All Chapters of Three-Years Contract Marriage with the Billionaire : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Lena"Great. So I'll put you with the Castellanos, she's an art dealer, he's a human rights lawyer, they're both hilarious, and the Lees, she runs a tech nonprofit, he's a chef. They're the kind of people who will actually talk to you like a human being instead of treating you like a trophy wife."Trophy wife.The words landed wrong.Nate saw it immediately."Sorry," he said quickly. "Bad phrasing. I just meant…""It's fine." I picked up my latte and took a sip. It had gone lukewarm. "That's what I am, isn't it? A trophy. Or a transaction. Same thing.""Lena, that's not…""Did Julian tell you why he married me?"Nate went very still. "He said it was a business arrangement.""Did he tell you why he chose me specifically?" I was still holding the cup, staring into the beige liquid like it held answers. "My sister Cassie was supposed to marry him. She's beautiful. Perfect. Everything a billionaire's wife should be. But she got rejected by her fiancé at her engagement party, so my father

JulianI was reviewing the quarterly projections when my office door opened without a knock.Nate walked in and closed it behind him with the careful precision of someone trying very hard to stay calm."We need to talk," he said.I looked up from my laptop. "If this is about the Harrison Group situation, Marcus already…""It's not about Marcus." Nate crossed to my desk and stood there with his hands in his pockets. "It's about your wife."Something in his tone made me close the laptop."What about Lena?""I just had coffee with her." He said it evenly. Too evenly. "We were planning the gala. Going over menu options and seating charts. Normal stuff."I waited."Halfway through," Nate continued in that same careful voice, "she started crying into her latte. Quietly. The kind of crying someone does when they're trying really hard not to fall apart in public."My chest tightened. "Is she…""She's fine. Physically." He pulled out the chair across from my desk and sat down slowly. "But she

LenaThe envelope arrived at three PM on a Tuesday.I was in the kitchen making tea when Mrs. Billy brought it in, holding it between two fingers like it might bite."This just came for you," she said. "Courier service. Required signature."The envelope was heavy cream cardstock. Expensive. The return address was embossed in elegant script: Voss & Associates, Attorneys at Law.My stomach dropped."Thank you," I said, taking it.Mrs. Billy looked at the envelope, then at my face."Would you like me to stay?" she asked quietly."No. I'm fine.""Mrs. Blackwood…""I'm fine, Mrs. Billy. Really."She didn't look convinced, but she left anyway, closing the kitchen door softly behind her.I stood there holding the envelope.Voss & Associates.I knew that name. Martin Voss was one of the most expensive defense attorneys in Manhattan. The kind of lawyer you hired when you were guilty and rich enough to not care.My hands started shaking before I even opened it.I set my tea down carefully and s

LenaThey don't get to spend twelve years breaking you down and then walk away unpunished."I looked at his face. At the cold fury there.At the way he was holding himself together by pure force of will."Then we both learned to survive people who should have protected us," I said quietly.Julian went absolutely still."What?""You had a mother who left without apologizing and a father who blamed you for not being enough to make her stay. I had a mother who died and a father who blamed me for surviving and a stepmother who made me feel like I should have died instead." I looked at him. "We both learned to survive people who should have protected us. People who were supposed to love us but chose cruelty instead."He stared at me like I'd said something profound.Like I'd put words to something he'd been feeling for thirteen years but never knew how to articulate."Yes," he said finally. "That's exactly what we learned."We sat there in the lamplight looking at each other.Two people br

JulianNot quite trust.But something like hope.The kind of hope that whispers maybe this could actually work.Maybe two broken people could build something real.Maybe he meant it when he said he wanted to try.Maybe I could be brave enough to let him.I sat on the floor of my bedroom for a long time.Then I stood up, walked to my nightstand, and picked up my phone.I opened my text thread with Julian.The last message was from yesterday: Thank you for sending Marcus. I'm okay.I typed: Thank you for apologizing. Properly. Without excuses. That mattered.I stared at the message for a moment.Then I added: See you at dinner.I hit send before I could overthink it.Three dots appeared immediately.Julian: Thank you for listening. And for being honest. See you tonight.I put my phone down and looked at myself in the mirror across the room.My hair was messy from sleep.My eyes had shadows under them.I was wearing old pajamas and no makeup.I looked tired and vulnerable and nothing lik