BLOOD AND CONTRACT

: The Dev

inal blow. Eight weeks. We had eight

e against our future. The home loan, Grace's school, Mom

. "Dad was smart with money. He alw

made some bad investments in the last months. The firm

ice broke as she spoke. She was sta

me. "He was too proud to say he was in trouble

had been like another dad, had taught me to ride a bike

ring?" I asked, tr

ther. My stomach sank. What they ha

ichard slowly, "needs a

waited for him to add more, to clear

ved closer, her face wh

. He needs a wife for his inheritance claim. In return, he'd clear a

. People didn't just... buy wives.

. "You're talking about trading

aking a deep breath. "We will do it with dign

inty, sending out nauseating little tendrils o

for six months. Grace's education cost maybe half a semester. I just could not do it no matter how many times

xaggerating things, but somehow everything didn't sit well with me. Dad had been fine last weekend when I called him. Maybe tired, but h

was drowning, and the only help around

y to be awakened in broad dayl

ntly. "Richard is here, and he brough

in a very expensive suit sitting at our kitchen table. Both men got up as I ente

. I thought it would be helpful for him to

n the table, speaking in a deep voice, "I am sorry for y

quivering. Why did we need a lawy

ontinued. "The construction company alone owes considerable debt to numerous creditors. T

prehensible and overwhelming. Massive amounts ju

weeks before foreclosure procedures begin and your sister's tuition

ght weeks. We had eight wee

ulder, "I may have found a solution. It will resolve t

fatherly kindness be irrelevant? His gray eyes met mine with that calm yet lurking concern,

this so

Richard right in the eye. A strange lo

lied carefully, "a wealthy man, and h

im, waiting for the jest, for him to explain what he really meant. But he

rward but kept her voice low,

ance, merely an arrangement. The gentleman requires a wife to secure his inheritance. H

ppening. People don't just buy wives. It was the

etting louder. "You're talking abou

ntract with terms and conditions specified therein. As a wife, you would be married for one year,

me to sell myself to some stranger for money.

the kind of situation you're thinking of. The man is a gentleman, and a respected

her when that year is

im. Who knows, maybe finishing her architecture degree and starting a firm.

both of them. But then my eyes moved to Mom, just sitting there like a broken

mber asking,

one of the biggest construction firms on the East Coast. Recently

ust couldn't shut it down

s a good man, Izzy. Cold, maybe, but

o you

I know you, sweetheart. I would never put y

ice in my veins. There was something about this, something I coul

e I jumped up, shaking off Ri

rtunately, tomorrow is the deadline. The answer h

ing her to make a life-changing deci

es. Mr. Blackwood is a busy man and has alternatives. If Izzy i

sperate enough to sell themselves for

d. "If you expect me to marry him, t

ned it. "I'm afraid not. Mr. Blackwood is very private, and he prefer

seem confident, though I felt quite the opposi

spered, "maybe we

ration in her eyes. "I won't be sold li

l foreclose in eight weeks. Grace will have to drop out of school. Your mother..." He gestured toward Mom, who wa

ld lose the house. Grace would be forced to abandon her dreams. Mom would completely fall apart. And I wo

d in for a bit, I aske

r years, and take care of your mother." Over and above that, a generous allowance d

family with that sort of money and still have a future. I could finish my architecture deg

It meant marrying a total stranger. It meant bec

, "I need to thi

er-this is your father's legacy at stake. He spent an entire life

w I was being asked to sacrifice myself to save what he had built. By all appea

ife. His reading glasses lay on the desk beside the unfinished crossword puzzle. The walls were line

found me there, tears

she sat down across from me. "I can't

s for all of us. Mom needs help, and

in. "Dad would want you to find someone wh

appiness is a luxu

"What if this Damian Blackwood turns out to be a

more confidence than I felt. "It's just for

em. Did I really want to marry a stranger? To share a house with s

Grace answered it, corporeal; her

her hand over the phone. "Mom... She tried t

I could afford to lose, I had missed out on the most

coming," I said, s

rd had said. This is your father's legacy. Perhaps he had a point. Perhaps th

s Mom has really stabilized, but she had an overdose of her antidepressants. More a cry fo

sleep, I made my decision. I called Rich

en he answered. "I'll m

hat's a big step."" ""I'm certain." It t

ext week-small, private, just the necessary leg

able to see

be able to visit them regularly. Mr. Black

A man who was buying a wife unde

"Promise me he's a good man.

would never let anyt

s just one more thing," he said. "Mr. Blackwood prefers to keep the arrangement completely confiden

uld I tel

and decided to elope. People will think it's r

ssed under. Not only was I selling myself, but I

stand,"

s soon, and, Izzy? You're doing the rig

ger to myself-hollow-eyed, desperate, defeated. In one week, I would become Mrs. Damian Blackw

n't have a choice. I walked back inside to tell Grace the good news about our sudden salvat

ted and that is what kind of sca

irely, and I'm not sure that I will ever