My contract love story

He grabbed the hand placed on her laps and held them firmly in his palms as he feigned a pondering expression.

“I guess you did not understand the contract clearly. I am in all ways at control of this marriage and the agreements made concerning this issue. I will be the one to decide whether you are fulfilling your part of the agreement or not” he explained slowly.

“And so far, you haven’t met the requirements for me to consider fulfilling my side of the contract” he finished, patting her head like a child.

Ashleigh could feel her face heating up in anger as she glared at the idiot CEO besides her. No matter how he meant it, he was right. She was basically still not at the level to reason with him or make demands of what he should give her. Thinking constantly of what her ultimate goal was, she calmed herself down and asked in a calm manner.

“What am I yet to do that makes you say I have still not met my part of the agreement?”

“You are yet to move in with me”

“I do not see how my being with or away from you makes any difference. We are not in a love marriage that requires that I be with you for comfort purposes. I don’t actually care if you’re besides me or in Antarctica, your presence means nothing to me”

” Mrs Cagliari, I do not like to repeat myself over and over again. We had gone over this earlier, whether the thought of it makes you uncomfortable or not, I do not care. You’re coming home with me today” her eyes widened.

“Hey! You said I had till weekend” she pouted.

“And I changed my mind. I’ll give your two options: it’s either you come with me to the house and I’ll give you some information on your parents by weekend OR you stay till weekend with your aunt but expect any information from me by next weekend. Up to you” he said in a flat tone, looking at her with full intentions to do as he said.

On seeing his serious demeanour, she caved in.

“Let’s go” she mumbled out but Adrian pretended not to hear. Scooting closer to her, he leaned closer to her lips and asked again.

“What did you say? I didn’t quite hear it…”

“I said let’s go dumbass” she yelled but was silenced by his finger on her lips in a shush motion.

“Uh uh, watch your language Mrs. Cagliari. Be a good girl” he said, shaking his head in a teasing manner, smiling in a sly manner.

“We’re here, let’s go in” Adrian stepped out of the car, stretching his hand out to Ashleigh. Ashleigh grabbed his hand and was helped out of the car to stand in front of the landscape, it was massive. It was a single storey building with a contemporary design, it had neutral colours scheme and was beautifully decorated with a lush garden leading up to the doorstep of the home.

They walked through the hallway leading to living room and as they entered, the house light flooded the open-plan living space, bouncing off walls painted in a soft, cool shade of pale linen. The absence of clutter was striking, furniture arranged with purpose rather than profusion.

A low-slung, charcoal sectional sofa hugged the centre, its sharp lines softened by plush, cream-colored cushions. Opposite, a sleek coffee table in light, natural wood anchored the space, its smooth surface adorned only with a single, sculptural vase holding a minimalist arrangement of white lilies.

Sunlight streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the polished concrete floor. A large, woven rug in a subtle geometric pattern added warmth underfoot, its muted tones echoing the natural textures throughout the room. Along the windows, sheer white curtains hung like ethereal whispers, their folds catching the light and casting delicate shadows.

Ashleigh was stunned as she took it all in, it was even more elegant than the her aunts home. They were met by a young maid at the living room who welcomed them and took the bags from the security who brought them in. She dressed rather smartly in a pair of black jeans and shirt which she tucked in. Her hair was slicked up into a firmly parked bun on her head and she had a pair of flats shoes on. She smiled curtly at her, standing in front of them as she waited for Adrian to start.

“This is my butler’s daughter Tara. She is employed to be here when her father is not around and since he’s at your aunt’s home she has been residing here ” Adrian introduced her to Ashleigh and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Tara, as Mr. Atkinson may have told you already this is my wife Ashleigh. She is the second person in command when I’m not around and you will defer all matters of this house to her unless it is important” he explained, Ashleigh glancing and him in shock at his last sentence.

“Sir, shall I ask the chef to begin dinner preparations?”

“Of course. Tell him to prepare accordingly for the new madam in the house” he instructed firmly, and Ashleigh was stumped again, heat staining her cheeks and ears lightly.

Tara nodded and bowed, leaving to continue her duties. Seeing that it is only the both of them in the hallway Ashleigh quickly used her arm to bump his shoulder lightly.

“I barely want to be here and you assigned the responsibilities of the house to me?” Adrian arched his brows.

“So you don’t leave here unless you have to. You seem to want to run from me when I have done nothing to you yet. And you are my wife, it will only make sense if you are placed as my second in command” he said innocently, pulling her cheeks lightly and walking into the house.

Ashleigh rubbed her cheeks violently to stop the blushing and followed behind him.

As they made their way through the house, Ashleigh noticed that the house seemed larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. The interior of the house was widely spaced and if you spoke loud enough could echo your voices, she concluded was due to the minimalistic design of the home. A few pieces of furniture could be seen here, it was nothing too flashy but with a closer look you could tell it wasn’t ordinary made or store bought

“What was your inspiration for this home? It looks rather pale in comparison to the place my aunt is staying” Ashleigh asked, as they made their way through the stairs to the first floor. Along the hall were doors on each side which were four in number, the fifth door was at the end of the hall. Each door had a panel that would light up as they passed and would show a small circle.

“I’m not sure. I simply asked the interior designer to create something that would appeal to my taste” Adrian walked up to the fourth door and it immediately lit up, he proceeded to place his thumb on it longer and the settings screen came up.

“So you have a rather bland personality. Good to know” she commented, and he paused for a while. Without looking behind him he reached for her hand and placed it on the small circle as well, in turn not only that door dinged, every door in that hall apart from the fifth door dinged and the door opened.

“Which is more reason you have to stay here. You can choose to change this place up as you like, after all it is your home now” he said, pulling her through the door to reveal a rather large room.

The colour of the walls room are eggshell and mushroom, the furniture was as well. There was a bed close to the window and a full length mirror was placed with a dresser by the side. Then there was a mini computer desk set up with a computer, printer, and keyboard in mint colour. There was a mini whiteboard above where the computer was with an attached marker holder.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“This will be your room for the next six months. Everything you need is here and if there are any adjustments you want to make tell Tara about it, she will put a call through to the interior designer” he explained, his eyes on her as she walked into the room.

Ashleigh’s heart quickened as she looked at the room; the room was perfectly arranged. She would be here for the duration of their marriage, under the same roof with an enigma like Adrian Cagliari.

Adrian, perceiving her reaction, smirked internally. Maintaining his calm demeanour, he walked to the door to leave.

“My room is the fifth door, do not disturb me. If there is nothing else, Tara will show you around the house later” he said nonchalantly, the door closing with a click after his exit. Ashleigh stared hard at the door, her annoyance growing deeper as the silence settled in.

She was continuously being reminded even in her reverie that she was dealing with a proud and an ignorant man who only cared about himself and not about her. There was no difference between her moving in today or by weekend, she was inevitably trapped by him but Adrian wants to always show that he has the upper hand than her. He always forced her to dance to his tunes by dangling her parents over her head.

“Which he did not end up telling me about. He’s about to hear it from me” she huffed, storming out to meet him wherever he is. The top floor had a balcony through which she peeked over to see him walking into the living room and she rushed to meet him downstairs.

“Adrian you are yet to fulfil your part of the agr….”

Ashleigh’s voice died down as she saw a group of people corporately dressed along with Mr. Turner turn to look at her. Adrian who was close to the entrance of the room turned in surprise to see her there.