A Stranger's Offer

Lily POV

Alex's hands squeezed tighter around my neck. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. All I could see were his angry eyes staring down at me while I fought for air.

"You... will... do... what... I... say," he said through gritted teeth, each word making his grip tighter.

Black spots danced in front of my eyes. This was it. He was going to kill me. Right here in front of Sarah, who was just watching like this was some kind of show.

But then something inside me snapped. I wasn't going to die like this. Not here. Not now. Not after everything he had already taken from me.

I brought my knee up as hard as I could, right between his legs.

"Ahhhhh!" Alex screamed and let go of my throat, doubling over in pain.

I didn't wait. I couldn't wait. I ran for the front door, gasping for air, my throat burning and raw.

"You stupid witch!" Sarah screamed behind me. "Alex, go after her!"

But I was already outside, running down the street in my hospital clothes, my feet bare on the cold pavement. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away.

Car horns were honking. People were yelling. The city was alive around me, but I felt like I was dying inside.

I kept running until my lungs burned and my legs gave out. I had no idea where I was. Some street in Manhattan with bright lights and busy traffic. I looked back, but Alex wasn't following me. He probably didn't care enough to chase after me.

A truck came speeding around the corner, and I realized too late that I was standing in the middle of the road. The driver honked and slammed on his brakes, but the truck was coming straight at me.

I threw myself to the side, rolling across the pavement and scraping my arms and legs. The truck missed me by inches.

"Are you crazy, lady?" the driver yelled out his window. "Watch where you're going!"

I lay there on the cold ground, shaking all over. I had almost died. Twice in one night. And honestly, I wasn't sure if I cared anymore.

I picked myself up and walked to the sidewalk, where I sat down on the curb. It was getting dark now, maybe around 9 PM. The streets were busy with people going home from work, going out for dinner, living their normal lives.

But I had nowhere to go. No home. No family. No friends. No money except for the twenty dollars in my pocket.

I started crying again. Hot, angry tears that I couldn't control. Everything I had worked for, everything I had loved, was gone. My husband, my home, my baby. All gone.

A car pulled up in front of me. A fancy car. A Lamborghini. The kind of car I had only seen in movies.

The window rolled down, and I looked up to see a man inside. A handsome man in an expensive suit. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice deep and kind.

I wiped my eyes, embarrassed. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"You don't look fine. You look like you've been through hell."

I laughed, but it came out more like a sob. "That's a pretty good description of my day."

He got out of the car, and that's when I recognized him. Tony Stark. The billionaire. His face was on magazines and billboards all over the city. He owned half of Manhattan, and the other half wanted to work for him.

"You're Tony Stark," I said stupidly.

He smiled. "Guilty. And you're sitting on a curb in the middle of Manhattan, crying and bleeding. Want to tell me what happened?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

I looked up at him. He seemed genuinely concerned, which was more than I could say for anyone else in my life right now.

"My husband just tried to kill me," I said quietly.

Tony's face went serious. "Are you safe now?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore."

"Where do you live? I can give you a ride home."

I started crying again. "I don't have a home. He threw me out. He's living there with his girlfriend now."

"Girlfriend?"

"Fiancée. They're getting married next month. Right after our divorce is final." The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

Tony was quiet for a moment, studying my face. "Get in the car."

"What?"

"Get in the car. You can't sit out here all night."

"I have nowhere to go."

"Then you'll come with me."

I shook my head. "I can't. I don't even know you."

"My name is Tony Stark. I'm 35 years old. I own Stark Industries. I have a mansion in Upper East Side, and I promise you, I'm not going to hurt you." He opened the passenger door. "What's your name?"

"Lily. Lily Williams."

"Nice to meet you, Lily Williams. Now get in the car before you freeze to death."

I hesitated. Getting into a car with a stranger wasn't smart. But what choice did I have? Sleep on the street? Go back to Alex?

I got in the car.

The inside was all leather and luxury. It smelled like expensive cologne and money. Tony got in beside me and started driving.

"So, Lily Williams, tell me about this husband of yours."

"Ex-husband. Or soon-to-be ex-husband." I leaned back in the seat, suddenly exhausted. "He's a monster. I just didn't see it until today."

"What happened today?"

I told him everything. About the divorce, about Sarah, about the baby I lost, about finding them in my bed. About Alex trying to strangle me. Tony listened without interrupting, his jaw getting tighter with every word.

When I finished, he was quiet for a long time.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"My house. You need a safe place to stay tonight."

"I can't pay you."

"I'm not asking you to."

We drove through the city, past buildings that got bigger and fancier. Finally, we pulled up to a mansion that looked like something out of a fairy tale. Gates, security guards, manicured lawns.

"This is where you live?" I asked.

"Home sweet home." He parked the car and got out. "Come on."

The inside of the house was even more incredible than the outside. Marble floors, crystal chandeliers, artwork that probably cost more than I made in a year.

"Maria!" Tony called out. "We have a guest!"

A woman in a maid's uniform appeared. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"This is Lily. She's going to be staying with us for a while. Can you get her settled in the blue room? And maybe find her some clothes?"

"Of course, sir. Right this way, miss."

I followed Maria upstairs to a bedroom that was bigger than my entire apartment had been before I married Alex. There was a king-sized bed, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom with a tub that could fit three people.

"There are clothes in the closet," Maria said kindly. "Take whatever you need. Dinner will be ready in an hour if you'd like to join Mr. Stark."

After she left, I took a long, hot shower. The first time I had felt clean in days. I found a simple dress in the closet that fit me perfectly and went downstairs.

Tony was waiting in what looked like a library, sitting in a leather chair with a glass of wine.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Much. Thank you. For everything."

"Sit." He gestured to the chair across from him. "I want to hear more about your husband."

I sat down and told him everything again. Every cruel word, every moment of humiliation, every lie Alex had told me.

"Seven years," Tony said when I finished. "Seven years of marriage, and he was cheating on you for eight months of it."

"Apparently, he never loved me at all. I was just a placeholder until Sarah was ready to marry him."

"And now they're living in your house."

"His house. Apparently, everything was his. The house, the car, the furniture. Even the money I helped earn was his because he 'gave it to me.'"

Tony leaned forward, his eyes intense. "What if I told you there was a way to get back at him? A way to make him pay for what he did to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean revenge, Lily. Sweet, satisfying revenge."

I stared at him. "I don't understand."

Tony set down his wine glass and looked at me seriously. "I have a proposition for you. It might sound crazy, but hear me out."

"Okay."

"Marry me."

The words hung in the air between us like a bomb that had just gone off. I stared at him, sure I had heard him wrong.

"What did you say?"

"Marry me. Not for love, not for real. Think of it as a business arrangement. You marry me, and I help you destroy your ex-husband."

"I... I don't understand. Why would you want to do that?"

Tony smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. It was dangerous. "Because I hate men who hurt women. And because I have the money and power to make Alex's life a living hell."

"But marriage? That's... that's crazy."

"Is it? You have nothing left to lose, Lily. He took everything from you. Your home, your dignity, your baby. Wouldn't you like to take something from him?"

I thought about Alex and Sarah in my bed. About the way they laughed at me. About the baby I lost because of Alex's cruelty.

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"A contract marriage. One year. You be my wife in name only, attend social events with me, play the part of the happy couple. In return, I'll give you everything you need to make Alex regret the day he ever met you."

"And after the year?"

"Clean divorce. No strings attached. Plus, you'll have enough money to start over anywhere you want."

I stared at this man who was offering me everything I had ever dreamed of. Revenge. Security. A chance to show Alex that I wasn't pathetic after all.

But marrying a stranger? Even for revenge?

"I need to think about it," I said quietly.

Tony nodded. "Take all the time you need. But Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you think it's time you stopped being the victim and started being the villain?”