MARRIAGE UNDER CONTRACT

THE WEIGHT OF SECRETS

Samantha’s POV

Long after I left Adrian's office, I could feel the weight of his eye upon me. Every stride I made seemed more weight than the previous, as though the air itself were attempting to drag me back. I had to leave there, far from his probing inquiries, far from the truth I wasn't ready to confront. But for what length of time could I continue to run?

As I walked outdoors, the cool night air brushed my face and I let out a breath I had not noticed I was holding. My pulse was still beating from the confrontation, my hands shook. Adrian knows. He knew about Jared somehow, and that made me more afraid than anything.

Not sure where I was headed, I moved fast knowing I couldn't remain motionless. Now the streets were calmer; the late hour was causing the bustle of the city to die. Once more my phone buzzed, the same message flickering across the screen.

We must talk immediately.

I erased the note, knotting my gut. Jared would not let this go, but I had time for his threats. I had to decide what to do and how to guard myself without dragging Adrian into this muddle. Already too close, he was probing too many questions.

The worst of all is also He was attentive. It was evident in his eyes when I mentioned Jared. Along with the anxiety, the rage and resentment abound. He was someone who had always watched my back, even when I hadn't deserved it; he was more than simply my boss.

But I couldn't afford to trust Adrian if doing so meant endangering him. Not according to what Jared had intended. My mistakes made me not want to let anyone else suffer.

My brain racing as I ordered something to clear it, I stepped into a little coffee shop. Though it helped me to ground myself, the warmth of the cup in my hands was insufficient to calm the storm inside. nor to Adrian, nor to myself, I could not keep lying. But how could I tell him the truth without forfeiting it all?

The memories I had been attempting to stifle came back as I sat there staring out the window. Jared was a ghost from a history I had worked so hard to flee, not just a threat. It was smothering, the promises he had made, the power he had over me. Now he was back, expecting more than I could offer.

The bell over the door chimed, and I looked up naturally. My heart came to a stop. Jordan.

He came in, his eyes fixed on me right away and a slow, predatory smile twisting on his lips. He hasn't changed. Still wearing smart suits, he exudes a threat under his appealing front. He didn't fit here, in this peaceful haven where people come to run away from problems. He *was* the disturbance.

Mind if I sit? he asked, already dragging the chair across from me.

Too frozen to move, I answered by tightening my fingers around the cup. Jared leaned back and studied me with those dark eyes that had once imprisoned me.

"You've been avoiding me," he continued, his voice almost casual.

"I have been busy," I said, my voice hardly steady.

His smile got more broad. " Too busy for old friends?" That breaks, Samantha.

Standing up, I muttered, "I don't have time for this," but he grabbed my wrist, his grip firm but not painful. Still:

"Sit down," he murmured gently, his voice tinged with an unstated threat. "We should chat."

My pulse throbbing in my ears, I sat back down. Jared leaned forward, his voice low and lethal.

His smile lost, he replied, "I doubt you grasp the circumstances." You cannot run away from me. Not this time.

I said, "I'm not running," lying with as much defiance as I could have. I met his eye.

He laughed—a frigid, devoid of humor. You believe Adrian will guard you? You believe he can halt what is approaching?

A cold crawled along my back. He knew what? How much? He had previously budgeted how much? Jared had the means to follow through, and he was not the kind to make hollow threats. But Adrian, he was more robust than Jared had assumed. He was the one who could help me if anyone could. How could I, however, bring him into this?

"What would you like, Jared?" My voice calmed as I sought some control over the exchange.

His grin came back, deliberate and slow. "It's straightforward." You assist me with this business; I will ensure Adrian stays away from it. You avoid it and things get messy.

I tightened my jaw while my mind flew. Obviously, it was related to business. Always with Jared was the case. He sought something from Adrian, and I was the means to acquire it. But what he wanted meant betraying Adrian, and I could not do that. Not following the journey we have been on.

"I'm not helping you," I said, speaking deliberately. You will have to look for another approach.

His eyes clouded, his smile dropped off his face. That's disheartening, Samantha. You would be wiser than this, but I thought.

Rising, he tossed some money on the table for my unspilled coffee. You have till the end of the week to have second thoughts. Following that, let's just say things might get tough for both of you.

My heart pounding, my head whirling with terror and resentment, I watched him go. Jared wasn't blustering, and I knew it. If I could not figure out how to stop him, he would ruin both of us.

I , however, turn against Adrian. Not following all through. I owed that much to him.

Driven by Jared's warnings, I staggered back to my flat in a trance. Adrian's face kept coming back to me, the worry in his eyes, the way he had looked at me when he said I shouldn't be doing this on my own.

Would I be able to trust him? After all these years of battle on my own, might I at last let someone inside?

I was not closer to an answer by the time I got to my door. My hands shaking, I stumbled with my keys, opened the door, then entered. As the truth of my circumstances struck me, the quiet of my flat felt oppressive, the walls closing in about me.

I couldn't continue like this. I could not keep lying and pretending everything was fine when it was not. But if I told Adrian the truth, if I let him in, what would that mean? Once he understood my depth, would he still want to help me and trust me?

I dropped my head in hands down onto the couch. Between Adrian's confidence and Jared's threats, I was caught. And someone was going to suffer whichever decision I decided upon.

I couldn't carry on running though. I had to contend with this and figure out how to stop Jared before it was too late.

And that meant imparting all to Adrian.

Once more buzzing on my phone, it was not Jared. Adrian it was.

We must speak. Come into the office tomorrow.

My heart thumping in my chest, I fixed my gaze on the mail. He was informed. He was onto something, and I could no more conceal.

Tomorrow everything is going to be different. In one way or another.