Be my contract mistress

Valerie's POV

I gripped the steering wheel tight, my fingernails digging into the soft leather fabric of the wheel, another hand pressing my phone to my ear as I dialed Drake’s number for the last time as angry tears blurred my vision of the road, making keeping control of my car almost an impossible task as I clamped down on the accelerator, my heart beating so fast, I could hear it in my ears.

"The person you're trying to reach isn't available. Leave a message after the beep."

"I’ll leave your keys in the mailbox. Pick them up whenever you want," I spat into the phone before hanging up. Drake never apologized. He never even bothered.

I stormed into the penthouse, my anger boiling over. How could Drake get engaged without telling me? I yanked clothes from the closet, stuffing them into my suitcase. Each item felt like a piece of my broken heart.

Three years. Three years of being his wife, attending his events, meeting his family. And now the whole world knew he was marrying someone else. I was pregnant with a man who didn’t care about me, who set me up to work under the woman he was marrying.

I shoved more clothes into my suitcase, my hands shaking. How dare he? How could he do this to me?

I collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down my face. I dragged myself to the bar, pouring a shot of whiskey. I needed this. As I brought the glass to my lips, the elevator dinged.

"What are you doing?" Drake's harsh voice cut through the silence. He stood there, looking every bit the powerful man he was, his presence filling the room.

I dropped the glass, ashamed of my tears. "What does it look like I’m doing?" I snapped, standing up and returning to my packing.

"And where do you think you’re going?" he demanded.

I whipped around, my anger flaring. "What kind of question is that, Drake?" I blinked back tears, my rage boiling over. "Do you think I don’t know about your engagement? Do you think I don’t know I’m working under your soon-to-be wife?"

He stepped closer, his eyes cold. "Are you mad I didn’t tell you about the engagement, or is this about something else?"

THE ASSHOLE!

“What the--- I am filling for a divorce!” I thundered, my anger surfacing and there was a pause in time and space, something clicked and then ---

Drake laughed, a rich, mocking sound. "A divorce? In a contract marriage? Are you dumb?"

"I’m serious, Drake. You’re getting married. I’m done." My voice was firm, but inside, I was falling apart.

“There is no divorce in this, Valerie” he said and moved close to me, his body suddenly becoming wider taking up the space and the air.

“And besides where would you go? I own you, I own everything you think you have, You are not going anywhere” he said and sneered at me and emotions clogged in my throat as angry tears bit the corner of my eyes.

“Yes, Yes! I am!” I suddenly yelled.

“You can’t keep me here, your fake wife as the other woman, it doesn’t make any sense. This is a fake wedding and I have the right to call it off! You are getting married for pete’s sake, what is wrong with you?” I asked and I watched his expression darken.

“You can’t have two wives, Drake. You can’t eat your cake and have it whole, it doesn’t work that way” I said, my voice straining as I realized that my advice also applied to me.

“And who said that I would be having two wives?” He suddenly asked me and I scoffed, about to turn around to go back to taking my clothes, Drake could be unreasonable but I wasn’t going to be caught dead in that trap, I was out of here.

His hands reached out and stopped me, catching my wrist and making me turn to face him, our bodies merging with our chest and my breath became ragged.

“There has been a change of plans, you are going to be my contract mistress” he said and I snatched my hand from his grip as I froze, staring at him in disbelief. "Mistress? Are you insane? I refuse!"

I didn’t start this just to end up as his stupid mistress, his play thing. I knew my worth!

"You can’t keep me here. I refuse to be your mistress," I said, my voice shaking with anger and defiance.

"Either that," he said coldly, "or remit all the money I’ve given you. And if you don’t, I’ll tell social services about your brother. How do you think they’ll react when they find out you’ve been hiding him and selling yourself for money?"

My heart stopped. "You wouldn’t."

"Try me," he growled. "You’ll lose everything."

Tears burned my eyes, but I held them back. "You’re a monster."

Drake’s expression softened for a moment, then hardened. "This is business, Valerie. You knew what you were getting into."

"I hate you," I whispered, my voice trembling.

He turned to leave. "You can hate me, but you’ll do as I say."

The door closed behind him, and I collapsed, sobbing. This was a nightmare. My brother could die if the money stopped, and what about the baby? How would I survive? I had no choice but to stay in the game, for my baby, my brother, and myself. I would find a way out, but for now, I had to play along.