Welcome To Hell, Dear Wife-Chapter 74: The Contract

Chapter 74: The Contract
As if her brain had just clicked since they left, Mira scrambled across the floor like a wounded animal seeking shelter.
Her hands fumbled with the lock as it took three good attempts before she managed to lock the damn door properly.
She had to lock it, because who knew whether the damn man was gonna come back and do as he threatened. He didn’t seem like a man to make empty threats.
And even though the lock of the door should have brought her relief. It in fact didn’t.
She slid down the back of the door, allowing her legs to give out beneath her. The cool wood pressed against her back as she pulled her knees to her chest to wrap her arms around them in a desperate attempt to physically hold herself together.
She pressed her forehead against her knees as if trying to force her breathing to slow.
Focus. You need to focus on something concrete. Something that isn’t supernatural terror and murder.
The contract.
The thought cut through the panic like some sort of lifeline. She hadn’t even managed to read the damn thing that had started this whole nightmare.
Pushing herself up on unsteady legs, she retrieved the heavy black folio from where she’d dropped it near the bed. Her hands were still shaking as she carried it, treating it like a live bomb that might detonate at any moment.
Which in a way, it was exactly that.
She climbed onto the bed, settling cross-legged with the binder in her lap then took a deep, shuddering breath as if trying to cleanse her mind of all the craziness and then she finally opened it, focused this time.
The heading was formal, printed in bold capital letters: MATRIMONIAL COMPACT.
Mira almost laughed at the absurdity of it. It sounded more like a corporate merger than a marriage.
A business transaction. Which, she supposed was exactly what this was.
She began to read as her eyes scanned through the legal jargons. The language was so formal and deliberately complicated in the way that all legal documents seemed to be. But she forced her brain to focus on the words and not the scream still echoing in her memory.
Article 1: Obligations of Party A (Lucas Atkins)
Her pulse quickened as she read through Lucas’s promises.
Restore her career to its former glory. Provide financial backing and industry connections. Save her family’s company from bankruptcy and ruin.
It was all there, spelled out in black and white with specific timelines and measurable outcomes. He could do it. He had the power, the connections, the resources. Everything she needed to save her family was right here in this contract.
A tiny spark of hope flickered in her chest,
he was in the damn wrong!
Can I sue him? I can sue him right?
But then it died almost immediately as she read the next line:
Binding only upon the perfect and satisfactory fulfillment of all terms by Party B.
Her eyes dropped to Article 2 and the spark of hope didn’t just die, it was brutally murdered.
Section A: Absolute Obedience.
She had to read them twice to make sure she wasn’t misunderstanding.
"Party B shall comply immediately and without question to any and all directives, instructions, or commands issued by Party A, regardless of personal comfort, convenience, or preference."
Her stomach twisted into knots cos that wasn’t all, it was in fact getting worse.
"Section B: Total Residence & Control. Party B shall reside exclusively at locations designated by Party A. No departures, overnight absences, or extended visits shall occur without prior written permission from Party A. Party B’s schedule, social calendar, and public appearances shall be subject to Party A’s approval."
What the actual hell? She couldn’t even leave the house without his permission? She was basically a prisoner with fancy walls then!
"Section C: Impeccable Comportment. Party B must display contentment, loyalty, and devotion in all public and private settings. No defiance, insubordination, or public displays of discord shall be tolerated. Party B shall not consort with individuals deemed unsuitable by Party A."
The words blurred as tears of frustration started to prick at her eyes. She blinked them back furiously, refusing to cry even though the realization was already crushing her.
Every single rule in this
godforsaken
contract was a perfect description of everything she had done since waking up in this body.
She kept reading even though each clause got worse than the last. The contract detailed everything from her expected behavior in public to her required availability for marital duties, a particular phrase that made her skin crawl. There were clauses about her appearance, her speech, her relationships with others.
Everything about her life was controlled, monitored, and subject to Lucas’s approval.
And at the bottom of Article 2, in smaller text that she almost missed was another one saying,
"Failure to maintain satisfactory compliance with any provision herein shall be considered a material breach, resulting in immediate nullification of all obligations under Article 1. Determination of satisfactory compliance shall be made solely at the discretion of Party A."
The paper crinkled in her grip as her hands clenched into fists.
Lucas hadn’t gone against the deal at all. From his cold, logical, legalistic perspective, she had in fact broken lots of clauses first.
A bitter, hysterical laugh bubbled up in her throat, escaping as a choked sound somewhere between a sob and a giggle.
She was trapped in a freaking legal nightmare.
So this means to get the power and resources she needed to restore her career or even save the damn sanders whatever, she had to become the perfectly obedient wife of the man she absolutely hated. She had to erase everything that made her her and become a docile puppet, just for him.
Her eyes fell on the final clause, the one about contract termination.
"This agreement shall remain in effect until terminated by: (a) the death of Party A, or (b) mutual written agreement of both parties. No unilateral termination shall be permitted."
She couldn’t even divorce him? Not without his agreement? Which he would never give, because why would he?
She had no power here.
None. Zero.
She was completely at his mercy.
"How could anyone be so stupid?" she whispered to the empty room, her fingers tracing the clause about "satisfactory compliance" being determined solely by Lucas. "Who the hell signs this kinda shit?"
Or perhaps did she think she could play the game and win?
Maybe she’d thought she could manipulate Lucas, find loopholes and eventually gain the upper hand.
Dumbass, now I’m paying for her stupidity!
As she sat there wondering where she would even start from at this point, a soft click sound cut through the silence.
It was the sound of a key being inserted into the lock of her bedroom door.
Her head snapped up, her blood running cold.
She’d locked the door. So
who
the hell had a key?
The lock turned with a smooth, well-oiled motion that suggested it had been used many times before.
And she almost snapped on seeing Lucas standing in the doorway.
His eyes went directly to the open folio on her lap, taking in her white-knuckled grip on the pages, her wide eyes and then her pale face. Then his gaze traveled back up to meet hers.
He knew. He knew exactly what she had just realized.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind hi.
He didn’t come closer, he just leaned back against the door, completely at ease. Mira wanted to say something, anything, but her throat had closed up. Every survival instinct she had was screaming at her to stay quiet and not provoke him any further.
"Now," he said finally, his voice dangerously soft, cutting through the thick silence like a blade. "Do you remember what we agreed to?"
The condescension in his tone made her flinch. He paused, tilting his head slightly as if considering her.
"Or should I explain it to you like you’re a kindergartener?"
The words were a lash, likes ones obviously designed to humiliate. Mira could only stare, because even if she wanted to speak, what would she say?
That she hadn’t agreed to anything, that this was Lorena’s mess, not hers? That she’s someone else in Lorena’s body? All of that all over again?
"The only person who broke their word here was you. You signed and thus agreed to every term. Yet you have failed at every single one, but for some reason, you expected me to keep hold of my own part of the deal? As what? A stupid man? I don’t even fail at any business and this is more or less like it."
He pushed off the door and took a single, deliberate step into the room. Just one step yet it felt like he took a lot because the room suddenly felt smaller.
It was taking all in Mira to not snap, to not curse him out or say something smart as usual.
"So, I’ll ask you plainly, are you ready to finally start righting your wrongs?"