Thorns in Bloom A Contract of Secrets and RevengeChapter 1
After my divorce left me with nothing, I applied to become Benedict Fox's tenth contract girlfriend.
Survive three months, and the payout was ten million dollars.
People online were already placing bets that I'd flame out like the last nine and walk away empty-handed.
One month later, Benedict held a press conference and set that ten million right in front of me.
I tore up the contract on live camera.
What they didn't know was that I wasn't just after the money. I was after justice.
A "contract girlfriend" wasn't really a girlfriend. She was a workhorse for Fox Group.
Regular livestreams with the CEO, hit the performance targets, last three months, and the ten million was yours.
"I... my family was awful to begin with. Then after I got married, my ex beat me, cheated on me, and took my child away..."
The young woman ahead of me in line had dewy, pitiful eyes, reciting her script with practiced sincerity.
"I just... want a better life."
Tears spilled down her cheeks like rain.
I glanced down at my own suit and let out a dry laugh.
I didn't have the luxury of feeling sorry for anyone else. Everything I owned was stuffed inside a beat-up suitcase in a stairwell.
This outfit was the only thing I had that was even presentable. Ironed? Not a chance.
The creases pressed into the fabric by that suitcase, deep in some places, faint in others, matched my life perfectly. A wrinkled mess.
"Thelma Summers." The secretary called my name.
I stood and reached instinctively to straighten my collar, but my fingers met nothing but crumpled fabric and, in my pocket, the cold bite of a necklace against my knuckles.
A voice surfaced from memory: You're good, Thel. So you deserve the best.
The face behind those words gave me all the courage I needed. I squared my shoulders and walked in.
Benedict Fox stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, his back to me.
Tall, lean frame. A charcoal designer suit that fit like it cost more than most people's rent. Even his hair looked expensive.
"Give me the basics." His voice carried across the room, cold and clipped.
"Former project director at a Fortune 500 tech company."
"Your previous marriage."
"That's irrelevant," I said, straightening my spine. "Just another sob story from another bad marriage."
He turned slowly to face me, one brow lifting.