Amira didn't sleep. She spent the night pacing her room, the contents of the USB playing over and over in her mind.
Jordan had been watching her since the beginning. Every interaction, every vulnerable moment—calculated. She'd thought she was just part of a transaction. But now it was clear: she'd stepped into something far more dangerous than a simple contract marriage.
By morning, her resolve had hardened. She would leave.
Even if she didn't know where she'd go, even if it meant starting from scratch.
She packed quickly. Just a small duffel bag. She was heading for the door when a shadow stepped into her path.
---
Mila's Warning
"Going somewhere?" Mila asked, her arms crossed. She stood by the entrance to the hallway, eyes sharp, expression unreadable.
"Mila—what are you doing here?" Amira whispered.
"I could ask you the same."
Amira sighed. "I can't stay here. I found something, and I don't know what Jordan's involved in, but I won't be part of it."
Mila stepped forward. "You think you're walking away from this like it's some bad relationship? Amira, people disappear for less than what you've just discovered."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No," Mila said softly. "I'm protecting you. Jordan might be cold, calculating, even secretive—but he's the only thing keeping some very dangerous people from getting to you."
Amira's throat tightened. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"
"Because you were safer not knowing." Mila's voice cracked. "But now? Now you're in it. Whether you like it or not."
---
The Offer
That afternoon, Jordan summoned Amira to the study. He sat behind his desk, composed, but there was tension in his shoulders.
"You should've told me everything," Amira said before he could speak.
"I wanted to," he admitted. "But people who know too much in my world don't live long, Amira."
"And yet you brought me into it anyway."
"I didn't mean to fall for you."
The confession stunned her.
"What did you just say?"
He stood, walked around the desk, and stopped in front of her. "This was supposed to be clean. Cold. A contract. But you—" He exhaled. "You made it messy. You made me care."
"And now?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Now I'm giving you a choice." He pulled a new document from his desk and placed it in front of her.
It wasn't an annulment. It was a revised contract.
No deadline. No payment. No escape clause.
Just a blank space for a signature.
"If you want to walk away, I won't stop you. But if you stay…" His voice softened. "You stay because you want to, not because you're trapped."
Amira looked down at the paper. Then back at him.
The man who had bought her. Protected her. Lied to her.
The man who was now offering her freedom.
But what would she choose?