Chapter 3 — The Marriage That Became Real

The news spread across the city within minutes.

BLACKWOOD CEO DECLARES CONTRACT MARRIAGE REAL.

Elena couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“You said this was business.”

“It was.”

“And now?”

Adrian squeezed her hand.

“Now it’s my life.”

She stared at him.

“You can’t just change the contract.”

“I already did.”

“You didn’t ask me.”

For the first time, Adrian looked nervous.

“I know.”

He took a breath.

“So I’m asking now.”

The reporters were still watching.

The cameras were still flashing.

But Adrian no longer seemed to care.

“Elena, I don’t want one hundred days.”

He removed his wedding ring.

Then he placed it back onto her finger.

“I want every day after them.”

Elena’s eyes filled with tears.

“You’re supposed to be the coldest businessman in the city.”

“I am.”

“You don’t look very cold right now.”

“That’s because you’re the only person who makes me lose control.”

She laughed through her tears.

But their happiness didn’t last long.

That afternoon, Adrian finally identified the person behind her father’s death.

It was Victor Blackwood.

Adrian’s uncle.

For years, Victor had secretly moved company funds into hidden accounts. Elena’s father had discovered the scheme and intended to expose him.

Victor had arranged the accident that killed him.

When Adrian confronted him, Victor tried to destroy the remaining evidence.

But Elena had already found the final document.

Her father’s handwriting was at the bottom.

If anything happens to me, trust Adrian.

Elena finally understood.

Her father had trusted Adrian all along.

And Adrian had spent eight years trying to finish the investigation he had started.

Victor was arrested.

The truth about Elena’s father became public.

And for the first time in years, Elena could remember her father without wondering what had really happened to him.

Months later, Elena stood in the garden of the Blackwood estate.

There was no contract on the table.

No cameras.

No reporters.

Only Adrian standing in front of her.

“You know,” Elena said, “our first wedding was terrible.”

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“You complained about the flowers.”

“There were no flowers.”

“Exactly.”

She laughed.

Adrian took her hand.

“This time, you choose everything.”

“The dress?”

“Yes.”

“The flowers?”

“Yes.”

“The place?”

“Yes.”

“And the husband?”

He smiled.

“That part is already decided.”

Elena looked at him.

“Who?”

Adrian leaned closer.

“Me.”

She smiled.

“One condition.”

“What?”

“No contracts.”

Adrian nodded.

“No contracts.”

Their second wedding was small.

There were flowers.

There was music.

And there were vows that had never appeared in any legal document.

When Adrian looked at Elena that day, there was no trace of the cold CEO the world knew.

Only a man who had once agreed to pretend to love someone for one hundred days—

and ended up wanting to love her for the rest of his life.

The contract lasted one hundred days.

Their marriage lasted because neither of them wanted it to end.