Chapter 12
One year later…
Winter had come early to New York this year. The wind cut sharp through the city’s steel and glass skeleton, whistling down streets like a warning.
Cressida Hale stood in front of the floor–to–ceiling windows, a thick contract clutched in her arms. Her gaze was cold, detached–eerily similar to the woman who once dragged Silas Vasker to his knees without blinking.
Killian sat behind his desk. His collar was open, sleeves rolled just enough to reveal the sleek edge of his watch. One hand spun a gold pen between his fingers.
“Sign it,” he said, voice cool, certain, “and we can talk about the land you’ve been chasing. Once the contract ends, you get everything back–except the child.”
Cressida didn’t answer. Her eyes dropped to the pages: no marriage, no emotional ties, just one thing–a child.
So familiar.
So much like the kind of arrangements she used to be cornered into, back when she didn’t even realize she had a say.
She let out a dry laugh. Not quite amused.
“You know why I didn’t bother asking, Why me?” Her voice was quiet, but steady.
Alexander looked up, pausing briefly, his fingers tapping once on the desk.
“Because I know you don’t believe in love,” she said softly. “You believe in control.”
She met his eyes–those deep, storm–dark eyes. “Just like me. I don’t believe you anymore, Killian. But I owe you one.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he pushed the contract toward her.
“I need an heir. That’s all this is, Cressida. Just a child.”
She didn’t bother asking why he hadn’t picked someone else.
She knew. From the moment she walked away from Drake Corp six months ago and built her own company, she
knew he’d come looking eventually.
Not because of love.
Because she was the most logical choice.
In this kind of deal, love wasn’t part of the conversation. Choice wasn’t either.
“I want one condition added,” she said. “This child will know who I am. Maybe we’ll never meet again, but they’ll know–they weren’t just some clause in a contract.”
12:58
My Ex Sold His Body for 7 Days–I Sold My Soul to His Enemy All Lifetime
17.2%
Chapter 12
Alexander studied her for a long beat.
Then he nodded once.
“Deal.”
That night, Cressida stood by the car, staring at his sharp profile under the city lights.
“What are we now?” she asked.
He didn’t turn to her. His voice was calm. “You’re the mother of the future heir.”
She gave a short, bitter laugh, then flipped to the final page of the contract and signed her name.
Cressida Hale.
What she didn’t know–what she couldn’t possibly know–was that this contract, dressed in cold words and hard rules, was the closest thing to tenderness Alexander Ian had ever written.
12:58 C
