The Billionaire's, Contract Bride

Adrian's Point of View

The girl looks at me like I just informed her the moon dropped from the heavens. Her brown eyes are hopeful and fearful all at once. Two million dollars lies between us on a coffee-stained napkin.

"One year of my life?" Seraphina gasps. "What does that mean?"

I should tell her everything now. Inform her about the marriage contract and my grandfather's insane will. Something holds me back, though. Perhaps it is the manner in which she is gazing at me as if I am her last hope.

"I'll tell you later," I say instead. "First, I want to know if you're interested."

She takes up the napkin with trembling hands. "Is this real money? Not counterfeit?"

"Very real." I take out my phone and show her my bank account. The figures make her gasp. "I can have fifty thousand dollars in your account tonight as a good faith payment."

Her face pales. "Fifty thousand? Just like that?"

"Just like that." I study her closely. "But first, I need you to be honest with me about one thing. Are you married? Dating anyone seriously?"

She shakes her head quickly. "No. No boyfriend. No time for dating when you work all the time."

Great. That's what I was hoping to hear. Now I just need to determine if she can handle what I'm going to ask her to do.

"Good." I drain my coffee and rise. "I'll be in touch tomorrow with details."

"Wait!" She gets up as well. "You can't just offer me two million dollars and leave!"

"I can and I am." I leave a hundred dollar bill on the table. "For the coffee and the dry cleaning."

She looks at the money. "This is too much."

"Keep it." I walk towards the door. "You'll be hearing from me soon, Seraphina Wells."

Rain splashes on my face as I make my way to my car. My shirt is still wet with coffee, but I don't mind. I may have just stumbled upon the solution to my largest issue.

My phone rings while I drive down the deserted streets. Marcus's name appears on the screen. My half-brother does not call this late at night unless he needs something.

"Adrian," Marcus says when I pick up. "Working late again?"

"Something like that." I do not know Marcus well enough to tell him where I actually was. "What do you want?"

"Can't a brother just call to talk?"

"Not when that brother is you." I pull into the parking garage beneath my building. "Make your point."

Marcus laughs, but it is not a friendly sound. "Okay. I was just curious about how the wife hunt is progressing. Only twenty-nine days to go now."

My hand tightens on the steering wheel. "I'm taking care of it."

"Are you? Because what I've heard, you haven't even been out on one date since the reading of Grandfather's will."

He's right, and we both know it. I've been so busy with work that I hadn't even thought about the idiot marriage stipulation until last week. Now I'm starting to run out of time.

"My personal life is none of your business," I say to him.

"It is my business, in fact. If you don't marry, I get everything. Kane Industries, the penthouse, all of it." His tone becomes cold. "I'm calling to say thank you in advance."

I hang up on him before he can realize that I don't want to say goodbye. Marcus has waited a lifetime for me to screw up. He is not going to get his opportunity.

I take the elevator to my penthouse apartment on the top floor. The city lies before me through the giant windows. This is home. This is life. My grandfather started this company from scratch, and I have furthered it.

I'm not losing it to Marcus.

My granddad's letter still remains on my desk where I had left it this morning. I read it once again, even though I have every word memorized.

Adrian, my boy. By the time you read this, I'll be gone. Kane Industries needs a leader who knows what's most important in life. Family. Love. Connection to other human beings. You're a good businessman, but you've forgotten how to be human.. I'm giving you thirty days to find a wife and be married. Not a fake marriage, but a real one. Otherwise, it all goes to Marcus. Maybe he will have better luck than the two of us. Sincerely, Grandfather.*

True marriage. That's the aspect that has been keeping me up at night. How do you discover real love in thirty days? How do you trust another person enough to marry them when you've never trusted anyone in your entire life?

But then I remember Seraphina spilling coffee on my shirt. How she cried and apologized like the world was ending. How she told me she needed her job because her mother was sick.

A real marriage may be out of the question. But a marriage that appears to be real? That I can do.

I take my phone and dial my lawyer.

"Richard, it's Adrian Kane. I need you to draw up a contract."

"Adrian, do you know what time it is?"

"Late. Early. I don't care. This is important."

Richard sighs. "What sort of contract?"

"A marriage contract. One year term. Two million dollar payment. Total confidentiality."

"Adrian, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to save my company." I move to the window and glance down at the deserted streets. "How soon can you have it ready?"

"Give me twenty-four hours."

"Twelve hours."

"Adrian-"

"Twelve hours, Richard. My future is riding on it."

I hang up and pour myself a drink. The whiskey burns on the way down, but it doesn't do anything to warm me up.

Tomorrow I'll return to that diner. I'll make Seraphina Wells an offer she can't refuse. She needs money, and I need a wife. It's perfect.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

My phone vibrates with a text message. Unknown number.

I cannot stop thinking about your offer. Is this reality? Can you help me? - Sera

I look at the message for a second. She provided her number without being asked. She's considering the money, so she's desperate enough to be willing to do anything that it is I'm going to ask her to do.

I respond: Very real. Meet me tomorrow night, same place, same time. Come alone.

She responds right away: Okay. But I have to know what you require of me.

Tomorrow, I text. Tomorrow you'll have all your answers.

I put the phone down and finished my drink. In twelve hours, I'll have a contract. In twenty-four hours, I'll have a wife. And in thirty days, I'll still have everything my grandfather tried to take from me.

But as I'm preparing for bed, one thing continues to nag at me. Seraphina's face as she stared at that napkin. The hope in her eyes as she asked whether the figures were real.

She's going to save everything I've built. The question is, what am I going to do to her life in the process?

My reflection stares back at me from the mirror in the bathroom. For the first time in years, I don't recognize the man looking back.

"It's just business," I say to myself. "Just business."

But I don't believe it anymore.