Chapter 4 - A Debt to a Billionaire

Megan froze in place the instant she saw the stranger. It was the same man she had encountered at the department store. A chill ran down her spine, her heartbeat thundering in her ears as panic took hold. She couldn't move. She couldn't even force a single word past her lips.

Zachary took one slow step toward her, his sharp gaze never leaving her face. The air around him felt suffocating, his commanding presence making it impossible to look away. His expression was cold, unreadable, yet the faint curl of his lips carried a dangerous hint of amusement.

"So," he said, his deep voice cutting through the silence like a blade, "have you suddenly gone mute... or are you pretending to be deaf?"

His eyes narrowed, each second of silence only making his stare more oppressive.

"I've been calling you for days," he continued, his tone low and controlled. "Ignoring me wasn't a very smart decision."

Megan's mouth parted, but no words came out. Under his unwavering gaze, every excuse she had carefully rehearsed disappeared from her mind.

Her eyes widened as they drifted toward the towering billboard across the street. Splashed across it was the face of the very man standing before her. Dressed in an immaculate tailored suit, he exuded confidence and authority. Beneath his striking image, his name was written in bold cursive letters.

Zachary Wright.

The realization crashed over her like lightning.

No wonder he looked so familiar.

She let out a defeated sigh.

"I can't pay you right now... even if I wanted to," she muttered.

Her lips formed a small pout as she glanced down at the worn suitcase beside her.

"Can't you see?" she whispered. "I've been kicked out of my house."

With that, she crouched beside her suitcase, hugging her knees like a child who had lost everything.

For a brief moment, Zachary's icy expression softened. A smile almost escaped him.

Why am I smiling? he thought, slightly annoyed with himself. She scammed me. I should be furious. He quickly composed himself.

"I don't care how you do it," he said coldly. "But you will pay me back."

His words only fueled Megan's frustration.

She sprang to her feet and glared at him.

"I don't have any money!" she snapped. "Just take my life instead." A slow smirk spread across Zachary's face.

Before she could react, he stepped forward and wrapped an arm firmly around her waist, pulling her against him.

Their faces were only inches apart.

His voice dropped to a whisper. "If you can't pay your debt..." He paused deliberately, watching the panic bloom in her eyes.

"...then marry me."

Megan's eyes went wide. "W-What?!" Married is a big decision, why would I settle to a man I just met twice and was known as cassanova? I'm not digging my own pit! She told herself and shove him away from her.

"You proposed to someone you just met twice?" She unbelievably uttered.

"I made you an offer," he simply says.

"That's not an offer-- that's a blackmail!" she told him.

Megan stared at him, speechless.

How could he say it so casually?

Marriage wasn't a business transaction. It wasn't something she could agree to simply because she owed him money. And Zachary Wright—the man whose face was plastered across the billboard—was practically a stranger.

Worse, she had heard enough rumors about him to know he was a notorious playboy.

Absolutely not.

She took a step back and shook her head firmly.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Zachary raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"No!" Megan snapped. "You proposed to someone you've met twice!"

"I didn't propose." His expression remained annoyingly calm. "I made a business arrangement."

"That's even worse!"

For the first time, a faint chuckle escaped him.

Megan glared at him. "What's so funny?"

"You."

"Me?"

"You look like you're about to run away."

"Because I am!"

She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and turned around, but Zachary's voice stopped her.

"Then where will you go?"

Megan froze.

She slowly turned back.

He continued, his voice quieter this time. "Your family threw you out. Your accounts are frozen. You can't pay what you owe me. And from the looks of it, you don't even have a place to sleep tonight."

Each word hit harder than the last.

Megan's fingers tightened around the suitcase handle.

She hated that he was right.

"I'll figure something out," she muttered.

Zachary studied her for a moment before walking closer.

"I'm offering you a solution."

"A ridiculous solution."

"Perhaps."

He stopped a few feet away, giving her space.

"You don't have to decide tonight."

Megan blinked, surprised by his words.

Zachary reached into his coat and pulled out a card.

"Think about it."

He held it out to her.

Megan hesitated before taking it.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly.

His expression became unreadable again.

"Because I don't like unfinished business." Zachary’s lips curved into a faint, almost amused smile.

“Then you’ll still owe me the money,” he said calmly. “And I’m telling you, you’ll spend the rest of your days behind cold bars.”

Megan groaned and rolled her eyes, though her heart was beating faster than she wanted to admit.

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re in debt,” he teased.

She glared at him.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

There was something about the way Zachary looked at her that made her uncomfortable. He wasn't angry anymore. If anything, he looked far too calm—as though he already knew something she didn't.

Then he turned away.

“Wait!” Megan called.

But he didn't stop.

He simply slipped one hand into his pocket and continued walking, his tall figure slowly disappearing into the crowd.

Megan stood there, frozen beside her suitcase.

She watched until she could no longer see him.

Only then did she release the breath she had been holding.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

Her gaze dropped to the card in her trembling hand.

Zachary Wright.

She stared at the name.

Then she sighed.

“Of all the people I could've scammed…”

Megan stared at the billboard, her expression slowly changing from confusion to disbelief.

ZACHARY WRIGHT.

Billionaire.

CEO.

And, according to the countless articles appearing on her phone, one of the most notorious bachelors in the country.

Megan's eyes widened as she read the headlines.

Zachary Wright Spotted With Another Socialite.

The Billionaire Bachelor Who Never Dates the Same Woman Twice.

Women Line Up for a Chance With Zachary Wright.

She nearly dropped her phone.

“You've got to be kidding me.”

Of all the men she could have crossed paths with, she had somehow managed to scam that man.

The famous Zachary Wright.

The billionaire Casanova.

The man women apparently fought to get close to.

And yet, instead of being surrounded by beautiful women, he had spent the last hour arguing with her.

Megan groaned.

“Why me?”

Across the street, a black luxury car waited near the curb.

Inside, Zachary leaned back against the leather seat, watching her through the tinted window.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

He had seen that expression before.

Panic.

Regret.

And, most amusingly, disbelief.

His assistant glanced at him.

“Sir, should we go?”

Zachary didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained on Megan.

“She knows who I am now.”

“And?”

A faint chuckle escaped him.

“And she looks like she wants to run.”

His assistant sighed. “You usually enjoy being chased.”

Zachary finally looked away from the window.

“That's the problem.” His smile faded slightly.

“She isn't chasing me.” he added.

There was something about Megan that bothered him.

Women usually changed the moment they discovered his identity.

Their voices became softer. Their smiles became sweeter. Their interest became obvious but Megan is different among other woman that makes him want her more.

“You have no idea how badly I want to know what makes you different," he murmurs.