Married to billionaire boss

The morning sun filtered through the worn curtains of a tiny, crumbling apartment in the heart of Red Willow District, casting golden light over a scene of quiet despair. The scent of damp wood and old bread filled the room. Sitting by the window was Elena Harper, an eighteen-year-old girl with tangled brown hair and soft green eyes, wearing a patched-up blue dress that hung loosely on her slender frame.

Elena clutched a threadbare book to her chest, though she hadn't read a word for the past hour. Her mind was heavy with worries - heavier than usual. The rent was due. The bakery where she worked part-time had cut her hours again. And her mother's cough had worsened, a rattling, painful sound that kept Elena awake at night. The few coins in her worn leather purse wouldn't buy enough medicine.

Her younger brother, Tommy, just ten years old, sat at the rickety kitchen table, trying to finish a piece of stale bread. Their mother, Margaret Harper, lay on the old sofa, bundled under thin blankets, her breathing labored.

"Elena," Margaret called weakly.

"I'm here, Mama," Elena said, rushing to her side and taking her mother's frail hand.

"I'm sorry, darling," her mother whispered. "You shouldn't have to bear all this."

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat. "We'll get through it. I promise."

But promises didn't pay rent or buy medicine.

That afternoon, Elena's uncle, Victor, came to visit. He wasn't truly family - just an old friend of her late father - but he had stepped in after her father's death five years ago. Victor was a portly man with graying hair and small, sharp eyes that always seemed to be calculating something.

He sat down heavily on the only sturdy chair in the room and looked at Elena with a strange mixture of pity and determination.

"Elena, listen carefully," Victor said. "I've found a solution to your... situation."

Elena stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Victor leaned forward, his voice low and serious. "There's a man - powerful, wealthy beyond imagination. His name is Alexander Blackwood. He owns half the city, it seems. Factories, hotels, even hospitals."

Elena frowned. She had heard the name before. Everyone in Red Willow had. Alexander Blackwood was a billionaire, notorious for his ruthless business deals and his cold heart.

"He's looking for a wife," Victor continued. "Not for love. For... appearances. For business reasons."

Elena's blood ran cold. "What does that have to do with me?"

Victor's gaze didn't waver. "He's willing to pay. A lot. Enough to clear your family's debts, buy your mother the best care, send Tommy to a good school."

Elena shook her head violently. "No. No! I'm not some... item to be sold."

Victor sighed. "It's not selling. It's survival. You marry him. You save your family."

Tears blurred Elena's vision. How could he speak so casually about something so monstrous?

"I won't," she whispered. "I can't."

"You don't have a choice, girl," Victor said, his voice hardening. "The landlord's coming next week. You owe months of rent. Your mother needs a doctor now, not next year."

Margaret, who had heard the conversation from the sofa, tried to sit up but only managed a feeble cough.

"Elena," she rasped, "if this is what it takes to save Tommy... to save me... do it."

"No!" Elena cried. "There has to be another way!"

But deep down, she knew there wasn't. They had no relatives. No money. No miracles waiting to save them.

Victor stood up and handed Elena a crumpled piece of paper with an address on it.

"Tomorrow at noon. Dress as best you can. He'll be waiting."

And just like that, he left.

---

That night, Elena sat awake by the window, staring at the city lights in the distance. Somewhere out there, Alexander Blackwood lived in a palace of glass and steel, untouched by hunger or sickness. And tomorrow, she would be handed over like some desperate offering.

Her heart broke again and again as she thought of her dreams - dreams of becoming a teacher, traveling the world, falling in love.

All ashes now.

When the sun rose, Elena bathed in cold water, brushed her hair, and put on her best dress - a simple white one she had worn to church services. It hung a little looser now, evidence of many skipped meals.

She kissed her mother's forehead, hugged Tommy tightly, and walked out into the bright, uncaring world

The meeting place was a grand hotel in the heart of the city, a place Elena had only ever seen from afar. Its marble floors gleamed under chandeliers the size of carriages. Men in crisp suits and women in silk gowns passed by, glancing curiously at the thin, trembling girl standing awkwardly by the entrance.

A tall man in a dark suit approached. "Miss Harper?" he asked.

"Y-yes," she said, her voice barely audible.

"This way."

He led her through the hotel to a private lounge. And there, sitting in a black leather armchair, was Alexander Blackwood himself.

He was even more intimidating in person. Dark hair, sharp jawline, piercing gray eyes that seemed to see straight through her. His suit looked like it cost more than her entire apartment.

He regarded her silently for a long moment.

"You're younger than I expected," he said finally, his voice deep and emotionless.

Elena said nothing, too afraid to speak.

Alexander stood and walked toward her, his movements precise and controlled.

"You understand why you're here?" he asked.

Elena nodded, her throat too tight to form words.

"This is not a love match," he said, his tone cool. "It's a contract. You will be Mrs. Blackwood in name only. You will attend events with me, smile when needed, and stay out of my way otherwise. In return, your family will be taken care of. Generously."

Elena stared at him, hating him, hating herself, hating the entire world that had led her to this moment.

"Do you accept?" he asked.

Elena thought of her mother's sunken face. Tommy's hopeful eyes.

She swallowed her pride, her fear, her dreams.

"I accept," she whispered.