The Billionaire's Switch:He Married the True Heiress Instead

The day I was supposed to bring Gladys Pruitt home to meet my parents, she vanished again. All she left me was a message.

"You humiliated Derek in front of everyone at the company gala last week. He's had a nervous breakdown because of you. I'm taking him to the Maldives to recover. Have a million-dollar bonus ready and a personal apology for him. Otherwise, I'm not meeting your family."

I stared at the message for a long moment, my expression calm.

Behind me, my security team was already prepared to intercept her at the airport and drag her back, then watch me forgive her all over again.

My assistant tested the waters carefully.

"Mr. Barnes, should we have the airport team move in?"

I shook my head.

Fifteen times. That was how many times this had happened. Everyone in our circles knew it: Asher Barnes was Gladys Pruitt's dog, summoned and dismissed at her pleasure.

But now, I was done.

My gaze shifted to the woman Gladys had always dismissed as the "country bumpkin trying to take her place"—the Pruitts' real daughter. I spoke.

"Come home with me to meet my family. I'll offer a five-hundred-million-dollar bride price and make you the sole heir to the Pruitt name. Will you accept?"

——

The moment the words left my mouth, Ada Young's eyes glistened with tears.

Before she could answer, the Pruitt parents cut in, their voices laced with panic.

"That's out of the question!"

"Ada just came back from the countryside. She doesn't know anything—she hasn't even learned proper etiquette yet. How could she possibly become a Barnes daughter-in-law?"

"Exactly. Gladys is just being childish. When she comes back, we'll talk some sense into her."

"We'll bring the whole family to your grandfather's door and apologize in person!"

Even her own biological brother, Jordan Pruitt, turned and warned her through gritted teeth.

"Ada. Don't push your luck."

"You're nothing but a pawn Mr. Barnes is using to provoke Gladys into coming home faster. Don't go reaching for things that were never meant for you."

But Ada, who had always been timid, ignored Jordan this time. When she looked at me, there was something new in her eyes. Resolve.

I raised a hand, cutting Jordan off, my voice cold.

"Enough. I've heard these same excuses fifteen times. I'm sick of them."

"Gladys made a fool of my family fifteen times for the sake of Derek Voss. That tells me she doesn't care about this engagement, and she doesn't care about the bond between our families."

I turned to the Pruitt parents. There was no room for negotiation in my tone.

"If she doesn't want to marry in, the Barnes family won't force her."

"Transfer the Pruitt heir title to the real Pruitt daughter today, and I'll still be a Pruitt son-in-law."

Faced with the crushing gap in power between our two families, Paul Pruitt and Rose Pruitt didn't dare object. A contract was drawn up on the spot. They signed.

I brought Ada back to the Barnes estate to meet the elders, and the wedding date was set immediately.

One week later, Gladys came back with Derek Voss in tow.

She stormed into the conference room, her face twisted with fury.

"Asher Barnes, have you lost your mind? What right do you have to force my parents into making me marry you?"

"And where's Derek's million-dollar bonus? Where's his apology? You think I'd marry you after this? In your dreams!"

I finished signing the last document in front of me, then slowly lifted my head to meet Gladys's furious glare.

Standing behind her, as always, was the low-level clerk Derek Voss.

Right on cue, Derek spoke up, his voice dripping with wounded innocence.

"Miss Pruitt, please, don't do this on my account. I'm just a nobody. I've never brought any real value to the company. I'd never dare ask for a bonus or an apology from Mr. Barnes. Please don't fight because of me."

He turned to me, his expression a perfect mask of humility and restraint.

"Mr. Barnes, I know my place. Miss Pruitt only speaks up for me because she feels sorry for a small-town kid trying to make it. You two are a perfect match. Don't let someone like me come between you."

Every word was calculated retreat disguised as surrender, but his eyes told a different story. Behind that mask of innocence was naked provocation.

Two weeks ago. The company gala.