The Billionaire's Bride Hidden Identity

I checked my time for the fifth time in ten minutes. Five-thirty. I sighed lightly as I shut down my computer and leaned back in my chair. Around me buzzed with the usual late-afternoon activity, but my attention had been elsewhere all day. On my phone, on Ethan. One message that had changed everything.For months, I had been walking around with a heartache filled with unanswered texts, ignored calls, and unending excuses I made on his behalf, that had piled up until breathing felt exhausting.Mrs. Sophia noticed."Nora."I looked up to find her standing at my office door. With brows drawn together. "You're leaving already?"I nodded quickly. “Do I have your permission?”She smiled "Of course. I'm just surprised you actually took my advice for once."I laughed softly. For weeks, she'd been telling me to take time off to clear my head, but rest wasn't what I wanted. I wanted Ethan, I wanted answers, I wanted the man I love to remember I still existed.My phone buzzed, Ethan's message w

I stared at the text on my phone for what felt like the hundredth time.Mrs. Sophia: Nora, please come to my office.My thumb hovered over the screen for a while. I took a deep breath and stood up.The moment I did, the elevator doors opened and Elara stepped out. Her heels clicked against the floor as she walked through the office like she owned the building. Heads turned immediately.Elara smiled brightly. "You are all invited to my wedding in two weeks!"The office erupted with Cheers, and excited voices. Then Elara's eyes found mine and a smile spread across her face, not a friendly one."Oh, Nora."The room grew quieter."You should start shopping for something nice to wear." She tilted her head. "So security won't mistake you for an uninvited guest and throw you out."Laughter erupted. Not everyone laughed, some looked uncomfortable, others looked away, I caught pity in some eyes.Laura didn't even bother lowering her voice. "You really acted foolishly in that video."I gripped

For the first time since leaving Kingsley Holdings, I opened the email Liam's secretary had sent. I wasn't planning to accept the offer, I just wanted to see how ridiculous it was.The moment the contract loaded, my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. I read the first page, then the second… I went back to the first page because I was sure I had misunderstood something.A fifty-million-dollar deposit upon signing, a five-million-dollar monthly allowance, a luxury estate in Blackthorn, medical coverage, personal security, and five hundred million upon completion of the contract.My mouth slowly fell open."DAMN!"Surely this had to be a joke. Who pays someone this much to pretend to be a wife? I snapped my laptop shut.He must be insane or maybe rich people simply live in a different reality. Either way, I wasn't selling myself.I grabbed my bag and headed out. If the major companies didn't want me, I would try smaller firms. Someone out there needed an employee.The first company r

"We're going shopping."The words barely registered before Liam walked out of the office, and the door clicked shut behind him.For a second, I simply stood there. I had just signed away a year of my life, shouldn't I be having a mental breakdown somewhere?Reality crashed into me when I realized I was alone."Oh, God."I grabbed my purse and hurried after him.By the time I reached the underground parking lot, Collin was already waiting beside a sleek black car."Miss Quinn." He opened the rear door.I looked inside, and Liam was already there reading. I glanced at Collin."Am I supposed to sit in there with him?"Collin's smile widened. "Yes."With a sigh, I climbed inside. The door shut and it came with silence. I moved close to the window immediately. Liam didn't even glance in my direction, his attention remained glued to the files resting in his hands.I watched the city slide past the window. Blackthorn had always felt familiar, but now it felt different. Every street and resta

"We'll announce the engagement tomorrow morning."Mr. Kingsley said it as casually as if he were discussing the weather. Colour drained from my face. I hadn't even recovered from the scandal surrounding Ethan and Elara. The thought of my name exploding across the internet again made my chest tighten. Liam's hand closed around mine."Let's go."I nodded and followed him out.The ride back to my apartment was quiet. Collin drove while Liam sat beside me, scrolling through emails as though nothing important had happened, meanwhile, my life was hanging by a thread.When the car finally stopped outside my apartment building, I turned toward him."Can you ask your father not to announce the engagement?"Liam looked up from his phone. "Why?""Because the internet already hates me."He said nothing."Ethan and Elara practically turned me into a public villain. If this engagement becomes public, people will just find new reasons to attack me."Liam leaned back."I don't think so."I blinked.