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2026-06-06 07:13:16
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Contracted to him 40
The vineyard still lingered in my mind when I woke up the next morning. Not because of the place itself. But because of the way I had felt there. Light. For once… unburdened. Which should have scared me more than it comforted me. I lay in bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself it was just the environment. The calm air. The distance from everything else. Not him. Definitely not him. My phone buzzed beside me. I already knew who it was before I even looked. Theo. Did you sleep? I frowned slightly. Yes. Three dots appeared almost immediately. Liar. I rolled my eyes. You’re becoming very confident in your accusations. It’s not an accusation if it’s true. I stared at the message longer than I should have. Then typed back: Why do you care? A pause. Then: Because I do. Simple. Direct. Dangerously simple. I locked my phone and threw it back onto the bed like it had offended me. “Annoying,” I muttered. But I didn’t stop smiling. ---
Contracted to him 39
The house felt different when I woke up. Not quieter. Not louder. Just… different. Like something had shifted in the air while I slept and I hadn’t been invited to notice. I lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to place the feeling. Then I felt it. Warmth. Heavy. Familiar. An arm was draped over my waist, holding me close in a way that made it impossible to ignore the fact that I was not alone in bed. I turned my head slightly. Theo. Asleep. Completely unguarded in a way I wasn’t used to seeing him. His face was relaxed, hair slightly messy, the usual sharpness softened by sleep. His arm tightened slightly when I moved, like even unconscious he didn’t want distance between us. I should have moved away. That would have been the logical thing to do. Instead, I stayed. Which was a problem. A very noticeable problem. Because my mind immediately reminded me of everything else that had happened the night before. The drive. The silence. His jacket s
Contracted to him 38
The cold water hit my skin like a shock to the system.I stood under the shower longer than I needed to, palms pressed against the wall, eyes closed, breathing slowly like I was trying to reset my entire existence.It didn’t help.Not even a little.The ache between my thighs only softened slightly, like it had decided to stay in the background instead of screaming at me—but it was still there. Present. Persistent. Mocking me.And worse… it wasn’t just physical.It was him.Theo.His voice.His hands.The way he had looked at me like he already knew I was going to fall apart before I even did.I exhaled sharply and tilted my head back under the water.“Get it together, Evangeline,” I muttered to myself.But even I didn’t believe it.Because the truth was simple and humiliating—I didn’t know how to go back to normal after him.---By the time I got out of the shower, I was exhausted in a way sleep couldn’t fix.I wrapped myself in a towel and stared at my reflection in the mirror.My
Contracted to him 37
Evangeline The strangest thing about healing was that it never happened all at once. There was no magical moment where everything suddenly felt okay. No morning where I woke up and thought, *I’m completely fine now.* It happened slowly. A conversation here. A small apology there. A moment where something that used to hurt didn’t hurt as much anymore. And maybe that was what I was experiencing. Not forgiveness. Not yet. But movement. For the first time in weeks, I felt like I wasn’t stuck in the same place. My relationship with Ava wasn’t magically fixed after one phone call, but it was something. A beginning. And I was learning to appreciate beginnings. Because endings had become far too familiar. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the gala arrangements. The foundation’s annual event was approaching quickly, and the closer we got, the more chaotic everything became. There were vendors to confirm, guest lists to finalize, sponsors to contact, and a thousand
Contracted to him 36
-Evangeline- I spent the entire drive home pretending I wasn’t thinking about him. I failed. Completely. The worst part was that nothing dramatic had happened. There was no grand confession. No life-changing conversation. No moment where everything suddenly made sense. It was just dinner. A conversation. A jacket around my shoulders because the night was cold. Small things. But somehow those were the things that stayed with me. Because grand gestures were easy. Anyone could buy flowers. Anyone could plan an expensive night. Anyone could say the right words when people were watching. But the little things? Those were harder to fake. And that terrified me. Because Theodore was becoming someone I looked for. Someone I wanted to talk to. Someone I missed when he wasn’t around. And that was dangerous. I leaned my head against the car window, watching the city lights blur past. I reminded myself of the contract. One year. That was the agreement. At the end of it,
Contracted to him 35
-Evangeline- I never thought I would see the day Theodore Duke would willingly stand in a kitchen. Not a metaphorical kitchen. An actual kitchen. The same man who had a personal assistant, a driver, a chef, and probably an entire team of people whose only job was making sure he never had to inconvenience himself was now standing beside me holding a wooden spoon like it was a foreign object. And somehow… It was adorable. I hated that word. Adorable was not a word I associated with Theodore. Intimidating? Definitely. Arrogant? Absolutely. Frustrating? Most definitely. But adorable? Never. And yet here he was. “You’re staring,” he said without looking at me. I blinked. “I’m not.” “You are.” “I’m observing.” “That’s a nicer way of saying staring.” I rolled my eyes, turning back to the stove. “You’re very confident for someone who almost burned onions five minutes ago.” “I did not burn them.” “You absolutely did.” “They were slightly darker.” “They were black.”
Contracted to him 14
I tried to stop myself from shaking as I stared at my reflection in the private bathroom one of the waitresses had lead me to after a heated exchange with my father and former in-laws. The conversation replayed in my head, loud and clear.“You know, I didn’t believe it when I heard it.” My father s
Contracted to him 13
The drive to the gala was quiet, not uncomfortable quiet, just... quiet, the kind that gave me far too much time to think, usually I liked thinking, but not today, I didn’t want to think because it felt like the more I did, the more nervous I became.The city lights blurred past the tinted windows a
Contracted to him 11
-Theodore-The city stretched endlessly beneath me, as the sun shone brighter and brighter, from the back seat of my car, I watched the morning traffic crawl through downtown while my driver drove, the car silent as usual, it was how every morning begun, the only difference was that today started la
Contracted to him 9
-Evangeline-The walls of the penthouse felt like they were closing in on me. I had paced the floor of my bedroom until the heels of my feet were numb, and my mind a jagged loop of panic and calculations.‘I can't do this,’ I shook my head.I couldn't sell myself, not even to get away Lucas. I was
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