"The Price of a Promise"
I stared at the contract like it was a living thing.
The paper didn't feel real. My hands didn't feel real. Even my heartbeat seemed distant, echoing in my skull.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered, barely above a whisper.
Dominic's gaze was on me. Calm. Sharp. Everything about him radiated control. "You already are," he said quietly. "Every second you hesitate, you're already part of it."
"I…" My throat tightened. "I can't just… sign my life away. Pretend to be… I don't even know who. A fiancée? A partner? That's not me."
"Yet here you are," he said softly. "Sitting in my office. Trembling. But still willing."
I looked up at him, anger mixing with fear. "I'm not willing. I… I have no choice!"
He didn't flinch. He simply leaned back, steepling his fingers, and studied me like I was a problem he needed to solve. "No choice is still a choice. And you've chosen survival. Your father's life depends on it."
I swallowed hard. "Survival… does it have to feel like shame?"
"It will," he said calmly. "For both of us. But the alternative… isn't worth considering."
I closed my eyes and tried to steady my hands. The pen felt heavy, foreign. Each second stretched into eternity. I could hear my father's weak voice echoing in my mind. The doctor's eyes. The words: Do you have a way to pay?
I shook my head, bitterly laughing. "I… I don't know how I'm supposed to do this. Pretend. Lie. Be someone I'm not… for money. For his life. For… everything."
Dominic's voice was low, measured, precise. "You're not pretending to be me. You're pretending for him. For your father. For yourself. This is temporary. Six months. Rules are clear: no attachment. No feelings. You follow them, and he lives. You fail… and you both lose everything."
"Temporary," I repeated, bitter. "That's supposed to make it easier?"
"No," he said, calm. "It's supposed to make it survivable. You've never faced stakes like this before. You will. You will learn to manage them. Or break. The choice is yours."
I gritted my teeth. "I don't break. I… I just don't know how to live with this kind of shame."
"Shame fades," he said. "Death doesn't. Now decide. Because hesitation is costing him his life."
I picked up the pen. My fingers shook. My hands didn't feel like mine. My heart raced. The paper seemed heavier than iron.
"You understand the rules?" he asked, voice sharp now, almost commanding.
"Yes," I said, though the word barely left my lips. "No feelings. No attachment. Six months. I… I follow them."
He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing, sharp as blades. "Do you understand what happens if you don't?"
"Yes," I whispered. "I… I can't. I… I won't."
He exhaled slowly, like he had been waiting for me to finally say it. "Good. Sign it. This is your life now. And your father's. Both depend on this piece of paper."
I pressed the pen to the line. The ink felt like fire under my fingers. My hand trembled violently, but I held it steady enough to scrawl my name.
I glanced up at him. His gray eyes didn't leave me. He noticed every twitch. Every hesitation. Every flicker of anger and resolve fighting inside me.
"You signed," he said quietly. "And yet… you're trembling. You're scared. And angry. That's good. It means you're human."
"I feel like I'm dying," I said. "Inside. I… I hate this. I hate you. I hate myself."
He didn't react. Not a flinch. Not a word. Just watched. Calm. Piercing. "That's exactly how you're supposed to feel. Don't forget it."
I wanted to yell at him. To hit him. To shake him. To scream, I didn't choose this! I didn't!
But then I felt something shift. The contract in my hand. The decision I'd made. The relief washed over me in small, bitter waves. My father… alive. Maybe. Maybe I could save him.
Dominic's gaze softened ever so slightly. "Good. That's step one. Step two…"
I swallowed. "Step two?"
He reached for his phone and tapped a few buttons. A confirmation came. My phone buzzed. I picked it up.
The first payment. Two million. My father's treatment was covered. My chest heaved. Relief, yes. But shame, heavier than iron, pressed down on me.
"You feel relieved," Dominic said softly, "but ashamed. That's natural. You're saving him. You're alive. And yet… the price feels personal. Like it's your soul. That's the part you need to manage. The part most people never face."
"I can't believe this," I whispered. "I… I'm doing this. For him. For my father. And it feels… wrong. And yet…" My voice broke. "…I can't stop."
"You can't," he said quietly. "Not without risking everything. Not without watching him die."
I pressed my face into my hands, trying to hide the shaking, trying to hide the tears I didn't allow myself to cry. "I… I just want him to live. That's all I want. That's all."
"That's enough," he said. "For now. But you'll need to remember… The contract is not mercy. It's a tool. A weapon. A shield. And if you misuse it… it will hurt both of you. The line is thin, Mira. Very thin."
I looked up, meeting his eyes. "I… I don't know if I can do this. If I can be what you want. What the contract wants."
"You will," he said firmly. "Or you'll fail. And that isn't an option you can afford."
I swallowed hard. "I… I don't want to fail."
"No one does," he said. "But people fail every day. The difference is… you're aware. You know the stakes. You're willing to do something most would never even consider."
I felt anger flare again. "I'm not brave! I'm not willing! I'm desperate. That's it. That's all!"
"Yes. That's exactly it," he said softly. "Desperation is a powerful motivator. Don't underestimate it. And don't let it destroy you."
I buried my face in my hands again. I hated him for knowing me. For seeing through me. For seeing the raw, desperate, terrified girl I tried to hide behind pride.
"Step three," he said quietly. "You move in tonight."
I froze. My chest tightened. My stomach dropped. My hands went cold. "What?"
"You heard me," he said. Calm. Sharp. Precise. "You live in my house. Tonight. Full access to the life we're about to… fabricate. You understand?"
"I… I… no!" My voice cracked. "I can't! I can't just… move in with… with you! How is that supposed to… How… what…?!"
He didn't answer immediately. He just watched, calm, unyielding. "You can. You will. It's part of the contract. It's part of the solution. It's the only way we guarantee survival."
I shook my head violently, feeling fury, panic, and despair twist together inside me. "This… this is insane. I… I can't! I… I"
"You can," he said quietly, leaning forward slightly. "And you will. Or he dies. Or you both lose everything. You have a choice. But it's the only choice that matters."
I sank back into the chair, heart racing, tears burning in my eyes. Relief. Shame. Anger. Fear. Confusion. Desire. So many emotions collided inside me I could barely breathe.
"You move in tonight," he repeated, voice calm, immovable.
I swallowed hard. "Tonight?"
"Yes. Tonight. Pack what you need. Nothing more. Nothing less. We begin the charade immediately. And we do not fail."
I looked down at the contract, trembling. My name is signed at the bottom. The ink is barely dry. My father is alive because of this. Because of me.
And now… I was moving into a stranger's house. Into a life I didn't understand. Into a world I wasn't prepared for.
But I had no choice.
And the weight of it pressed down on me like a storm.
Dominic's gray eyes locked onto mine, sharp and unwavering. "You move in tonight." And I realized… The moment I step through that door, my life will never be mine again.