Contracted To The Beast novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“Come in,” Mr. Hale’s personal assistant responded from behind the door.

“Hi Vera,” I greeted, forcing a small smile as we stepped inside.

“How are you doing?” she asked, her eyes flicking between me and Maddox.

“I’m doing okay. You?” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Can you get this over with?” Maddox snapped, his tone sharp enough to cut glass.

“Rude?” I muttered, rolling my eyes at him.

“I’m so sorry. Is Mr. Hale available?” I asked Vera, ignoring the tension rolling off Maddox beside me.

“Yes, he is. He’s been expecting both of you.” She gestured toward the inner office door, her smile polite but strained.

Maddox knocked once, then pushed the door open without waiting for a response. The familiar scent of leather and polished wood hit me immediately. My stomach twisted into a tight knot. The last time I stood in this room, I had signed my life away for six months. Now here I was again, trapped in the consequences.

“Good afternoon, sir,” I said as we stepped inside.

“Sit.” Mr. Hale said gruffly, not looking up from his tablet.

I lowered myself into the chair, my back straight, hands folded in my lap. Maddox dropped into the one beside me. Coach Riggs stood by the window as usual, arms crossed, staring out like the weight of the entire team rested on his shoulders. I had never seen the man sit still. It was as if rest was a foreign concept to him.

“A quick one,” Mr. Hale said. He set his tablet down and slid the latest edition of Chatelaine magazine across the desk. The cover stared back at us: Maddox and me locked in that staged embrace, bold letters screaming Beauty and the Beast. We looked good on paper. Too good.

“You both look terrific here,” Mr. Hale continued, “but I need more.”

The weight of his words lingered, but it wasn’t just that.

It was everything outside this room.

The cameras. The headlines. The eyes that never stopped watching.

Maddox exhaled sharply and dragged a hand through his hair. “You want ‘real’? Then maybe we should start with not getting recognized every five seconds.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black face cap, turning it in his hands before glancing at me.

“I don’t even step out anymore without this,” he added, quieter now. “Cap low, hood up. Half the time it still doesn’t work.”

I frowned slightly.

“I thought you liked the attention.”

A humorless laugh slipped from him. “Attention is fine. Being watched like a zoo animal isn’t.”

His eyes flicked to mine, something unreadable passing through them.

“If we’re doing this,” he continued, voice lower, more serious, “you need to understand something, Nia.”

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Chapter 33

I stilled.

“There’s no such thing as private anymore. Not for me.” His jaw tightened. “And now… not for you either.”

Something cold settled in my chest. Because deep down-I knew he wasn’t exaggerating.

“More?” Maddox and I said at the same time.

“Yes, more. I want chemistry. I need your regular day-to-day life together. I want an accidental picture of you two going on a date.” He gestured with his hands, painting the scene in the air. “Travel. Go on vacation. Do something real.”

“He’s absolutely right,” Coach Riggs added from the window, his voice flat and disinterested. “The both of you need to sell this relationship.”

“We’ll attend an event,” Maddox offered.

“Not an event, Kane. Something informal.” Mr. Hale picked up his iPad again. “With the circulating news of your / engagement, people need more substantial evidence. Not the both of you posing on a carpet. Fix this, Dr. Page. You’re the smart one of the two. You can leave.”

I let out a quiet breath before I could stop myself.

“With all due respect, sir,” I said, lifting my chin slightly, “I didn’t sign up knowing I’d be managing… this level of chaos.”

Maddox scoffed beside me, but I ignored him.

“I agreed to this arrangement to help clean up an image,” I continued, my voice steady but edged. “Not to babysit a grown man who creates a new problem every other day.”

Coach Riggs coughed under his breath, clearly trying not to react.

I didn’t stop.

“I’m doing my job,” I added, meeting Mr. Hale’s eyes directly now. “And yes-I’m doing it for the money. That was the agreement. But I can only work with what I’m given.”

A beat of silence.

“And right now, what I’ve been given is… a lot.”

Maddox let out a low, humorless laugh. “Wow.”

I didn’t even look at him.

I stood up, legs a little unsteady, and said a quiet goodbye to Vera on the way out. The hallway felt longer than usual.

“You’re not going to say anything?” Maddox asked, falling into step beside me.

“Is there something you need me to say?” I retorted, my voice tighter than I wanted.

“I thought you were the smartest one of us? You’re supposed to figure this shit out,” he smirked, that cocky tilt to his mouth making my blood heat.

“You’re the one who got us into this mess because of your constant dealings with Bella. If you had managed to keep it in your pants, she wouldn’t have leaked the news of your fucking engagement,” I shot back, walking faster.

“You’re the one who leaked news.” I stopped dead in my tracks.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, turning to face him.

14:38 Tue, Jul 7 M

Chapter 33

“All because you couldn’t keep your big mouth shut. You told Natalie or whatever her fucking name is, and she told 11 16 her roommate who runs a stupid blog,” he spat.

“You’re speechless now, huh? Liam is my best friend and he isn’t even aware of what’s going on, yet you decided to run your mouth about a situation that’s supposed to be confidential. Who knows how many more things she has leaked out?”

“You can’t be serious about this. Natalie would never…”

“Spare me the bullshit. I hired a private investigator. I have evidence. I don’t make baseless accusations,” he interrupted sharply.

I didn’t move.

For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard him.

Natalie?

The word echoed in my head like something foreign. Wrong.

My fingers tightened around my phone, but I didn’t unlock it yet. I just stood there in the middle of the hallway, heart thudding too fast, Maddox’s words replaying over and over.

I hired a private investigator. I have evidence.

No. No, that didn’t make sense.

Natalie had been there for me through everything. Through school. Through the worst parts of my life. She wasn’t careless. She wasn’t stupid.

But… she did talk too much sometimes.

A cold feeling crept up my spine. I swallowed hard and finally unlocked my phone, my thumb hovering over her name.

What if he was right? What if she didn’t mean to but still did it?

I hated that the doubt was even there. I pressed the call before I could think myself out of it. The phone rang once. Twice. Each second stretched too long.

The thought of Maddox rage rolling off him with every heavy step. The hallway suddenly felt colder. I could not believe Natalie had leaked the news. There had not been a non-disclosure agreement with the contract, but I had known I needed to keep everything quiet. One wrong word and it could blow up in all our faces.

The only people in my circle who knew were Mom and Natalie.

I really could not believe this…No. Something did not feel right.

“Hey girl,” Natalie picked up after a couple of rings, her voice bright.

“Where are you? We need to see asap,” I said, already heading back toward my office.

“Is anything the matter?” she asked, concerned creeping in.

“Everything is fine. Is it possible for us to meet up today?”

“Yeah, I’m done with my shift. Let’s meet at Wingside.”

I ended the call, grabbed my purse, and told my assistant goodbye.

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Chapter 33

The drive to Wingside passed in a blur of familiar streets. Nostalgia hit me the moment I opened the door Natalie and I used to come here all the time during college. I greeted the familiar waitress and was led to our usual table

“My love!” Natalie pulled me into a warm hug the second she saw me.

I froze for half a second before hugging her back properly.

Natalie looked… the same, but not quite.

Her dark hair was longer now, sleek and pulled into a high ponytail that swung as she moved. Her makeup was sharper thar

I remembered, defined brows, glossy lips, a touch more confidence in every detail. Even the way she carried herself felt different. More put together. More… grown.

But when she pulled back and grinned at me, eyes lighting up the same way they always had-There she was.

Familiar. Loud. Comforting.

“It’s been so long. How are you doing?” I said, smiling despite the knot in my stomach.

“Yeah, it has. A lot has been going on.” She paused to signal the waitress. We ordered a bucket of chicken with special barbecue dipping sauce, two portions of fries, and two mocktails. “You sounded really frantic on the phone. What’s going

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