The Contract

"Marry me."

The words echoed inside my head.

I stared at Alexander Kane as if he had just told me the sky was falling.

"Excuse me?"

His expression remained completely calm.

"You heard me."

I almost laughed.

Maybe I was losing my mind.

First, my fiancé had announced his marriage to my sister in front of everyone I knew.

Now a billionaire I'd barely spoken to was offering me ten million dollars to become his wife.

What kind of night was this?

"Mr. Kane, I think you have the wrong person."

"I don't."

His answer came without hesitation.

I folded my arms.

"Then you're crazy."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That's possible."

For some reason, his calmness irritated me even more.

"Why me?"

Alexander closed the folder.

"Because you're available."

I stared at him.

"That's your reason?"

"For the arrangement, yes."

My heart sank.

Of course.

He didn't actually want me.

I was simply convenient.

Still, there was something about his expression that made me suspicious.

He wasn't looking at me like a stranger.

He was studying me.

As if he already knew everything about me.

"Why do you need a wife?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Then why should I marry you?"

"Ten million dollars."

He said it as casually as if he were offering me a cup of coffee.

I swallowed.

Ten million dollars.

My family had been struggling financially for months. My father's business was drowning in debt, and my mother had been hiding the seriousness of their situation from me.

Ten million dollars could solve everything.

But there had to be a catch.

"There are conditions," I said.

"Of course."

He opened the folder again.

"The marriage will last exactly one year."

I nodded slowly.

"After one year, we divorce."

"Correct."

"No romance?"

"None."

"No interference in your personal life?"

"Correct."

I looked at him suspiciously.

"And what exactly do you expect from me as your wife?"

"Appear beside me when necessary. Attend business events. Maintain the appearance of a normal marriage."

I frowned.

"So basically, you need an actress."

His lips curved slightly.

"Exactly."

I should have walked away.

Every sensible part of me told me to walk away.

But then I remembered my father's voice from two weeks earlier.

We're running out of options, Sophia.

I looked down at the contract.

"Why ten million?"

Alexander's eyes hardened.

"Because that's what I'm willing to pay."

"That's not an answer."

"It doesn't need to be."

I hated his arrogance.

I hated how calm he was.

And most of all, I hated that I was actually considering his offer.

I picked up the folder.

"Can I read it first?"

"You have until tomorrow morning."

I looked at him.

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"And if I say no?"

He stepped closer.

His voice dropped.

"Then you walk away."

There was something strangely unsettling about the way he said it.

As though he already knew I wouldn't.

I opened my mouth to respond, but my phone suddenly rang.

It was my mother.

I answered immediately.

"Mom?"

Her voice was trembling.

"Sophia, where are you?"

"At the hotel."

"Come home."

Something in her voice made my stomach twist.

"Why?"

There was a pause.

Then she whispered,

"Your father's company has been seized."

My heart stopped.

"What?"

"The bank took everything."

I gripped my phone tightly.

"What about the house?"

Another silence.

"Sophia..."

My knees weakened.

"What about the house?"

"We have until the end of the week to leave."

I couldn't breathe.

Everything was falling apart.

My relationship.

My family.

My home.

I closed my eyes.

Then I looked at Alexander.

He was still standing there.

Watching me.

As if he had known this phone call was coming.

"How did you know?" I whispered.

His expression didn't change.

"Know what?"

"That I would need the money."

For the first time that night, something flickered in his eyes.

But it disappeared almost instantly.

"Read the contract, Sophia."

He turned to leave.

"Wait."

He stopped.

I looked down at the folder in my hands.

Then back at him.

"If I sign this..."

My voice trembled.

"...you really will give me ten million dollars?"

Alexander turned around.

"Yes."

"And there will be no tricks?"

His eyes met mine.

"No tricks."

I took a deep breath.

"Then I'll do it."

For the first time, the billionaire smiled.

But there was nothing warm about it.

It was the smile of a man who had just won a game I didn't even know we were playing.

"Good."

He walked toward me.

"Welcome to the beginning of our marriage, Mrs. Kane."

I froze.

I hadn't signed anything yet.

So how could he already be calling me Mrs. Kane?

And as Alexander walked away, one terrifying thought entered my mind.

What exactly had I just agreed to?