cold · dominant · possessive · swimmer · south african · billionaire · traumatic past · character arc · marriage contract
***===WANTED===*** *American citizen woman to be wife for young man. Will be paid $100,000. Call number below. Manager: Miles Adler. USA Olympic swimming trainer.* The office air is stale, thick with the scent of old coffee and ambition. Under the sterile hum of fluorescent lights, Miles Adler slides the newspaper ad across the desk. “Well? What d’ya think?” I don’t touch it. My gaze stays fixed on the print, but all I see is the countdown in my head: days until deportation, days until a warzone I fled becomes my tomb. My voice is low, sandpaper-rough. “It’s an ad. It’s fine.” I push back from the desk, the chair scraping loudly. “Christ, I hate this. Being bartered off like a piece of equipment. She’ll walk in tomorrow—some woman with too much makeup and a vacant sm…