This agreement is strictly for the purpose of satisfying inheritance requirements.Under no circumstances is either party required or expected to develop genuine romantic feelings.Any public indication that this arrangement is not based on authentic love will void all terms and result in forfeiture of all future remuneration.
Public appearances required: Minimum twice weekly, including but not limited to dinners, social events, charity functions
Physical intimacy: Not required but may be necessary on a limited basis for maintaining public appearance
Termination: Automatic divorce filing on Jan 1stof following year.All compensation and benefits transferred to Party B (Clara Whitehall) throughout the duration of the marriage will remain in her possession despite the outcome of the inheritance.
The clinical language should have been reassuring—this was business, nothing more.But something about seeing it spelled out so clearly made my chest tight.Despite the energy that crackled between Nash and me and the way his gaze made my core clench, there was no fooling myself.This wasn't some romantic fairy tale.In fact, it was the opposite.This was an elaborate con job that I was agreeing to be part of.
For five hundred thousand dollars.
I scrolled to the end of the document, where Nash had added a personal note:
Clara - I've arranged for a modification to my penthouse that would give you and Mia a private suite if you change your mind about living arrangements.The choice is entirely yours.I meant what I said about not wanting to disrupt your daughter's life.This can work however you need it to.- Nash
Tears pricked at my eyes.The thoughtfulness of that addition, the fact that he'd listened to my concerns and found a way to accommodate them, hit me harder than I'd expected.Had I received that much consideration from Preston in Mia’s short life?All I could think of was when he’d visited me during Mia’s pregnancy and said that I looked way too fat for a pregnant lady.Preston was the opposite of accommodating.
I swallowed back tears, letting my mind wander to my cramped studio apartment, about the bills I couldn't pay and the jobs I'd been turned down for this week alone.The bathroom door swung open and then shut.I hastily swiped at a tear as though the two friends who happily chatted in the next stalls could even see me.
This contract, this arrangement, would change not just my life, but Mia’s future.I’d long forgotten about my tingling, numb legs as I tried to envision what the next year could look like under this arrangement.Public outings?I’d hire one of our babysitters to watch Mia.She could know Nash as just one of my friends.It didn’t need to become serious for her.I wanted to limit the amount of interaction between her and Nash because he wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture.Now, I’d have the resources to achieve that.Hell, he likely wouldn’t need to come to our apartment while she was there.I could arrange for him to “visit me” at my apartment while she was in school, if he ever needed to come over, minimizing the interactions between them.
That’s all I cared about.Her little heart.The one that her own father cared nothing for and had broken repeatedly since the day she was born.I knew what it was like to wander this world heartbroken as a young girl.My own father had been taken from me at a young age, a work accident that claimed his life.The man my mother married next was a cold man, and even as a little girl, I could tell he never truly wanted me there.
Yet I’d always hoped he’d choose me, love me, which meant my adolescence became a series of heartbreaks.Being promised things only for those promises to be broken chips away at a young heart.
I didn’t want Mia to have a lifetime of that.I didn’t want Mia to look at Nash as a father figure only for him to disappear.She already had so much disappointment from her own father.I was determined to do my best to protect her heartandprepare for her future.
So how could I say no to the contract?It was worth any amount of discomfort in the short term.I could pretend to be someone’s girlfriend and wife for a year.“Occasional intimacy to maintain public appearance” was doable.Furthermore, Nash had made things more than clear: this was business.I’d fallen in love with him after one night, but that was out of the question this time around.
Nash had no interest in love, at least with me.We’d be divorcing no matter what.
It was unromantic.It was stark.It was basically an unsexy turn-off.And I was ready to fucking do it.
I scrolled to the signature page and signed with my finger on the phone screen.I hit send before I could change my mind.
I stared at the phone for a few moments, my legs screaming with pins and needles, waiting for some sign that I’d entered my new life.All I got was the bathroom door swinging open and then shut as a new round of patrons filtered in.
Nothing changed.Still the same old Clara Whitehall, formerly known as Clara Buttons, and for one brief night, Scarlett.I stood, stepping tentatively until my legs regained feeling.I felt exactly the same as Broke As Hell Clara, plus the strange sensation that came from sitting on a toilet for too long without using it.But soon, I’d be Financially Solvent Clara.The Clara who had a savings account with more than a few dusty pennies in it.The Clara who didn’t break into hives when she had to pay rent each month.
Thoughts swirled as I washed my hands, staring at my reflection.I couldn’t tell anyone, not even Zoey.It was the most enormous secret of my life.Could I actually keep it a secret for almost a year?I could barely last five minutes when faced with Zoey and a piece of juicy gossip.Doubt and regret and excitement all washed through me.And then my phone buzzed.
NASH:Welcome to the team.Dinner tomorrow night to discuss next steps?
CLARA: Good idea, future hubby.
NASH: Marco will pick you up at 6.We have a lot to plan.
I stared at my phone screen, anxiety already creeping through me.Dinner at six?That meant logistics.Babysitter.Who to ask, what to tell them?
CLARA: When do the monthly funds come through?I need to arrange a babysitter, and she charges extra at night.
NASH: Where are you?Can we meet now?
My heart started racing.Where was I?Recovering from the shock of signing a legally binding contract with a billionaire inside a cramped ladies room, that’s where.I hurried back into the coffee shop, peering out the front windows to get an idea of where the hell I’d been camped out for the past half hour.
Once I used my detective skills to figure out the nearest intersection and paired it with the name of the coffee shop at the top of the menu, I sent Nash the address, followed by,
CLARA: It’s called Black & Brewtiful.
