Contract Lover

1 Wesley was a star student sponsored by my family. To dodge an arranged marriage, I hired him to play my boyfriend for two years. The deal was simple: if he didn't fall for me by the end, we would part ways amicably. We did everything sweet couples do. We dated on campus, met the parents, and eventually set a wedding date. Until the day of the wedding. In front of a room full of guests, he pulled another woman close and kissed his bride. Except the bride in that white gown was my best friend. He turned to me and said, "A deal is just words on paper. Life moves on. Minnie is the one I love." Everyone waited for me to lose my mind and cause a scene. Instead, I just shook my head and let out a quiet laugh. "When a lapdog forgets his place, you don't fight him. You toss him out." … I stood in the dressing room, staring into the full-length mirror at the custom designer gown I hadn't taken off yet. The grand wedding meant for me had become someone else's fairy tale. The door burst open with violent force. In walked Wesley, the man I had loved for two years, alongside Minnie, the friend I had trusted for half a decade. Everyone in our social circle knew Wesley was a charity case elevated by my family. His parents were broke farmers. My family had covered every penny of his expenses, from high school prep to his top-tier university degree. Tuition, room, board, wardrobe, allowance, we paid for all of it. I used to believe that no human heart was made of stone, that warmth could melt anyone. So I poured everything into him, falling for him for real. Wesley stood tall, sharp and handsome in his tuxedo. There wasn't a trace of guilt or panic in his eyes. Only cold indifference, laced with a flicker of annoyance. Minnie clung to his arm like a delicate vine, draped in a bridal gown. Her pale cheeks blushed with a sickeningly sweet glow, though a sinister gleam of triumph danced in her eyes. They walked toward me side by side. "Eva," Wesley spoke first, his tone unnervingly calm. "It isn't what you think." I stared at him in silence, refusing to cry, refusing to scream. "Our two-year agreement is up. I've played my part. You used your family's financial favor to tie down two years of my youth. To me, this was never love. It was a golden cage." He reached up and gently brushed a loose strand of hair behind Minnie's ear. The tenderness in his eyes was a level of devotion he had never once offered me. "Minnie is my soulmate. We love each other. We endured nearly two years in secret because of your overbearing claim on me. If you hadn't held that financial debt over my head, we would have been together long ago." Minnie's eyes instantly welled with tears. She timidly clutched Wesley's sleeve, letting out a soft sob. "Eva, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to steal your wedding. Wesley and I are truly in love. We couldn't control our feelings." A tag-team act, twisting facts upside down. I couldn't help letting out a cold, bitter laugh. Wesley spoke up again, perfectly composed. "Minnie and I already registered our marriage abroad. Our love is official now, and I've given her the title she deserves." "However, I won't turn my back on your family's support, nor will I ruin your reputation. Next week, I'll register a domestic marriage with you." "From now on, we won't interfere in each other's personal lives. I will give you the respect of being my legal wife in public, and you will continue to back my research and provide resources. Once I am fully established, everything will work out for both of us." Outside the room, staff and guests passed by, whispering among themselves. Their eyes kept darting toward me. Some offered pity, some enjoyed the drama, while others looked away in awkward silence. Wesley was utterly convinced I was hopelessly in love with him. He believed my pride wouldn't allow me to walk away empty-handed after two years, nor would I let myself become the laughingstock of the city. He assumed I had no choice but to swallow the insult and remain his financial backing. I lowered my head, taking one last look at the pristine white dress. When I raised my eyes, my gaze was ice cold. "Don't bother." A flash of genuine surprise flickered across Wesley's face. I slowly reached up and ripped the veil from my hair. "Keep your true love. Keep your legal title for Minnie." "The debt is cleared. Wesley, you and I are done." 2 I turned and walked away. Behind me, Wesley's voice dropped to a dark register. "Think carefully, Eva. If you walk out that door today, I won't give you a second chance." My steps never slowed. My phone vibrated in my hand. It was a text from my mother: Eva, I've sent a driver for you. Come straight home. In those few words, I could feel her barely suppressed rage. She had never approved of Wesley from day one, but I had been stubborn. I stepped into the car and told the driver, "To the office. I have work to handle." At the corporate headquarters, top floor. My assistant, Hannah, knocked and entered. "Ms. Montgomery, the tech department is asking if we have a backup for the core code in Wesley's research proposal." "No," I said, taking a sip of black coffee as the bitterness coated my tongue. "I trusted him too much back then to bother with a non-disclosure agreement." Hannah hesitated, looking like she wanted to say more. "Speak up." "Wesley just posted on his feed." She handed me her tablet. On the screen was a wedding photo of him and Minnie. The caption read: So glad it's you. Wesley had even replied to a comment below: Thank you everyone. It wasn't an easy road for Minnie and me, but we made it. Then a text notification popped up from Wesley on my phone. Eva, we need to talk. I didn't reply. It's about the technical proposal. Our usual spot. If you don't show up, you'll regret the consequences. That spot was the high-end Japanese restaurant where we had our very first date. Back then, he had just won an academic scholarship and claimed he wanted to treat me to dinner. I had once canceled a board gala just to squeeze onto a crowded subway in an evening gown to meet him there. In the private dining booth, Wesley was already waiting. "Eva, I apologize for what happened today." "But we agreed from the start. Two years. If I didn't love you, we'd part ways with dignity." He emphasized the word dignity. "You were the one who took it seriously and insisted on planning a wedding," he paused. "Playing along with you until now is more than generous on my part." I picked up my glass of sake, forcing down the urge to splash it across his face. "So you deliberately waited until the wedding ceremony to humiliate me? Was that your idea of dignity?" "It wasn't like that..." "Get to the point," I snapped, cutting him off. "I'm not wasting another second on you." He pulled a document out of his leather briefcase, looking resigned. "I can let your company keep using the tech proposal." "Your terms?" "First, your family continues to fund my doctorate project. Second, Montgomery Corp guarantees exclusive investment in my new venture for the next five years." "Third," he looked straight into my eyes, his tone brimming with unshakeable confidence, "we still get legally married." I set down my glass. "I can understand the first two demands. But why the third?" Wesley gave a low, cynical chuckle. "Eva, don't be naive. You announced in front of everyone that our debt was settled. How am I supposed to climb the social ladder after that? Everyone will call me a gold-digger who used a rich girl and discarded her." "So you're just trying to save face." His expression turned dark. "It doesn't matter what you call it. What matters is public perception. You know how hard I worked to get where I am today." Of course I knew. Every step of his climb was built on my family's money and connections. "Wesley, I refuse every single one of your terms." He snapped his head up, stunned by my blunt refusal. "When I say a bridge is burned, it stays burned." I grabbed the document and ripped it into pieces right in front of his face. The composed mask he wore finally shattered. He stood up abruptly. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea how critical this project is for your firm? If your father finds out..." "I already know." The paper door slid open. My father stood at the entrance, dressed in a sharp suit, the gray hair at his temples slightly more pronounced than the last time I saw him. He didn't even spare Wesley a glance. He looked only at me and said softly, "Eva, let's go home." Wesley stood frozen in place. I followed my father out to the car. Inside the vehicle, he broke the silence. "Eva, do you know what makes me proudest of you?" I didn't answer. "It's not your grades or your business sense," his eyes crinkled with quiet warmth. "It's that when you fall, you never sit around waiting for someone to pick you up." My nose stung, and tears finally spilled over my lashes. 3 The next morning, I gathered my emotions and prepped for work. Passing my father's study, I caught his hushed voice on the phone: "Delay it a bit longer. Eva just went through a rough patch, I can't add to her stress right now..." I pushed the door open. My father hung up instantly, putting on a calm smile. "Heading to the office today? I'll have Thomas drive you." "Dad, are you hiding something from me?" "What could I possibly hide?" He waved his hand dismissively. "Your old man is doing just fine." I didn't push further, but an unsettling dread settled deep in my chest. A week later. In the middle of an executive board meeting, my phone buzzed incessantly. It was my mother. "Eva, get to Central Hospital right now! Your father... he collapsed. They're trying to revive him..." My mind went completely blank, the world going dead silent. By the time I rushed to the hospital, my father was already inside the Intensive Care Unit. My mother sat alone on the corridor bench, her eyes bloodshot, clutching a medical chart so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Mom, what happened to Dad?" She looked up, her lips trembling violently. "He was diagnosed with leukemia three months ago. He hid it from both of us and underwent chemotherapy in secret." "He wouldn't let me tell you. He didn't want to distract you..." My legs gave out, and I had to lean against the wall to stay upright. "His condition deteriorated rapidly. He needs an emergency bone marrow transplant." She handed me the report. "I've been tested, along with all our relatives. None of us are a match. Eva, you're his last hope." "Test me right now." The cross-matching process took three agonizing days. For those three days, I spent my mornings by the hospital bed and my nights drowning in corporate files. On the afternoon of the third day, inside the chief physician's office: "Ms. Montgomery, your results are in." The doctor adjusted his glasses, his voice heavy with sympathy. "Regrettably, your marrow is not a match for your father." I stood there, stunned. "How is that possible? I'm his biological daughter..." "Genetic compatibility can be unpredictable," the doctor explained gently. "We will search the national donor registry immediately, but you should also ask friends and acquaintances to get tested." I walked out of the office, staring blankly at the bustling hospital corridor. Then I posted a public update on my social feed: My father is critically ill and urgently requires a bone marrow match. A substantial reward will be provided for a suitable donor. Overnight, the news rippled through the entire high-society circle. Early the next morning, an unexpected figure appeared outside the ICU. Wesley. "What are you doing here?" I frowned, my voice cold. "Your father is sick. I came to see him." His tone was unnervingly tender, and he even reached out as if to smooth my hair. "You look so exhausted." "I don't need your pity. Get out." I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist. "Eva, I got tested." I snapped my head around to glare at him. He handed me a laboratory document. It showed a perfect ten out of ten match for transplant compatibility. I stared at the paper, my emotions a chaotic storm. Wesley gave me a subtle, triumphant smile. "Eva, I'm glad. Maybe this is our second chance." His voice was soft, but every word hit like a brick. "I will donate my marrow. But only on one condition: we get back together." I met his gaze coldly. "And Minnie is just fine with that?" "I spoke with Minnie. She understands," he paused, stepping closer. "Eva, over these past few days, I realized I still can't let you go." He put on an earnest look. "You used to be so high and mighty, and my insecurity made me crave Minnie's admiration. But after you left, I realized you're the one I love. I hope it's not too late." I let out a mock laugh. "So you want to have your cake and eat it too?" He pulled me into an embrace. "Minnie will move abroad later. I'll visit her occasionally. As for us, we'll stay here as the perfect power couple." He paused, lowering his tone. "Besides... your father's illness can't wait." "Fine." I heard my own voice reply, eerily calm. "I agree. But you donate your marrow first and ensure my father's surgery is successful." He pulled a pre-drafted legal document from his coat pocket and held it out. "Sign this." I glanced down at the title: Binding Agreement: Eva Montgomery agrees to legally marry Wesley upon successful organ donation, with a five million dollar breach penalty. I picked up a pen and signed my name without an ounce of hesitation. Marriage, after all, was just words on a piece of paper. 4 Wesley wasn't in a rush to schedule the surgery right away. And I didn't push him either. Instead, I acted like a devoted girlfriend again, appearing downstairs at his apartment complex every morning to deliver fresh coffee and warm breakfast sandwiches. "You have a sensitive stomach. Stop skipping breakfast." As he took the coffee, his fingers brushed mine, making him freeze for a brief second. "Eva, you don't have to do all this..." "I want to treat you well," I offered a soft smile. "I used to be too proud and distant. Looking back, I was terrible to you." "It's really good," he murmured, taking a sip. Soon enough, Wesley became far more attentive. At first, it was, "Don't bother bringing breakfast, sleep in a little." Then it turned into, "Let's go to that Japanese place, for old time's sake." Over sushi, after a few drinks, his eyes grew slightly glazed. "Back when I won my first scholarship, I didn't have enough to treat you. I was terrified you'd look down on me, so I saved up half a month of food money just to book this place." "I know," I said gently. "You wore your only sweater without holes in it that night. The collar was washed completely pale," I placed a piece of salmon on his plate. "I also know you came here beforehand to check the menu prices and calculated the math three times before asking me out." He froze, his eyes slowly turning red. "Eva, you..." "I never looked down on you," I looked into his eyes with absolute sincerity. "You were the one who assumed I was looking down on you." That night, he walked me back to my apartment building and stood in the courtyard for a long time. The moment I pulled my curtains shut, I sent a text to Minnie. Minnie, Wesley is going to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow. Want to join us? She replied instantly: What are you playing at, Eva? Bragging? Wesley still has feelings for you, and I don't want to come between you two. But he's saving my dad right now, so I just want to be good to him. Don't mind me. A five-minute silence followed on the screen. Fine. I'm coming. The next morning, Minnie showed up at the hospital lobby right on cue. The second she walked in, she wrapped her arm around Wesley's, her voice dripping sweet. "Wesley, I missed you so much." Wesley instinctively glanced at me. I smiled gently. "You two catch up. I'll go grab our queue numbers." When I returned, Minnie was wiping away tears, her voice choked. "You said you only loved me! You promised you'd end things with her as soon as her dad's surgery was over..." I walked over as if I hadn't heard a word and handed the ticket to Wesley. "It's your turn. Head on in." He didn't move, staring at me. "Did you hear that?" I chuckled, reaching out to straighten his collar. "Hear what? Go on, I'll be right here waiting for you." Minnie's face turned completely pale in an instant. Because she realized that the way Wesley looked at me had entirely changed. From that day on, Minnie began throwing desperate tantrums. She posted old photos with Wesley on her social feed with captions like: Nostalgia is poison. I liked every single one of her posts and commented below: You two were so sweet back then. She messaged me, calling me a fake bitch. I replied: Minnie, I genuinely wish you both the best. If Wesley wants private time with you, I can step back anytime. Minnie took a screenshot and sent it to Wesley: Look at how fake she is! Wesley frowned heavily. "Minnie, can you stop making a scene? Eva has been more than generous to you." Minnie completely lost her mind. She couldn't understand why the harder she pushed, the closer Wesley drifted toward me. Later, I offered to treat Minnie to dinner as an apology. The three of us sat at the same table. Minnie kept a sour face the entire evening. I smiled and placed food onto her dish. "Minnie, you've lost weight recently. Eat a bit more." She sneered, "Eva, cut the hypocritical act." I set my fork down, my eyes turning slightly red. "I know you hate me, but I always considered you a friend. I haven't tried to stop you and Wesley from being together, have I?" Wesley grabbed my hand and snapped at Minnie, "Minnie, that is enough!" Minnie slammed her utensils down and stormed out. I urged him softly, "Go after her. Don't leave her alone." He hesitated for a second, then ran out. Five minutes later, he returned alone. "Put her in a cab?" I asked. "Yeah." He sat down beside me and suddenly pulled me into his arms. "Eva, how can you be so good to me?" 5 Wesley began showing up at my family's corporate office with increasing frequency. He volunteered to optimize the core algorithms for our tech department, working past midnight and showing up the next morning with dark circles under his eyes just to see me. "Don't push yourself so hard," I handed him a mug of warm milk. "I want to help you," he looked into my eyes. "In the past, I only thought about taking resources from your family. I never realized that you needed someone to rely on, too." I smiled quietly, saying nothing. The bone marrow transplant surgery finally went smoothly. On the day my father was discharged, Wesley came to pick us up. He bowed deeply to my father. "Sir, I'm sorry. I was an idiot in the past." My father looked at me, but I remained silent. "If you truly treat Eva well going forward..." My father let out a long sigh. "As her father, what more can I say?" Wesley's eyes welled with heat, and he dropped to his knees right there, bowing his head to the ground. I pulled him up, dusting the dirt off his knees. "Alright, let's just live a good life from now on." In the car, he gripped my hand tightly. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you'll have me." I didn't answer, turning my head to watch the neon lights streak past the window. Have you? Of course I will. In the days that followed, Wesley became a changed man. He turned down every social invite and arrived at my office every day at five on the dot to pick me up. He began memorizing my favorite foods, my tiny habits, and every random thought I voiced. He even went out of his way to delete all of Minnie's contact info. Minnie came to find me once, her makeup ruined from crying. "Eva, you won, alright? Can you please just give him back to me?" I handed her a tissue. "Minnie, I didn't steal him. He chose to stay on his own." "You're lying! You deliberately played nice, acted all generous in front of him, and drove me crazy so he would hate me..." I smiled gently. "If that's what you want to believe, there's nothing I can say." That night, Wesley asked me what Minnie had wanted. I said, "She misses you. Do you want to give her a call?" He shook his head. "No. Some people belong in the past." On Friday, Wesley reserved an entire restaurant, claiming he had a massive surprise for me. When I arrived, the place was filled with red roses and white balloons. He dropped to one knee, opening a velvet box revealing a sparkling diamond ring. "Eva, marry me." I looked at the ring and smiled softly. "Alright." He leapt up in excitement and embraced me tightly, his voice trembling. "I will treat you right for the rest of my life." I whispered in his ear, "Tomorrow at eleven, let's go to the courthouse and register our marriage." Wesley squeezed me even tighter. The next morning, I silenced Wesley's relentless flurry of incoming calls and switched my phone completely off. Out in the scorching summer sun outside the city registry office, Wesley was drenched in sweat. Suddenly, a text notification flashed on his tablet from his lab junior. Senior, did you see the news? What news? Eva... it looks like she's already married.