Contracted: Love In The Shadow

***

As I stepped into my childhood home after four long years away, a quiet sigh escaped my lips.

To avoid suspicion over my sudden return, I had called my parents a few nights earlier. Still, the moment I saw them pacing the living room, I knew something was wrong. I had imagined this reunion differently... smiles, laughter, maybe even pride when I told them I had been promoted to CEO of a prestigious fashion brand, a dream come true.

That dream dissolved the second I walked in.

I pushed the door open fully and stepped inside. My parents froze when they saw me. Their expressions were tense, uneasy.

“Mom? Dad?” I asked carefully. “What’s wrong?”

My father, Nicolas Dolman, reacted first. He rushed toward me and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Oh, thank God you’re home,” he said, his voice thick with relief.

“Hi, Dad,” I murmured, returning the hug.

My mother, Rachael Dolman, joined us immediately, wrapping her arms around me as well.

“Welcome home, my child.”

Their warmth caught me off guard. I stepped back and studied their faces.

“You’re being unusually welcoming,” I said slowly. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Oh, nonsense,” my mother replied briskly. “No matter how foolish or self-centered you may be, this will always be your home.”

I smiled faintly, then noticed my father pulling out his phone.

“Yes, sir,” he said into it, his tone urgent. “She’s here. Inform the boss that the wedding will proceed as planned.”

Wedding?

I turned sharply to my mother. “Is Lora getting married?” My younger sister was only fifteen. The idea made no sense.

“No,” my father answered flatly.

“Oh.”

“It’s you.”

The room tilted.

“Pardon me?”

“Today,” he continued, turning to my mother. “Bring her things inside and get her ready. We don’t have all day.”

I let out a sharp laugh. “Wow. Woo-hoo. Hold on.” My voice rose. “Wedding? You’re telling me my wedding is today?”

I literally just walked through the door.

“You have no choice,” my father snapped, already turning away to make another call.

“This—this doesn’t make any sense.”

I stood frozen, staring from my father to my mother. Her face had gone pale. “What the hell is going on?”

My father finally stopped and looked at me properly. He sighed. “My business is collapsing.”

“Well, that's too bad but what does that have to do with me?”

“A few weeks ago, my team signed a contract with a conman,” he continued. “If I don’t fix this, I’ll lose the company entirely.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, genuinely shaken. “I am. But how does marriage solve any of this? I’ve been gone for four years, Dad. I just got back. I don’t even understand what wedding you’re talking about.”

My mother stepped in. “You’ve never been quick to connect the dots. Your father made a deal with Lucian Creed.”

I stiffened.

“He agreed to help restore the company and provide capital,” she continued, “on one condition... your father finds him a wife.”

I stared at them as if they were speaking in an alien tongue.

Okay… I’ve heard of Lucian Creed. Rich, powerful, no-nonsense... so why the fuck am I the one paying for this?

“Then go find a woman who wants to marry him,” I snapped. “Plenty would.”

“Do you think any mother would willingly sell her daughter for business?” my mother asked coldly.

“And yet here I am,” I shot back. “Being sold.”

“You are our daughter,” my father said, his voice breaking. “If you don’t help us, who will?”

I exhaled sharply. “Even if I wanted to help, I can’t walk into a wedding I’m not prepared for. At least give me time. Does it make sense that after four years away, I come home and get married the same day?”

“You don’t need to know him,” my father replied. “And there’s no time. Get married now. Once I regain control of the company, we’ll arrange a divorce.”

I laughed bitterly. “Unbelievable.”

“Please, Mira,” he said quietly. “I’m begging you.”

I shouldn’t have come back. I remembered now why I had left in the first place.

“Fine,” I said finally. “But I won’t be slaughtered quietly. If I’m doing this, I have conditions.”

My father nodded quickly. “Anything.”

“No physical intimacy,” I said firmly. “And the divorce papers must be prepared immediately after.”

My parents exchanged a look, then nodded.

“Deal,” my father said, though something in his expression felt off.

God, am I really playing right into my father’s trap? But… they’re my parents. They wouldn’t push me into something truly bad… would they?

“You better be sure about this,” I warned them. “Because if this goes wrong, I won’t forgive you.”

“Get her ready,” he ordered my mother. “We leave in ten minutes.”

Just like that, I was back in my childhood bedroom, preparing for a wedding I never agreed to.

There was no gown. No stylist. Just my mother’s shaking hands doing what she could.

Later, I learned Lora had been sent to stay with our uncle in Florida when things began to fall apart. Somehow, I had walked straight into the role of scapegoat—again.

“Finished,” my mother said suddenly.

I studied my reflection. “Not bad… for an older woman.”

She smacked my head lightly. “I’m not that old.”

I sighed. “Is there anything else I should know?”

She hesitated. “No. We’ve told you everything.”

She didn’t meet my eyes.

“Okay,” I said softly. “I trust you.”

She handed me a worn red gown. “Put this on and meet me downstairs.”

I stared at it. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not,” she replied, already leaving.

Once alone, I opened my bag and pulled out a white, silver-stone gown—a gift from my boss and lover. No need to mention that now.

All I had to do was secure my father’s property and get out. I couldn’t stay here any longer; if I did, he’d find another way to shove me under the bus.

I slipped it on.

“Much better,” I murmured at my reflection.

Straightening my shoulders, I headed downstairs to face whatever awaited me.

Fate had twisted me back to this moment, and now I had to deal with an unexpected marriage that could change the course of my life—forever..