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Chapter one: The contact That broke me
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2025-12-29 04:40:22Chapter One: The Contract That Broke Me
The contract lay on the glass table between us, crisp and white, like it hadn’t just sentenced my life. “Sign it.” His voice was calm. Too calm. As if he wasn’t asking me to sell myself. I lifted my eyes slowly, forcing my trembling hands to stay still. The man sitting across from me was everything people whispered about in magazines and boardrooms—handsome, powerful, untouchable. Ethan Blackwood. Billionaire CEO. The man who had ruined my family without losing a second of sleep. “You want me to marry you?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. His dark eyes flickered, sharp and cold, like he was already bored of this conversation. “For one year.” One year. I swallowed hard. “And after one year?” He leaned back in his chair, long fingers folding together with calculated ease. “After one year, the marriage ends. You get your freedom. I get what I want.” “What you want,” I repeated bitterly. “And what exactly is that?” A humorless smile curved his lips. “Control.” The word cut deeper than I expected. I looked down at the contract again. My name was already typed neatly at the bottom, waiting for my signature like a trap that had been prepared long before I walked into this office. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city glittered—bright, alive, indifferent. Inside, my world was collapsing in silence. “Why me?” I asked. Ethan’s gaze darkened, something unreadable passing through his eyes before disappearing just as quickly. “Because you’re convenient.” Convenient. That was all I was to him. Three days ago, I had been a normal woman with ordinary problems—rent overdue, hospital bills piling up, a father lying unconscious in a hospital bed because someone had deliberately destroyed his company. Today, I was sitting across from the very man responsible for it all. “You drove my father’s company into bankruptcy,” I said, my nails biting into my palms. “You took everything from us.” “I didn’t take anything,” Ethan replied coolly. “I acquired what was weak.” My chest burned. “You knew he’d have a heart attack.” “That was unfortunate,” he said without emotion. Unfortunate. Tears threatened to spill, but I refused to let them fall. Crying in front of Ethan Blackwood would only make this worse. “You’re heartless,” I said. “Honest,” he corrected. “And offering you a solution.” A solution. The hospital bills alone were more than I could ever afford. The creditors were already calling day and night. My mother had stopped eating. My younger brother had started pretending everything was fine. And Ethan knew all of it. That was why I was here. “If I refuse?” I asked quietly. His eyes hardened. “Then your father’s treatment ends tomorrow. The bank will seize what little you have left. And your family will learn very quickly what life is like without my mercy.” My breath hitched. This wasn’t a proposal. It was blackmail. “You promised you wouldn’t touch my family again,” I said, my voice shaking despite myself. “I promised nothing,” Ethan replied. “I said I’d consider alternatives.” I let out a broken laugh. “Marrying you is an alternative?” “Yes.” Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. I picked up the pen. My hand shook as I flipped through the pages, though I already knew what I’d find—no love, no warmth, no protection. Just clauses about obedience, discretion, public appearances, and silence. So much silence. Clause 17 caught my eye. No emotional expectations shall be placed upon the husband. I clenched my jaw. “You don’t even want to pretend,” I said. “I don’t do pretense,” Ethan said. “You will live in my house. Attend events as my wife. Keep your head down. In return, your family survives.” Survives. I looked at him then—really looked. The sharp jaw, the tailored suit, the eyes that had never known fear or loss. Men like him didn’t break. They broke others. “Do you hate me that much?” I asked. His gaze faltered for half a second. Then it hardened again. “This has nothing to do with hate.” “Then what does it have to do with?” Something unreadable flashed across his face. “Sign the contract,” he said quietly. “Or walk away.” I knew he was lying. There was no walking away. Tears blurred my vision as I lowered the pen to the final page. My signature looked fragile, crooked—nothing like the confident woman I used to be. With one stroke, I erased her. I placed the pen down. “It’s done,” I said. Ethan stood, towering over me. “Good.” Good. He extended his hand, not in comfort, but finality. “Welcome to your new life, Mrs. Blackwood.” The name hit me like a slap. Mrs. Blackwood. I rose slowly, my legs weak. “One year,” I reminded him. “After one year, I’m free.” His lips curved into a cold, knowing smile. “If you survive it.” As I walked out of his office, the doors closing behind me with a soft, merciless click, I realized something terrifying. The contract hadn’t just sold my future. It had broken me. And I had a feeling… Ethan Blackwood intended to make sure I never healed. 
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Married to the billionaire who broke me Chapter Twenty-Two: The Night He Lost Control
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Night He Lost Control Ethan Blackwood did not rage. That was what terrified them. The war room was silent—too silent. Screens glowed with data, threats, shifting alliances. Men who had survived coups, blood feuds, and financial wars stood rigid, eyes forward, breathing shallow. No one spoke. Ethan stood at the head of the table, hands braced against the polished surface, head slightly bowed. His stillness felt like the pause before a bullet left the chamber. “She released it anyway,” one man finally said, voice tight. “The second wave. Anonymous, but it’s hers.” Ethan lifted his head. The look in his eyes made the room recoil. Not anger. Decision. “Lock down everything,” he said quietly. “Every channel. Every contact she’s touched in the last twenty-four hours.” “Yes—” “And find out,” Ethan continued calmly, “who encouraged her.” A pause. “Sir… that list includes people in this room.”
Married to the billionaire who broke me Chapter Twenty-One: The price of Standing Beside Him
Chapter Twenty-One: The Price of Standing Beside Him The world did not turn on me all at once. It tilted first. A subtle shift in balance—just enough that I felt it in the way conversations stalled when I entered rooms, in the way smiles tightened instead of softened. People still bowed their heads to Ethan Blackwood. They still spoke his name with awe and caution. But when they looked at me, something had changed. Curiosity had curdled into suspicion. The morning it became official, I found out the same way everyone else did—through a headline blinking across a screen I hadn’t meant to look at. BLACKWOOD’S WIFE LINKED TO LAURENT COLLAPSE. SOURCES CLAIM MANIPULATION BEHIND THE SCENES. My breath caught. I read it again. Then again. Manipulation. Influence. Ambition disguised as innocence. I felt sick. “They’re rewriting me,” I whispered. Behind me, Ethan stood silent, arms crossed, gaze unreadable. “They always do,”
Married to the billionaire who broke me Chapter Twenty: When the Crown Falls
Chapter Twenty: When the Crown Falls Celeste Laurent’s downfall did not explode. It rippled. At first, the world pretended nothing had happened. Her name still appeared on guest lists. Her charities still bore her signature. Her penthouse lights still glowed at night. From the outside, she remained untouchable—a woman carved from old power and careful influence. But beneath the surface, everything was rotting. I felt it before I understood it. The mansion buzzed with tension the morning after. Phones rang and went silent. Guards spoke in low, clipped voices. Ethan moved through it all like a storm contained in human form—calm, controlled, devastating. He didn’t look at me when I entered the study. “She’s calling everyone,” he said flatly, eyes on the screen before him. “And no one is answering.” “What happens to someone like her,” I asked quietly, “when the world turns its back?” Ethan’s fingers paused on the desk. “They rem
Married to the billionaire who broke me Chapter Nineteen: What Happens After Mercy Dies
Chapter Nineteen: What Happens After Mercy Dies Ethan Blackwood did not raise his voice. That was how men knew they were about to disappear. The mansion’s war room was sealed, lights dimmed, screens alive with moving maps and live feeds. Men stood rigid along the walls—soldiers, strategists, ghosts with names no one used anymore. Ethan stood at the center. Still. Silent. Listening. “Confirm,” he said at last, his voice calm enough to be lethal. “The warehouse on Dock Seven,” one man replied. “Abandoned under a shell company. Funds trace back to Celeste Laurent. No intermediaries.” Ethan nodded once. “And Zurich?” “Decoy,” another voice said. “She rerouted your communications personally. Clean execution.” Ethan’s jaw tightened. Across the room, I stood near the door, unseen and forgotten by most—but not by him. He hadn’t asked me to leave. That alone told me everything. This wasn’t punishment. This was edu
Married to the billionaire who broke me Chapter Eighteen: The Space Where Protection Ends
Chapter Eighteen: The Space Where Protection Ends The danger did not announce itself. It arrived quietly, dressed as routine. Ethan left before dawn. No warning. No lingering glance. Just a message on my phone, sharp and brief. Do not leave the house today. This is not a request. I stared at the screen long after it went dark. He never explained. That was his way. Orders instead of reassurance. Control instead of comfort. I told myself not to feel the absence like a missing limb. I failed. By noon, the mansion felt too large. Too empty. Every echo of my footsteps reminded me that for the first time since entering Ethan Blackwood’s world, I was alone inside it. No shadow at my back. No hand at my waist. No quiet certainty that if something went wrong, he would appear. I hated how much that unsettled me. The knock came just after two. Not loud. Not urgent. Polite. I froze. Security never knocked.
Married to the billionaire who broke me Chapter Seventeen:When the World Notices You
Chapter Seventeen: When the World Notices You The first sign that Ethan’s world had truly noticed me was silence. Not the calm kind. The wrong kind. The mansion woke that morning without its usual rhythm. No footsteps in the hall. No low murmurs from security. Even the air felt watchful, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. I stood by the window, fingers curled around the curtain, staring out at the long stretch of road leading to the gates. Nothing moved. That should have comforted me. It didn’t. Behind me, the door opened soundlessly. “You’re awake early.” Ethan’s voice cut through the stillness like a blade. I turned. He was already dressed—black suit, crisp lines, cold precision. No tie today. That meant danger. I’d learned that much already. “Something’s wrong,” I said. He studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Good. You’re learning.” My chest tightened. “What is it?” “Someone tested
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