#Chapter 21: Contracts and Conspiracies

(Violet’s POV) The contract between us was made of paper—but it might as well have been carved in stone. Lucian didn’t speak as I walked into his office. He simply slid the folder across his desk with the quiet command of a man used to signing lives away. His posture was infuriatingly relaxed—leaned back in his leather chair, one leg crossed, golden eyes locked on me with that calm, unreadable intensity that made my pulse spike for all the wrong reasons. “This is what you asked for,” he said. “Clause by clause.” I stood frozen before the desk, arms crossed, refusing to sit. “And what did you ask for, Lucian?” He didn’t blink. “Clause 14.” Lucian leaned back, calm as ever, his fingers steepled like he was making business decisions instead of rearranging my entire life. I opened the folder slowly. My eyes skimmed the lines until I found it—my lips curling before I finished reading. “No romantic or sexual affiliations outside of this contract shall be pursu