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Viktor shows up at noon the next day.
I'm wiping down tables when the door swings open and he walks in like he owns the place. Maybe he does. I don't know anymore. The bar's empty except for Ray behind the counter doing inventory and Josie stacking glasses. Both of them freeze when they see him.
"Charlotte." Viktor doesn't smile. He's got a folder under one arm and his phone in the other hand. "We need to talk."
"I'm working."
"Not for long if you don't sit down."
Ray looks at me. I shake my head and he goes back to counting bottles but his shoulders stay tight. Josie disappears into the kitchen. Smart.
I drop the rag on the nearest table and cross my arms. "What do you want?"
Viktor sets the folder down and flips it open. There's a stack of papers inside. Official looking. The kind with seals and signatures at the bottom. "Your boss didn't tell you? I bought the lease last week. This building. The equipment. All of it."
My stomach drops. "Bullshit."
"Call him if you want." Viktor slides his phone across the table. "He'll confirm it. I gave him a good deal. He was happy to sell."
I don't touch the phone. Ray's gone still behind the bar. He heard. Fuck.
"So what," I say. "You're my landlord now?"
"I'm everyone's landlord." Viktor taps the folder. "Ray. Josie. The cook. Every single person on payroll. And guess what happens if you say no tomorrow?"
I don't answer. I know what he's going to say.
"I close this place down. Everyone's out. No notice. No severance. Just done." He leans back in the chair like he's got all day. "You think Ray's going to find another job at his age? You think Josie's got savings?"
"You're a piece of shit."
"I'm a businessman." He closes the folder. "You marry Ethan, I keep this place open. I even pay off the rest of your debt. Clean slate. You walk away free and everyone keeps their job."
"Why does he even want this?" My voice comes out too loud. "Why me? He doesn't know me. I don't know him."
Viktor shrugs. "That's between you and him. I'm just making the introduction."
"By holding people hostage."
"By offering you a way out." He stands up and leaves the folder on the table. "Wedding's tomorrow at six. City Hall. You show up, you sign, you go home with him. Simple."
"And if I don't?"
He's already walking toward the door. "Then you come in Monday and tell Ray yourself why he's unemployed."
The door swings shut behind him.
I stand there for a full minute before Ray says anything.
"Charlotte."
"Don't." I grab the folder and shove it under my arm. "Just don't."
I walk out the back and sit on the loading dock with my head in my hands. The folder sits next to me. I don't open it. I already know what's inside. Contracts. Proof. Viktor doesn't bluff.
My phone buzzes. Unknown number.
*Address attached. Be there at 5. We need to go over the terms. - E*
I stare at the message. There's a pin for a building downtown. Nice part of town. The kind of place I can't afford to get coffee in.
I don't answer. I shove the phone back in my pocket and light a cigarette even though I quit two years ago. My hands shake when I hold the lighter.
Mara used to say I had a tell when I was backed into a corner. I'd go real quiet and my jaw would lock up. She said it made me look dangerous. I told her I wasn't dangerous. I was just tired.
I'm so fucking tired.
But I get up. I go back inside. I finish my shift. Ray doesn't ask questions. Josie keeps her head down. We all pretend Viktor didn't just rip the floor out from under us.
At four-thirty I clock out and take the bus downtown. The address is a high-rise with a doorman and everything. He looks at me like I'm lost but I show him the message and he lets me in. The elevator's the kind with mirrors on every wall. I look like hell. Hair tied back. Jeans with a stain on the knee. T-shirt from the bar. I didn't have time to go home and change and I wouldn't have anyway. If Ethan wants a wife he's getting me as-is.
The elevator opens on the tenth floor. There's only one door in the hallway. I knock.
Ethan opens it within three seconds. Like he was waiting right there.
"Come in."
The apartment's clean. That's the first thing I notice. Not clean like someone just tidied up. Clean like no one really lives here. The furniture's all neutral colors. There's no photos on the walls. No mail on the counter. It smells like nothing.
"You want something to drink?" Ethan's already walking toward the kitchen.
"No." I stay by the door. "Let's just get this over with."
He stops and turns around. He's wearing dark jeans and a gray henley. His hair's still damp like he just got out of the shower. He looks normal. That's the worst part. He looks like a regular guy and not someone who'd break a man's wrist without blinking.
"Sit." He nods toward the couch.
I don't move. "Why do you want to marry me?"
"Viktor didn't explain?"
"Viktor said it's between you and me."
Ethan's quiet for a second. Then he walks over to the dining table and picks up a paper. He holds it out. "This is the contract. It's a year. You live here. We're married on paper. After twelve months we file for divorce and you're free to go."
I take the paper. It's short. One page. The terms are typed out in plain English. No lawyer talk. No fine print.
*Marriage term: 12 months from signing date.* *Cohabitation required: minimum 5 nights per week.* *No disclosure of terms to third parties.* *Financial support provided: $3k/month stipend + housing.* *Debt clearance upon signing: $47,000 balance cleared in full.*
"What do you get out of this?" I look up at him.
"That's my business."
"It's mine too if I'm signing."
His jaw tightens. "I need a wife for a year. That's all you need to know."
"Bullshit." I drop the paper on the table. "No one needs a wife that bad. Especially not a stranger. So what is it? Immigration? Inheritance? Some kind of cover?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yeah. It does."
He stares at me. His eyes are that same pale gray I noticed before. Almost colorless in the apartment's shitty overhead lighting. "You're not in a position to negotiate, Charlotte."
"Then why are we talking?" I grab my bag off the floor. "You want me to show up and sign? Fine. I'll be there tomorrow. But don't act like this is a conversation. It's not."
I'm halfway to the door when he speaks again.
"I won't touch you."
I stop.
"You'll have your own room," he says. "Your own space. I'm not asking for anything except your presence. You show up when required. You don't talk about the terms. After a year you walk away clean."
I turn around. "And if I say no?"
"Then Viktor does what he said he'd do."
I hate him. I don't even know him and I hate him. But I hate Viktor more. And I hate myself most of all for not having any other choice.
"Fine." I walk back to the table and pick up the pen sitting next to the contract.
"Wait." Ethan moves fast. His hand closes around my wrist before the pen touches paper. Not hard. But firm. "Read it first."
"I read it."
"Read it again."
I yank my hand back. "Why do you care?"
"Because once you sign you can't undo it."
I look down at the contract. The terms are still the same. Twelve months. Cohabitation. Silence. Freedom at the end.
I pick up the pen again.
This time he doesn't stop me. He just watches. I sign my name at the bottom. Charlotte Lane. My handwriting looks like shit. The letters are uneven and the 'e' trails off.
I set the pen down.
Ethan picks up the contract. For a second he just stares at my signature. Then his eyes flick up to meet mine.
And something changes.
His pupils shrink. Not like someone squinting in the light. Like something else. Like they're contracting into slits. Vertical. Sharp.
I blink.
They're normal again.
"Tomorrow," he says. His voice sounds tight. "Six pm. Don't be late."
I leave without answering. The elevator ride down feels longer than it should. My hands are still shaking when I hit the street.
I don't know what I just saw.
But I know I wasn't imagining it.