episode 3

The Contract Bride

The world went silent.

Rain crashed against the pavement, thunder shook the sky, but Ava could hear only one thing.

“I want you to become my wife.”

Daniel looked like someone had punched him in the chest.

Sophia recovered first.

Then laughed loudly.

A fake laugh.

Sharp and mocking.

“Oh please,” she scoffed. “You expect us to believe that?”

But Damien Blackwood didn’t even look at her.

His eyes remained fixed on Ava.

Waiting.

Calm.

Dangerously patient.

Ava’s mind spun wildly.

This couldn’t be real.

Men like Damien Blackwood didn’t marry random girls crying outside hotels.

None of this made sense.

Daniel finally stepped forward stiffly.

“Mr. Blackwood,” he said carefully, “I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”

Damien’s expression remained unreadable.

“What misunderstanding?”

Daniel forced a smile.

“Ava is emotional right now. She’s not thinking clearly.”

Ava stared at him in disbelief.

Emotional?

After everything he had done?

Sophia quickly wrapped her arms around Daniel possessively.

“Yes,” she added sweetly. “She gets obsessed sometimes.”

Something inside Ava snapped again.

Obsessed?

Three years together reduced to that one word?

Before Ava could speak, Damien suddenly stepped beside her.

The movement was smooth.

Protective.

Terrifying.

“She doesn’t look obsessed,” he said coldly. “She looks betrayed.”

Daniel’s face tightened instantly.

Sophia’s smile faded.

For some reason, hearing Damien defend her made Ava’s chest ache strangely.

Nobody had defended her tonight.

Nobody.

Damien glanced at Ava’s bruised elbow again.

His jaw hardened slightly.

“Did he do that?”

Ava instinctively hid her arm.

“It’s nothing.”

But Damien had already seen enough.

His dark eyes slowly lifted toward Daniel.

The temperature around them seemed to drop instantly.

Daniel swallowed hard.

“It was an accident.”

Damien took one slow step forward.

Even the bodyguards behind him became tense.

“Men who hurt women disgust me.”

His voice was quiet.

Which somehow made it scarier.

Daniel quickly raised both hands.

“I didn’t hurt her intentionally.”

Sophia suddenly cut in angrily.

“Why are you defending her anyway? She’s nobody!”

The moment the words left her mouth, silence fell.

Because Damien finally looked at Sophia.

And the look in his eyes nearly made her step backward.

Cold.

Empty.

Deadly.

“Nobody?” he repeated softly.

Sophia forced an awkward smile.

“I-I didn’t mean—”

“Then perhaps,” Damien interrupted calmly, “you should learn how quickly nobodies can ruin lives.”

A chill ran through everyone instantly.

Even Ava.

Daniel noticed it too.

And for the first time since Ava met him, Daniel looked genuinely afraid.

Damien returned his attention to Ava.

“Come with me.”

Ava hesitated.

Everything inside her screamed this was dangerous.

But another part of her…

The broken part.

The humiliated part.

Wanted Daniel and Sophia to suffer.

She hated herself for it.

Daniel suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Ava.”

His voice softened.

The same voice that once made her heart melt.

“Don’t do this.”

Ava stared at his hand touching her.

Hours ago, she would have done anything for him.

Now his touch felt disgusting.

Slowly, she pulled away.

“You lost the right to tell me what to do.”

Daniel’s face darkened.

Sophia rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Oh my God, Ava, stop acting like a victim.”

Ava turned sharply toward her.

“Excuse me?”

Sophia crossed her arms.

“You’re embarrassing yourself. Daniel chose me because I’m better for him.”

Each word burned.

But before Ava could respond, Damien spoke first.

“Interesting.”

Sophia blinked.

“What?”

Damien’s gaze swept over her coldly.

“I’ve met many women like you.”

Sophia forced a smile again.

“And what kind is that?”

“The kind who mistake temporary beauty for permanent value.”

Sophia’s face immediately changed.

Ava almost gasped.

Even Daniel looked shocked.

Damien didn’t stop.

“You stole another woman’s boyfriend and call it winning.”

His voice remained dangerously calm.

“That says more about your character than hers.”

Sophia’s face flushed red with humiliation.

“You—!”

“Enough,” Daniel snapped suddenly.

Everyone looked at him.

His eyes were fixed on Damien now.

Suspicious.

Jealous.

Threatened.

“With all due respect, Mr. Blackwood,” Daniel said tightly, “why are you involving yourself in our personal matters?”

Damien smiled slightly.

A smile without warmth.

“Because your ex-girlfriend interests me.”

The words hit like a bomb.

Daniel’s jaw clenched instantly.

Sophia looked furious.

And Ava…

Ava’s heartbeat lost control.

Damien opened the car door slowly and looked at her.

“One decision,” he said calmly. “Get inside, and your life changes tonight.”

Thunder exploded above the city.

Ava looked at the luxurious black car.

Then at Daniel.

The man she once imagined marrying.

The man who destroyed her publicly.

And beside him stood Sophia.

Her former best friend.

Smiling cruelly.

Ava suddenly realized something painful.

If she walked away tonight, Daniel and Sophia would continue happily.

They would laugh about her.

Forget her.

Erase her.

But if she entered that car…

Everything would change.

Dangerously.

Irreversibly.

Daniel noticed her hesitation.

“Ava,” he said quickly, softer now, “don’t make decisions out of anger.”

She looked directly into his eyes.

“Then what should I make them out of?” she whispered painfully. “Love?”

Daniel froze.

Because he had no answer.

Ava slowly turned toward Damien again.

“You said one year?”

“Yes.”

“And after one year?”

“We divorce.”

Simple.

Cold.

Like discussing business.

Ava frowned.

“And during that year?”

“You play the role of my wife.”

“Why?”

Damien was silent briefly.

Then:

“Because powerful men have enemies.”

That answer made her uneasy immediately.

“What kind of enemies?”

Damien’s eyes darkened.

“The kind who smile publicly and destroy lives privately.”

A strange feeling settled in Ava’s stomach.

This man lived in a dangerous world.

A world far beyond hers.

She should walk away.

Immediately.

But then Sophia laughed again.

“You actually believe a billionaire would marry someone like you?” she mocked. “Look at yourself.”

Ava’s fingers clenched tightly.

The humiliation returned all over again.

Damien noticed.

And suddenly…

He held out his hand toward Ava.

The gesture stunned everyone.

Including her.

His voice lowered slightly.

“Come here.”

Ava stared at his hand.

Strong.

Steady.

Waiting for hers.

Daniel’s expression became unreadable.

Almost panicked.

For one terrifying second, Ava realized something.

Daniel didn’t want her anymore…

But he also didn’t want someone else to have her.

Typical.

Slowly, Ava placed her trembling hand into Damien’s.

Warmth instantly surrounded her fingers.

Damien’s grip tightened slightly.

Possessive.

Protective.

Dangerous.

Sophia looked furious.

Daniel looked like he might explode.

Damien calmly closed the car door behind Ava after she entered.

Then he walked around the vehicle and sat beside her.

The luxurious interior smelled like leather and expensive cologne.

Ava’s pulse raced wildly.

This was insane.

Absolutely insane.

The driver started the engine.

Outside the tinted window, Daniel suddenly stepped forward.

“Ava!”

She looked up instinctively.

Rain soaked his hair as he stared at her desperately.

For a split second…

She saw regret.

Real regret.

But it was too late.

Far too late.

Damien noticed her expression and spoke quietly beside her.

“If you still want him, leave now.”

Ava looked at Daniel one final time.

Then at Sophia standing beside him angrily.

Slowly…

Ava turned away.

“I don’t.”

The car began moving through the stormy night.

And as the city lights blurred outside the window, Ava realized something terrifying.

She had just entered the world of Damien Blackwood.

A world she might never escape from again.

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