The Fiance Trade-off

When Julian Grant saw how easily I agreed to his marriage proposal, one of his eyebrows lifted. The little stud at the tail end caught the light and sparkled with his movement.To people like us, marriage was just another weight on the scale of business interests. Who you married barely mattered.So, his surprise vanished just as fast. A moment later, he was back to his devil-may-care, cocky self."Cool. I’ll swing by tomorrow to talk wedding plans. Gotta go handle a bunch of crusty old men tonight. What a pain," he grumbled, ruffling his already chaotic curls. I couldn’t help but chuckle and reached out to push a lock of hair off his forehead. "No rush. Just call me when you’ve got time."He seemed pleased with my easygoing attitude. After a few more offhand remarks, he swaggered away.I went home as usual, only to find someone I’d hoped to never see again waiting outside my private villa—Ryan Carter."Well, if it isn’t Mr. Carter out for a walk. Odd trail you’ve picked, endin

Our wedding was set for the tenth of the following month.Julian and I were both swamped with work, so we agreed that he’d just swing by and pick me up on the day of our wedding.As I scrolled through the checklist that the wedding planner sent over, the whole thing felt surreal. Not long ago, I thought I was done with marriage altogether after Ryan bailed on me.Now I was actually getting married.My mom was worried I was rushing it out of heartbreak. She tried her best to talk me down.I shut the book I’d been reading. For some reason, a memory flashed across my mind—Julian swaggering outside my office, smiling with those dimples."Don’t worry, Mom. Julian’s a good guy. And besides, marriage is the same with anyone, right? You and Dad taught me to look past emotion and focus on the benefits."She was speechless for a second, then sighed and hung up.I tilted my head up, staring at the stars, wondering when I’d become like this—someone whose whole world revolved around "value"

Ryan’s gaudy wedding convoy tailed us all the way to our venue. I glanced at his twisted expression through the car window and sighed with irritation.Julian, unfazed, gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "What’s wrong? Getting cold feet?""Cold feet?" I scoffed. "Please. I’m just worried he’ll pull something and screw up our timing."Julian raised a brow, then leaned in to whisper, "Then, don’t stop me later."Before I could ask what he meant, the door swung open. Ryan had already charged at us. He aimed for my arm.Julian slapped his hand away like it was nothing."Touching someone else’s wife comes with a price," he said smoothly.That one word, "wife", made Ryan go pale."Who the hell do you think you are?" he barked. "Claire and I have twenty years of history. Who are you to talk?"I opened my mouth to respond, but Julian was already standing between us. "Twenty years and nothing came of it? Seems like fate made the right call."Ryan’s fist shot up, but Julian caught his wrist

With my side of the mess wrapped up, it was time for Julian to clean house on his end.Ever since our marriage, opportunists had started crawling out of the shadows, eager to strike before Julian could fully settle into his position.In his office, he slammed a stack of documents onto the desk in front of me. His finger tapped the top report: an internal audit."My uncle embezzled twenty million last month. He really thinks I’m just a seat warmer."I flipped it open. Everything was there: transactions, bank trails, even hotel receipts with his mistress.I shut the folder. "What’s your next move?"Julian stood, the lines of his black tailored suit razor-sharp. "Tomorrow’s board meeting. I’m making them cough it all up."The next day in the Executive Boardroom at Grant Corp headquarters, Julian sat at the head of the long mahogany table. His uncle, Richard Grant, was already pounding the desk."Julian! Who gave you the right to freeze my accounts? I’m your elder!"Julian didn’t