THE HUNDRED-DAY WIFE

Chapter 1 — The Contract

When Elena Hart walked into the thirty-second floor of Blackwood Tower, she had no idea that she was about to sign away one hundred days of her life.

The man waiting behind the enormous glass desk was Adrian Blackwood, the youngest CEO of Blackwood Holdings.

He was famous for two things: building a business empire before the age of thirty-five, and never allowing anyone close enough to know what he was thinking.

His expression barely changed when Elena entered.

“You’re late by three minutes.”

Elena glanced at the clock.

“I was told ten o’clock.”

“It is ten-oh-three.”

She almost turned around and left.

Almost.

Then she remembered the hospital bill sitting inside her handbag.

Her younger brother needed surgery, and the amount she had saved over the past three years wasn’t enough.

Adrian pushed a folder across the desk.

“One hundred days,” he said.

Elena opened it.

The contract was simple.

For one hundred days, she would pretend to be Adrian Blackwood’s wife.

She would attend business dinners, family gatherings, charity events, and public appearances beside him.

In return, she would receive enough money to pay for her brother’s surgery and settle her family’s debts.

“There is one important rule,” Adrian said.

“No falling in love.”

Elena looked up.

“That won’t be difficult.”

For the first time, something almost resembling amusement appeared in his eyes.

“Good.”

They signed the contract that afternoon.

Their wedding took place three days later.

There were no flowers.

No honeymoon.

No romantic vows.

Only cameras.

Adrian placed a ring on Elena’s finger and whispered quietly enough that no one else could hear.

“Remember. This is business.”

Elena smiled for the cameras.

“I know.”

But neither of them knew how complicated business would become once they started living under the same roof.

Adrian was colder than she expected.

He rarely spoke during breakfast.

He hated loud music.

He worked until midnight.

And he had a habit of leaving his jacket over the back of Elena’s chair whenever he came home late.

At first, Elena thought nothing of it.

Then, little things began to change.

When she caught a cold, medicine appeared beside her bed.

When she worked late on a project, Adrian silently left a cup of hot tea on her desk.

When a reporter insulted her during a public event, Adrian stepped between them.

“Speak to me,” he said coldly.

The reporter immediately fell silent.

Elena stared at him.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Adrian adjusted his cuff.

“You’re my wife.”

The words should have meant nothing.

They were written in a contract.

Yet Elena’s heart reacted as if they meant everything.

Then, on the sixty-third day, she discovered something that changed everything.

Inside Adrian’s study was a locked cabinet.

And inside that cabinet was an old photograph of her father.

Elena froze.

Her father had died eight years earlier.

According to everyone, Adrian Blackwood had never even met him.

But written on the back of the photograph were four words:

I owe him the truth.

Elena’s hands trembled.

For the first time, she wondered whether their marriage had ever been just an arrangement.