Marriage For A Price: A Day To Sign Away My Heart

Inside the sprawling Madrid Hotel, a chill lingered in the air, the kind that came from dread and unspoken fears.

Catalina sat with her hands clenched, her voice trembling as she admitted, "I didn't want to go through with this, Sofia." Her eyes shimmered with pain and something close to panic.

Sofia's words came out hushed and strained. "If there had been any way for me to help you, I would have done it, you know that."

Everyone in the city knew Catalina De La Cruz had been chosen—picked out like an object—to marry a man whose reputation for cruelty and arrogance stretched all the way from Germany to Spain. Sofia Morgan stood near the grand window, her heart aching as she watched her dearest friend grapple with the weight of her fate.

"I knew, Sof. But let's be honest, there was nothing either of us could do. I couldn't run, not from this. The only thing left was to accept what was coming."

"How could your family have just handed you off like some kind of property?"

"When you grew up without parents, things like this happened. You were lucky, Sofia. You had your parents, your siblings, your little nieces and nephews. You had always been the light of your family."

Sofia had heard about Harry Meyer. The rumors were all true—he was as harsh and heartless as they said, and older by far.

Catalina looked at the contract in her hands, disgust written on her face. "Some of these rules were sickening. They wanted me locked up in this room for twenty-four hours."

"Catalina, believe me, if I could have changed this for you, I would have in a heartbeat."

"You were already doing so much just by staying with me, Sofia. But you had your exam coming up. Maybe it was time to say goodbye for now."

"Of course, it's my last exam before I defend my thesis, but as soon as I finish, I'll come straight back here." Sofia reassured, trying her best to comfort her friend.

"You don't need to do that, Sofia. Maybe after your exam, you should talk with your family—find your own happiness for a change. I don't want to drag you down."

"I'll talk to my parents, and I'll catch up with my siblings and my nephews. But you're family to me, too. You know that. They have their own lives, and I'm just trying to build mine. You're like a sister, Catalina. I'll see you as soon as I can."

Catalina rose from her seat and wrapped Sofia in a tight hug. "I'll be here waiting for you."

A moment later, Sofia left the suite and stepped into the elevator. When the doors slid open, she paused just outside, Catalina's words echoing in her mind and a helpless ache gnawing at her. She couldn't let Catalina become a sacrifice for that monstrous man.

Just then, voices from around the corner caught her ear.

"Mr. Meyer will arrive any minute. Everything