Time kept moving, and without realizing it, Scarlett found herself increasingly trapped in a whirlwind of confusing emotions. Each day she spent with Asher in silence, brief touches, or meaningful short conversations blurred the line between their contract and her growing feelings.
Her decision to remain in this contract marriage had never been easy. Every step she took felt like a crossroads with no clear direction. The same question kept echoing in her mind: Is this love? Or am I just a pawn in Asher's business game?
Scarlett tried to ignore the uneasiness, forcing herself to focus on her pregnancy, which should've been her top priority. She knew that overthinking could affect the baby. But the thoughts never truly left. They haunted her nights, filled her days with anxiety.
Still, there was one thing she couldn't deny her feelings for Asher were growing, slowly but surely. She began to see him not just as a cold man who held power over many lives, but as someone who, in his own quiet way, was learning how to love.
But behind Scarlett's confusion and the questions clouding her mind, there was something greater something dark and unrevealed looming over Asher. Something from his past that remained unresolved, silently influencing every decision he made. And Scarlett still had no idea.
That night, after a quiet dinner, the atmosphere at the table felt colder than usual. No conversation, only the occasional clinking of silverware against plates. Scarlett glanced at Asher across from her silent, yet restless. His eyes were fixed on his laptop screen, but what she saw wasn't focus it was chaos.
Asher was usually composed. Firm in his stance, steady in his gaze. But tonight, something was different. His brows were deeply furrowed, his fingers slightly trembling as he held a pen. As if he was holding back a storm all on his own.
Scarlett watched his every move, unease growing in her chest. Not just out of worry, but because for the first time, she saw a fragile side of Asher one rarely, if ever, shown to anyone.
In a soft and gentle voice, Scarlett finally spoke, breaking the suffocating silence between them.
"Asher… what's wrong? You don't seem like yourself tonight."
She knew her question might not be answered right away. But tonight, for the first time, she hoped Asher would open up. He didn't answer immediately, as if struggling to find the right words. Seconds passed before he finally looked up, his gaze filled with hesitation.
"Something's been bothering me," Asher said quietly, the weight in his voice revealing the tension within.
Scarlett sensed there was more to it than just ordinary anxiety. This was deeper, darker. But what could it be? If it were a work issue, it wouldn't shake him like this.
"Does it have something to do with your family?" she asked, gently probing, because that was the only other possibility she could think of.
Asher went silent, his eyes staring blankly ahead. His mind wandered to a grim past filled with pressure, disappointment, and betrayal. He didn't want to talk about his family. Not with Scarlett, not with anyone. But when he met Scarlett's concerned gaze, he felt a warmth he hadn't known before. He felt like maybe, just maybe, he could trust her even though fear still lingered.
"Yes," Asher finally replied. "It's about my grandfather, and what happened after he died."
Scarlett moved closer, sitting beside him, waiting to hear more. She knew this was an important moment, the moment Asher would open the door to his shadowed past.
"After my grandfather passed away, there was a will. It required me to marry and have a child within a year. That was the condition for me to maintain control over the family company. I had no other choice, Scarlett. I had to do it to protect what my family had built," he said, his voice filled with regret.
Scarlett could feel the desperation behind his words. She realized that beneath Asher's cold and ambitious exterior was a man burdened with expectations he never chose.
"But there's more," Asher continued, his voice dropping lower. "Someone in my family betrayed me. Someone I was supposed to trust, someone who should've been my backbone. But instead, he destroyed everything. After my grandfather's death, he tried to take everything I had. It broke something in me. It made me feel, betrayed in the worst way."
Scarlett could see the turmoil brewing inside him. This was no ordinary business or family conflict. It was a deep emotional wound one that shaped how Asher viewed the world and treated those around him.
"Who was it?" Scarlett asked softly, wanting to understand him better.
Asher looked at her, his eyes clouded with confusion.
"It was someone trusted by my family. His name is James. He was my grandfather's closest friend, and I saw him as an uncle. But after my grandfather died, he began to take over everything I owned. He's the reason I lost so much in my life including trust."
Scarlett fell silent. She could feel the depth of the pain Asher carried. This wasn't just about money or legacy. It was about betrayal so profound, it fractured something inside him. She saw now that Asher wasn't just a cold, powerful CEO—he was a man haunted by a past he hadn't fully faced.
"I've never been able to forgive him," Asher said, voice rough. "I don't know what to do, Scarlett. I feel trapped between hatred and the need for revenge. But I also know I can't live like this forever. I need to let go, but I don't know how."
Scarlett felt a deep sympathy for him. She no longer saw the man in charge of an empire, but a broken soul, who had lost so much, even himself.
"Have you ever tried talking to him?" Scarlett asked quietly, hoping she could help in some small way.
Asher shook his head. "No. I was never ready. I'm afraid of what might happen if I do. Afraid it'll destroy everything."
Scarlett met his gaze with sincerity.
"Asher, sometimes we need to face our past if we ever want to move forward. If you keep running from it, you'll never truly be free."
Asher looked at her, his eyes holding gratitude, and hidden fear. In that moment, he realized that maybe, with this woman, he could finally start facing the shadows that had long haunted him. But he also knew the path wouldn't be easy. There would be reopened wounds, bitter truths. Still for the future, for Scarlett, for their child he had to try.
Scarlett took a deep breath. There was a long pause before she spoke again, her voice soft yet profound, piercing through the walls Asher had spent years building.
"And besides..." she said, letting the words linger.
Then, with quiet courage, she took Asher's hand and placed it gently over her still-flat belly, where life had begun to grow.
"He's growing in here," Scarlett continued with a faint smile. "The conditions of the will wife and child they're already here. Even if we started out because of a contract, you already have them, Asher."
Her eyes held a sincere light he couldn't deny.
"So don't be too hard on yourself. Just like I'm trying to give us a chance, you can too. Take this one step at a time. And let go of those fears, one by one."
Scarlett's words soothed Asher's heart like an oasis in a barren desert. He didn't know exactly what he felt for her whether it was love or mere attachment. But one thing was certain: her presence had brought him something he hadn't felt in a long time—hope. Hope that he didn't have to face the world alone anymore. Hope that, perhaps for the first time, someone saw more than just a cold, untouchable heir and still chose to stay. And for the first time in a very long time, Asher allowed himself to believe, maybe he could change.