THE BILLIONAIRE’S SECRET BRIDE

Chapter 1: The Offer

“Your mother’s company will be seized tomorrow morning.”

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

I stared across the polished desk at the bank manager, waiting for him to smile and tell me he was joking.

He didn’t.

Instead, he folded his hands in front of him and looked at me with the kind of pity I hated.

“There has to be another option,” I said.

“We have already extended the deadline twice, Miss Reyes.”

“I can pay something today.”

“It isn’t enough.”

“How much time do I have?”

He glanced at the documents in front of him.

“Until nine tomorrow morning.”

My stomach dropped.

Tomorrow.

I looked through the glass wall of his office at the city outside. People were walking along the pavement, carrying coffee, talking on their phones, living ordinary lives.

Meanwhile, mine was about to fall apart.

My mother had spent twenty years building Reyes Maison from nothing. Every piece of furniture in the showroom had been chosen by her. Every client relationship had been built with her hands.

After she died, I promised myself I would protect it.

I couldn’t be the daughter who let her life’s work disappear.

“How much?” I asked quietly.

The manager hesitated.

“You would need to settle the outstanding debt and penalties. The total is approximately three million euros.”

Three million.

I almost laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because it was impossible.

“I don’t have three million euros.”

“I know.”

I pushed my chair back and stood.

“I’ll find it.”

He didn’t answer.

That silence told me everything.

I grabbed my bag and walked out before he could say another word.

The moment I stepped outside, the warm afternoon air hit my face.

I pulled out my phone.

My contacts were full of people I could ask.

Friends.

Former business partners.

Investors.

Family acquaintances.

But I already knew what they would say.

No one was going to hand me three million euros.

Especially not for a company everyone believed was dying.

I walked down the steps, staring at my phone.

Then I stopped.

A black car was parked directly in front of me.

The rear door opened.

A man stepped out.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Black suit.

Cold eyes.

Adrian Blackwood.

I knew exactly who he was.

Everyone did.

At thirty four, Adrian Blackwood was one of the most powerful businessmen in Europe. His company owned hotels, technology firms, luxury developments and half a dozen businesses I couldn’t even pronounce.

He didn’t smile.

He simply looked at me.

“Miss Reyes.”

My fingers tightened around my phone.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.”

“Why?”

His eyes moved over my face with unsettling calm.

“Because I believe I can solve your problem.”

I stared at him.

“Nothing is free with a man like you.”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“Smart.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was.”

I should have walked away.

Instead, I asked, “What do you want?”

He opened the car door wider.

“Five minutes.”

“I don’t have time for games.”

“This isn’t a game.”

Something about his voice made my skin prickle.

I should have said no.

Instead, I got into the car.

Five minutes.

That was all.

Adrian sat opposite me in the back seat, perfectly composed.

He reached into a leather folder and placed several papers on the seat between us.

I looked down.

Then looked back at him.

“What is this?”

“A contract.”

“For what?”

“Marriage.”

I actually laughed.

It was the only reaction I could manage.

“You’re joking.”

“I don’t joke about business.”

My smile disappeared.

“You want me to marry you?”

“For one year.”

I stared at him.

“You don’t even know me.”

His expression didn’t change.

“I know enough.”

“And why would a billionaire need to marry a woman whose company is about to be taken by the bank?”

“Because I need a wife.”

“You have women throwing themselves at you.”

“I don’t want one of them.”

“Then find someone else.”

“I chose you.”

The words landed harder than they should have.

I looked down at the contract again.

My name was already printed on it.

Elena Reyes.

My heart began pounding.

“How did you know about the bank?”

“I know everything that concerns my business interests.”

“My company isn’t your business.”

“Not yet.”

I looked up sharply.

He leaned back.

“If you marry me, I will pay the debt.”

“All of it?”

“All of it.”

“And what do I have to do?”

“Be my wife for one year.”

“That sounds too simple.”

“It isn’t.”

I swallowed.

“What happens after one year?”

“The marriage ends.”

“And that’s it?”

“You walk away with your family’s company.”

I stared at him.

Three million euros.

My mother’s company.

My entire family’s future.

All in exchange for one year of marriage.

There had to be a catch.

“There is one condition,” he said.

Of course.

“What?”

His eyes locked onto mine.

“You follow the rules.”

I almost smiled.

“I don’t take orders well.”

“I know.”

That answer unsettled me.

“How?”

He didn’t respond.

Instead, he pushed the contract toward me.

I looked at the signature line.

Then at Adrian.

“You expect me to believe this is charity?”

“No.”

“Then why me?”

For the first time, something dark crossed his face.

It disappeared so quickly I almost wondered if I’d imagined it.

“Because you’re exactly the woman I need.”

My heart beat faster.

I picked up the contract.

Three million euros.

One year.

One marriage.

It sounded insane.

But tomorrow morning, the bank would take my mother’s company.

I looked at Adrian Blackwood again.

He was watching me as if he already knew what I would choose.

And somehow, that frightened me more than the contract.

I lowered my eyes to the signature line.

Then I realized something.

He hadn’t offered me a choice.

He had offered me a way out.

And I was desperate enough to take it.

I picked up the pen.

Adrian’s eyes darkened.

“Think carefully, Elena.”

I looked directly at him.

“I already have.”

Then I signed my name.

And the moment the ink touched the paper, I had no idea that I had just married the man who would eventually break my heart.