A contract will bind Ysla and Nathan. An agreement with limits, driven only by their personal reasons. For Nathan, it's about obeying his grandmother's wishes. For Ysla, it's about revenge against the fiancé who betrayed her and the people she once called family. But what happens when their feelings for each other begin to change? When Nathan's former love returns and Ysla's past starts to unravel, bringing with it a storm of problems she never expected? Will their contract be enough to hold them together, or will it be the very thing that tears them apart?
Chapter 1 Stranger's room
Ysla
My head is aching. A deep, throbbing pain pulsed in my temples, and the world around me seemed to spin as I slowly forced my eyes open. A sharp sting shot through my skull, making me wince as the morning light seeped through the gap in the heavy curtains.
It was morning.
I struggled to sit up, my vision adjusting to the unfamiliar room around me. It was vast and lavish, yet void of anything that could give me a clue about its owner. My chest tightened with unease. How did I get here? Why did I feel like a stranger in my own body?
I blinked and turned my gaze to the large bed I had woken up in. The sheets were a mess, clear evidence that I had not been alone last night.
A shiver ran down my spine as I gripped the white comforter around me. The cool morning air kissed my bare skin, my naked skin.
Panic surged through me.
My hands trembled as I ran them over my body, confirming what I already feared. I had nothing on.
A cold dread spread through me, draining the blood from my face. My breathing grew uneven as fragments of the previous night resurfaced in my mind. My heart pounded wildly against my ribs when my eyes landed on a crimson stain marring the pristine white sheets.
Proof.
I had given away the one thing I had vowed to keep. The gift I had saved for my fiancé meant being offered on our wedding night.
A lump formed in my throat. I bit my lip, willing myself not to break down, but my body betrayed me. My hand flew to my mouth to muffle the sob that threatened to escape. No. This couldn't be happening.
Then, anger flared within me, burning away the sorrow. The betrayal of Arnold, the man I had dreamed of spending my life with, and my cousin, Lizbeth, came crashing back with brutal clarity. Their deception had sliced through me like a dagger, leaving wounds that still bled with fresh agony.
I couldn't stay here.
Despite the weakness in my limbs and the dizziness in my head, I forced myself to move. I hastily gathered my scattered clothes from the floor, pieces of fabric that felt so foreign now. But before I could slip into any of them, an eerie silence settled over the room.
I froze.
I straightened my senses on high alert.
What was that? Why did everything suddenly feel so still?
My question was answered when the bathroom door creaked open. The sound of running water ceased, something I hadn't noticed in my turmoil.
My breath hitched.
It was too late to run. Too late to hide. I had no cover, no escape. My mind raced as I grabbed the comforter from the bed and wrapped it tightly around myself. But a deep, steady voice shattered the silence before I could secure it properly.
"You're awake."
I looked up, and that was when I saw him.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stood by the bathroom door, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Droplets of water clung to his toned skin, tracing a path down his sculpted chest over the ridges of his defined abs.
I tore my gaze away, my throat dry.
"Uh... I'll just get dressed and leave," I muttered, my voice unsteady.
He studied me, his expression unreadable. But instead of relief or indifference, something else flickered in his eyes. Something that unsettled me.
"Just like that?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
I blinked. "W-What do you mean?"
"After what happened last night, you're just going to leave?"
A fresh wave of anxiety coursed through me. Something about this situation felt... wrong. Why did he sound like he was the one being wronged?
"You don't expect me to take responsibility for you, do you?" I shot back, forcing steel into my voice. "I'm sorry, but I'm not in the position to care for a man right now. I'm unemployed and was merely a helper to my cousin."
I had hoped my words would lighten the tension, maybe even amuse him. But instead of laughter, his frown deepened.
Before I realized it, he had moved closer to the bed.
I instinctively stepped back, though the mattress still separated us. His presence was overwhelming, like an approaching storm, powerful and unstoppable.
Only now did I grasp his sheer size. He wasn't just tall and built like a fortress, his frame exuding raw strength. His broad shoulders looked like they could bear the weight of the world itself. Under different circumstances, I might have been awestruck by the sheer force of his presence.
But this was not the time to admire a stranger.
He reached for the phone on the bedside table and made a quick call.
"I need a cleaner."
That was all he said before ending the call. Then, he turned to me, his expression still hard.
"A cleaner will be here soon. Go to the bathroom and freshen up. We'll talk over breakfast," he said.
His words weren't a suggestion nor a request. They were a command.
I pressed my lips together. Did he actually think I would just obey him?
"Don't make me repeat myself, woman."
I swallowed hard. His voice held an underlying edge, a warning. "Or do you want to watch me while I get dressed?"
When he reached for the towel at his waist, I bolted, nearly tripping as I dashed into the bathroom and didn't dare look back.
My heart pounded furiously as I pressed my back against the bathroom door.
Questions swirled in my mind.
Who was he?
What had happened last night?
How did I actually get here?
And most importantly, was my fiancé Arnold even looking for me? Or was he too busy in the arms of my treacherous cousin?
I shook my head and decided to go under the shower, thinking it would help me calm and think.
Chapter 1 Stranger's room
24/03/2025
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