking. “The doctor said—”

“Enough,” Sophia interrupted gently but firmly. “She doesn’t need to hear that right now.”

Ethan fell silent, but his hands shifted anxiously in his lap. Mrs. Carter’s gaze moved between her two children, her heart heavy with guilt. 

“I’ve spoken to your friend, Sophia” she said softly, her words deliberate. “She told me about Alexander’s offer.”

Sophia frozen, the mention of the contract marriage sending a wave of worry through her. Ethan looked at his mother in shock.

“You mean... the marriage proposal?” Ethan asked, his brows furrowing.

Mrs. Carter nodded, her thin hand resting on the blanket. “It’s not ideal. I know that. But it might be the only way to keep this family’s head above water.”

Ethan’s jaw rigid. “You’re saying Sophia should marry him? A man we barely know?” 

“I’m saying,” Mrs. Carter said, her voice raised above a whisper which reflect her weakness and lack of vitality, darted her eyes to him, “that sacrifices must be made. For the good of this family. Since your father died due to sudden collapse of his business, there is no one to cater for us except God. We're helpless, Ethan, my son”

She return her eyes back to Sophia, breathed in, echoing a state of despair.

Sophia’s head hung low, her hands shaking in her lap. She had already made up her mind, but hearing her mother put it into words made the decision feel even more severe.

Ethan shook his head, his expression torn between anger and resignation, wave his hand in the air in disapproval. “This isn’t fair. She shouldn’t have to do this.” 

“It’s not about being just, Ethan,” Mrs. Carter replied, her tone firm despite her weakness. “It’s about survival. About giving you a chance at a better future. Your education is also at stake”

Ethan looked at Sophia, his eyes urging. “You don’t have to do this, Sophia. We’ll figure something out.”

Sophia forced a small, bitter smile. Her eyes was clouded with tears instantly. “And what, Ethan? What will we figure out? Mama needs treatment. The house is falling apart. You deserve to stay in school, to have a chance at a life outside of this shallow life.”

Tears welled in Ethan’s eyes. “But at what cost? Your joy?” 

“Sometimes joy isn’t a luxury we can afford,” Sophia said softly, her voice breaking, signalling their helplessness.

Ethan tightened his fists, his shoulders falling. “I hate this,” he whispered. “I hate that this is the only way.”

“So do I,” Sophia admitted, her voice barely to heard.

Silent occupied the room immediately for a short while, the weight of their shared hopeless settling over them. Mrs. Carter reached out, her weak hand shaking as she touched Ethan’s arm.

“I know this is hard for both of you,” she said gently. “But you’re stronger than you imagine. You have strength, you have the tenacity, you have it. And no matter what happens out of it, we’ll face it together, my children”

Ethan nodded reluctantly, wiping at his teary eyes. “If this is what it takes... then I won’t stop you, Sophia. But promise me one thing.” He pointed a finger to her sister.

Sophia looked at him, her heart longing. “What is it?”

“Don’t let him break you,” Ethan said, his voice brutal despite his tears. “Don’t let Alexander Blackwood turn you into someone you’re not.”

Sophia reached out, pulling her brother into a hug. “I promise,” she whispered, though deep down, she wasn’t sure if it was a promise she could keep.

As the night falled, the faint-noctural sound of crickets filled the silence in their old, broken house. Sophia sat by her mother’s side, her resolve hardening with every passing second.

The contract was a cage, but it was a cage she would willingly step into—for her family, for their survival.

But as she stared at her mother’s feeble form and Ethan’s tired eyes, a single thought hanging in her mind:

What will be left of me when this is over?

Sophia looked at her mother, then at Ethan, and felt a sense of determination.

She picked up her phone and sent a text message to Alexander. He texted “I have accept the contract marriage but, please you will keep your promise if I will do”

She dropped the phone accepting how life turn toward her, sighed heavily.

*********

The soft sound of a text message broke the silence in Alexander Blackwood’s luxurious office. He was seated behind his imposing desk, his phone lying informally beside a half-finished glass of whiskey. The restless shadow of the city’s skyline spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but his attention darted to the phone.

Leaning forward, he picked it up and unlocked the screen. His eyes scanned the brief text:

"I’ve decided to accept the offer."

His lips curved into a slow, triumphant smile. He didn’t need a name to know who it was from. Sophia.

“She finally gave in,” he murmured to himself, a self-assured amusemet escaping his lips. The image of her reluctant gaze, the way her voice weakens when they last spoke, played clearly in his mind. The broken-down house, the desperation marked into her every movement—it had all led to this.

Alexander leaned back in his chair, his thumb lazily brushing over the screen. The thought of her in his world, bound to him by agreement yet vulnerable and so totally unlike the people he was familiar to, filled him with a mixture of fascinated and satisfaction.

He let out a breath, standing from his chair and moving to the window. His reflection looked back at him, confident and victorious. “This will be interesting,” he said, nodded in affirmation and victory, almost to himself.

Another flash jingle interrupted his thoughts. Still smiling, he glanced down at his phone.

The message read:

"The offer is not accepted. It was a mistake."

The words hit him like a bucket of cold water. His smile vanished, replaced by a sharp frown. His grip on the phone tightened as he read the text again, doubt flashing across his face.

“What the hell?” he whispered, his brows furrowing.

For a moment, he stood motionless, glancing at the message. His thoughts became restless, the certainty he had felt only seconds ago is flying away before his eyes. Was it Sophia playing games? Was it someone else?

He exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. No. This isn’t over.

Alexander’s mind became anxious, planning the next thing to implement. But below the irritation, a flash of doubt crept in—unfamiliar and unwelcome.

He turned back to his desk, dropping into his chair with a controlled stillness that belied the storm stirring up inside him. His fingers tapped against the screen as he was meditating a reply, but then he stopped, hesitating.

His eyes narrowed. “If it’s Sophia... I’ll make sure she doesn’t back out. No one says no to me. She dare not.” He shouted, his eyes looked wicked and brutal.

Still, the message hanged, its bluntness gnawing at him as he look at the phone flashly. For t

he first time in years, Alexander Blackwood felt something, he wasn’t used to uncertainty since he was welcome into the world.