The Price of Protection

"No. Stay away!" I screamed, my hands lifted up, with my gaze downcast. Within seconds, I noticed something bright as the room became clear. My eyes caught the strange legs, which remained paused as I slowly raised my gaze, only for it to land on Adrian, gazing at me with a furrowed brow.

So it was him all along. I let out a sigh of relief, lowering my hands, which had sprung up for protection, as my eyes remained fixed on his.

What was he doing here anyway? And couldn't he respond when I was asking who he was? Instead, he remained quiet, walking closer, leaving my heart racing.

But yet, could my reaction really be that I feared for my life? After the incident with the men chasing me, my uncle's words and cruelty, a side of fear remained lingering inside me. A display of if I don't act first, the next encounter with them could possibly be my last.

"Hey!" Adrian snapped me from my thoughts.

"W-why are you here?" I stammered, trying to catch my wordings. "What are you planning?" I questioned, but all I was left with was his furrowed brow, which remained persistent as his gaze fixed on me.

"Take, sign them," I heard him utter as he brought out some papers, dropping them at my side on the bed.

My eyes darted between the paper and Adrian, scanning the written words.

As I read the paper properly, it was the contract marriage as displayed. Under it, some wordings caught my attention as I read through, and my eyes paused on a particular wording: The marriage contract will expire in a year.

"Wait, the contract is expiring a year after?" I uttered.

"Yes. Were you expecting a permanent contract marriage? I hope you realize this isn't a real marriage. You are, in no part, my wife. This is just a beneficial arrangement between the two of us, no love base, so it shall expire one year after signed. During this period, I shall help you with whatever you need while you help me with whatever I need," he said.

He was right; I guess I was forgetting the fact that it wasn't an official marriage. Was I even thinking of living with him forever in the first place? This was simply to help me get revenge, not to spend my whole life with him.

"Yeah, and about that, you still haven't told me what you plan on gaining from this," I questioned, watching his eyebrows furrow and his jaw tighten, his eyes narrowing slightly as he clenched his teeth.

"On with this again," he said. "You don't have to know that," he responded with the same answer.

"And why don't I have to know that?" I questioned again.

But I received no response after, his gaze only fixed on mine. "Are you signing the contract or not?" he said simply.

That was not an answer, nor did it help me understand the reason behind all this.

But I was here already. I saw no going back from this, and where would I be returning to? Out there, my death was awaiting me.

"Can I have a pen?" I whispered, my voice croaked as I watched him bring out a pen from his trousers, handing it over to me.

My fingers slowly trailed through the contract, page by page, scanning each word.

With some, I read again, trying to digest the words as my hands tightened on the pen. I slowly wrote my signature, signing each page on the contract. My hands lingered for a moment while signing, as they gave a pause. But I had to do this.

Done signing the contract, I retreated my hands, my eyes fixated on what I had just signed. Now, there was truly no going back for me.

I watched as Adrian grasped the contract, his eyes scanning through it to check for my signature. In that brief moment, I couldn't help but notice a tiny smile that flickered across his face as our eyes met back.

"Good," he said sharply.

"So, what's next?" I questioned, curious about what he was planning next. Were we going to have a fake marriage ceremony or was the news just going to be spread of me becoming his wife all of a sudden? But wait, that can't happen.

I never thought of that. He was a famous man, and if I got married to him, especially with his family's prestigious name, the news was surely going to spread far. Wouldn't that lead to my location being discovered by the club and my uncle? There was no way Dominic wasn't going to get a whiff of this.

My face paled at the very thought as I took in what I had just signed and gotten myself into—a vivid display of the trap I had put myself in.

"Get ready tomorrow; we're leaving for California," Adrian uttered, his words hanging in the air.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. My eyes widened, locked onto his, searching for any sign of jest. The room seemed to tilt, leaving me unsteady.

"California?" I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes. We're leaving tomorrow, so prepare everything you're going to need. Some new dresses will be brought for you tomorrow. You can leave that to Malisa; just tell her your size," he said.

What was he saying? California? Why there?

"What are you saying? You never mentioned we would be leaving the city," I questioned.

"Well, now I have. So I advise you not to waste time here. And yeah, you can just see it as our fake honeymoon. We've got to start acting like a real couple from now on, right, dear wife?" He uttered his tone decisively, his eyes narrowing. Before I could utter any more words, he turned, walking out and leaving my questions to be answered by the echoing silence that filled the room after.

What was this all about? What was he really thinking in that mind of his? I wanted answers. I wanted to find out, but he left me unanswered every time I raised a question.

But one fact stood out glaringly to me, a relief from the fear that had first coursed through me, knowing that my uncle and the club would get a whiff of my location.

But that wouldn't be happening if I left the city with him. California? I had never been there, but I had heard many things about it. At least that would leave me far away from his brother, out of his reach, while I came up with some plans in the meantime. But even so, what was there in California? I had no idea, and why Adrian suggested it also remained a mystery.