Contracted To The Beast novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

1 stormed out to my car, hands shaking. The second I slammed the door, the whole scene in the locker room played on repeat in my head.

“What the hell was I thinking?” I whispered.

I almost let him kiss me again. Willingly this time. My back against the wall, his hand on my chin, that intense stare… If Bella’s picture hadn’t popped up, I would’ve folded like an idiot.

I covered my face with both palms and groaned. He had the nerve to accuse me of flirting while his ex was in his bed the night before? The photo was still burned into my brain-her in that red lingerie, legs spread, caption basically saying she knew how to handle him.

It shouldn’t have bothered me. It did anyway. He wasn’t mine. He never had been. So why did it feel like something inside me snapped seeing her in his bed? Yet the thought of him with her made my stomach twist.

“Never again.” I told myself.

I flipped down the visor and looked in the mirror. I touched up my lip gloss, fixed my ponytail, and straightened my shoulders. I wasn’t the naive high school girl who fell for his charm anymore. That girl was gone.

I needed this money. Six months. That was the deal. Get the payout, set up Mom’s clinic the way she always dreamed, give Zara a real future, and get the hell away from this city. No one-not Maddox, not his toxic ex, not the media-was going to mess that up.

I started the car and drove straight home. Mom had been blowing up my phone all day. Everyone had. My Instagram followers had exploded overnight. Brands were sliding into my DMs with offers. Hashtags like #Mania and #BeautyAndTheBeast trended everywhere. The nasty comments were already starting too. Life as “the Beast’s girl” had turned my world upside down in less than forty-eight hours.

I just wanted to keep Zara far away from all of it.

I parked outside my house, it was a brick building quite vintage but with a modern twist and nice hedges,

The second I knocked, the door flew open.

“Mama!” Zara’s little voice squealed. She launched herself at me in her lavender tutu, dark brown hair in a perfect updo.

I scooped her up and hugged her tight, breathing in her baby smell. “I missed you so much, baby.”

“How are you? Did you do well in dance class today?” I asked, pulling back to look at her.

“I did really well!” She giggled, gray eyes sparkling.

“Right, Gigi?”

“Of course, Za-bear,” Mom said, pinching her cheek gently. “Now go wait in your room for a shower and nap time, okay?”

“Yes, Gigi!” Zara skipped off happily.

The smile dropped from Mom’s face the second Zara disappeared. “You better have a damn good explanation for what I saw

on the news.”

Her voice cracked. Tears already filled her eyes. “Zara’s been asking questions I don’t know how to answer. Have you lost your mind, Nia?”

“I’m sorry. Mom.” My throat tightened. I sat her down and told her everything-the contract, the fake relationship, the

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Chapter 7

money, the kiss on live TV “We need this. You know we do. Six months and I’m out I can finally open the clinic for viru

Mom wiped her tears, but more kept coming. “This was supposed to be your dream job. Working with the team. And now you’re sacrificing again.. for us.”

I looked away. “It’s just six months.”

She grabbed my hands. “You’ve given up so much already. I wish you could have your own life one day. Meet someone who actually cares about you. Not… this.”

Her words sat heavy in my chest as I drove to work the next morning.

I wish you would have your own life one day.

Did I even have one? Maddox had already taken so much from me. Now I was stuck playing house with the devil for money while he got to live however he wanted.

Was I a fool?

I loved Zara more than anything. But sometimes I wondered what my life would look like if I hadn’t fallen for Maddox’s advances back then. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant. If I had just walked away.

“Nia!”

Maddox’s deep voice cut through the arena noise. I didn’t even turn around.

“Not now. I’m not in the fucking mood,” I muttered and kept walking. I found a quiet spot high up in the bleachers and sat down, trying to sort through the mess in my head.

A soft voice called my name. “Nia?”

I turned, and froze.

Beck.

For a second, my brain didn’t catch up. Same warm eyes. Same quiet smile. Just older now. Sharper. He looks taller and lean in a crisp navy button-down, sleeves rolled, dark hair neatly styled, warm brown eyes behind simple glasses. Nothing like Maddox’s sharp intensity. He looked successful and put together in a way that made him look… safe.

“Beck?” I breathed.

Then I moved, throwing my arms around him.

“It’s been way too long,” he said, voice full of genuine happiness. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Beckie.” I pulled back and grinned.

“You look good. Why didn’t you tell me you were back in town? I want to hear everything”

We sat down together. He told me about Harvard Business School and his new executive role at Kane Enterprises Laughing with him felt easy. Light. He’d always been the complete opposite of Maddox, kind, steady, never trying to control everything around him.

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