CHAPTER 1 — COLLISION

“I’m offering you fifty million dollars to become my wife.”

Elena blinked.

For a moment, she was sure she had misheard him.

The man sitting across from her in the small, cluttered office of Lang Events didn’t look like someone who joked. Everything about him was controlled — the perfectly tailored black suit that fit his broad shoulders like it was made for intimidation, the calm, almost indifferent expression on his sharp, handsome face, and the quiet authority that made the air in the room feel heavier.

“I need a wife,” he said simply, his voice low and steady, the kind that didn’t need to rise to be heard. “You need money. This is a transaction.”

Elena let out a short, disbelieving laugh and leaned back in her chair, studying him more carefully. Men like him didn’t walk into small offices like hers unless they wanted something, and technically, he was here because of her.

“You’re the one whose wedding I ‘ruined,’ remember?” she said, her tone edged with sarcasm. “So let me get this straight — you came all the way here to offer me a job as your fake wife?”

“Contract wife,” he corrected smoothly, his gaze never wavering.

“Same difference.”

For the briefest second, the corner of his mouth shifted — not quite a smile, but close enough to feel dangerous.

Elena ignored it, though she was suddenly aware of how closely he was watching her, like he was studying more than just her words.

“No,” she said firmly. “Whatever this is, I’m not interested.”

She reached for a file on her desk, intending to end the conversation, but his voice stopped her cold.

“Fifty million.”

Her hand paused despite herself.

Just for a moment.

And she hated that he noticed.

“That amount should resolve most of your current problems,” he continued, tone steady and unhurried. “Your rent, your debts, the losses your business has been facing since the Voss wedding.”

Her jaw tightened as she slowly looked back at him.

“You’ve been looking into my life,” she said quietly, a mix of irritation and unease rising in her chest.

“I don’t make offers blindly.”

Of course he didn’t. Everything about him — the way he sat, the way he spoke, the way the room seemed to shrink around him — suggested control, precision, and the kind of confidence that came from always being ten steps ahead.

Elena exhaled slowly and sat back down, not because she had accepted, but because she needed to understand what he was really asking.

“…What exactly does this involve?” she asked.

“Six months,” he replied. “You will live with me as my wife, attend events, and maintain appearances. After that, the contract ends, and you walk away with the money.”

Simple. Too simple.

“And what’s the catch?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“No emotional attachment,” he said immediately. “No interference in my personal affairs. You follow my instructions in public, and you do not create unnecessary complications.”

Elena raised a brow. “You sound like you’re hiring an employee, not marrying someone.”

“In this situation, there’s very little difference.”

She let out a quiet breath, shaking her head.

“And what about the obvious part?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “What happens when people expect this marriage to look real?”

For the first time, there was the slightest pause.

“We maintain appearances,” he said. “Nothing more.”

Elena watched him carefully, catching the subtle shift in his gaze before he masked it again. It was brief, but it was enough to make her aware of something unspoken beneath his calm exterior.

“Well,” she said lightly, though her eyes remained sharp, “at least we agree on one thing.”

Silence settled between them, but it wasn’t empty. It stretched, quiet but charged, in a way that made her suddenly aware of how close he was sitting… and how difficult it was to look away.

Elena broke the moment first, reaching for the file again.

“I’m still not interested,” she said.

“Fifty million,” he repeated, as though the number alone was enough to change everything.

It almost was.

She looked at him again, this time more carefully, as if trying to figure out what kind of man would make an offer like this and expect it to be accepted without hesitation.

“And if I say no?” she asked.

He stood then, adjusting his sleeve with a small, precise movement that somehow made him seem even more in control.

“Then I leave,” he said. “And your situation remains exactly the same.”

He stepped closer, closing the distance between them in a way that made Elena suddenly aware of how small the office felt.

Up close, he was even more imposing — not because he raised his voice or forced attention, but because he didn’t need to. Everything about him carried quiet authority.

And this close, she caught it again — that faint, expensive scent, clean and understated, but distracting enough to make her lose her train of thought for half a second.

“You have until tomorrow,” he said, his voice lower now, more deliberate. “Think about it.”

Then he turned and walked out, leaving the thick black folder on her desk like a loaded gun.

The door closed softly behind him, but the silence he left behind felt louder than anything he had said.

Elena remained seated, her eyes fixed on the folder. The office suddenly felt different, as though his presence had shifted something she couldn’t quite explain.

She exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair as she leaned back in her chair.

“This is insane,” she muttered.

It was completely ridiculous. No sane person would agree to something like this.

And yet, no matter how much she tried to dismiss it, the number lingered in her mind.

Fifty million dollars.

Her gaze dropped to the folder again, her thoughts beginning to race despite herself.

“It’s just six months,” she said quietly.

But even as she said it, she couldn’t ignore the unsettling feeling that accepting his offer wouldn’t just change her life—

It would complicate it in ways she wasn’t ready for.

And for the first time, that thought didn’t just worry her.

It intrigued her.