Page 5 of His By Contract

Georgia’s cheeks burned. Of course he’d been there. He’d witnessed her humiliation, watched Celeste destroy her career with a few carefully chosen words. The memory of it made her shoulders tense, her jaw tight. Had he come to witness the aftermath, to see how far she’d fallen in just twenty-four hours?

He turned to face her, an unspoken question hung in the stillness, coiling tighter with every passing second. Georgia lifted her chin, refusing to shrink under his assessment. She might be broke, might be ruined, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cower. She’d lost enough dignity already.

Adrian reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a thick envelope.

“A contract.” The crisp white paper caught the dim light as he set it on her coffee table. “Marriage. One year. You’ll follow my rules, attend the events I choose, play the role I need you to play.”

“Marriage?” The word felt foreign on her tongue, absurd in this context.

“In exchange, your mother’s medical care will be covered. All expenses, past and future.” His voice carried no emotion. “Your debts will vanish. Your reputation in the fashion industry will be… adjusted.”

Georgia picked it up, her fingers twitching against the crisp pages as she took them from the envelope and they shook in her grasp. The legal language blurred before her eyes, but certain phrases jumped out: mutual agreement, binding terms, financial compensation.

The amount listed made her breath catch. More zeros than she’d ever seen, enough to save her mother and restart her life ten times over. The figure seemed unreal, like Monopoly money, yet she knew it was pocket change to someone like him.

“Why me?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.

“You’re convenient.” Adrian’s gaze swept over her apartment. “You need money. I need a wife to block an arranged marriage my family is pushing. You have nothing left to lose, and everything to gain.”

Georgia’s chest tightened as she stared at the contract. The solution to every problem that crushed her lay within thesepages. Her mother’s life. Her future. All she had to do was sign away a year of her life. A business transaction disguised as marriage. It made her skin crawl even as it dangled salvation before her.

“You have until tomorrow morning to decide.” Adrian straightened his jacket. “The hospital’s deadline is Friday. I suggest you choose wisely.”

Georgia’s fingers tightened on the contract, the expensive paper crinkling under her grip. Her throat closed as she stared at the terms laid out in black and white. Marriage. Her freedom traded for financial salvation.

“I won’t be your puppet.” The words came out raw, scratchy. A last grasp at the dignity she’d always clung to.

“You already are.” Adrian’s voice cut through her apartment like steel. “The moment Celeste blacklisted you, you became a pawn in a game you can’t win. I’m offering you a way to change the rules.”

Adrian moved across the room with fluid grace. His cologne wafted toward Georgia, a subtle blend that spoke of wealth and refinement. The scent made her painfully aware of the contrast between them, from his tailored suit to her modest apartment. His dark eyes tracked her reaction, studying her with that unnerving intensity that seemed as natural to him as breathing.

“Your mother has three days before they cut off her treatment. Your bank account won’t cover this month’s rent. Every contact in your phone has already turned their back on you.” His words stripped away her defenses one by one. “You can preserve your pride, or you can save your mother’s life. Choose.”

Georgia’s chest burned. He’d investigated her, dissected her life down to the smallest detail. Of course he had. Men like Adrian Adler didn’t make offers without knowing exactly what cards they held. The violation of her privacy stung almost as much as the truth of his words.

“What happens if I say no?”

“Then I leave. The contract disappears. Your mother’s treatment stops. You lose everything.” He adjusted his cufflinks. “But we both know you won’t say no.”

The casualness of his tone made her want to scream. He spoke about her life, her mother’s life, like items on a balance sheet. Numbers to be calculated, assets to be traded. Was this how the wealthy viewed the world, as a series of transactions where everything and everyone had a price?

“You’re a bastard.”

“I’m efficient.” Adrian’s gaze was steady. “Sign the contract, Georgia. Stop pretending you have a choice.”

Georgia stared at the contract, her hands trembling. Each wrinkle in the paper was a physical manifestation of her resistance. Her mother’s face flashed through her mind: pale against starched hospital sheets, trying to smile through the pain. The memory cut deeper than any of Adrian’s calculated words.

The medical bills scattered across her floor seemed to mock her. Fifty-two thousand dollars. A number that had haunted her dreams, grown larger with each passing day. Now the solution lay in her hands, wrapped in legal terms and Adrian’s cold authority.

Her gaze drifted to the dress form in the corner, draped in unfinished dreams. Everything she’d worked for, every sacrifice, every late night bent over her sewing machine, gone in an instant because of Celeste’s cruelty. And now this man offered to erase it all, to give her back her life, her mother’s life.

The price? Only her freedom. Only her body, her time, her identity. Everything that made her Georgia.

The contract’s weight felt like chains. Such simple terms for such a devastating choice. She could feel Adrian’s presence, solid and unmovable as a stone wall. He didn’t push, didn’t speak. His silence filled her tiny apartment, suffocating her with unspoken expectations.

Time ticked by, each second driving her deeper into the corner he’d built around her.

Georgia’s fingers traced the signature line. She could practically hear her mother’s labored breathing, see the worry lines deepen around her eyes as she tried to hide her pain. What would she say if she knew what Georgia was considering? Would she tell her daughter to run, or to sign?

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