Chapter 5

The second their eyes met, a sharp look of calculation flashed in Buxton's dark pupils. He saw the raw desperation hiding just beneath Amira's calm surface.

Amira broke the eye contact first. She released his bandaged hand, stood up slowly, and took a half-step back.

Buxton braced his good left hand against the floor. "Pick up the chair," he ordered, his voice returning to its usual icy cadence.

Amira bent down, grabbed the heavy metal frame of the custom wheelchair, and hauled it upright. She braced it while he used his upper body strength to pull himself back into the seat.

He settled back into the seat, the familiar leather molding to his frame. He took a slow, deliberate breath, and as he exhaled, the last trace of vulnerability was extinguished from his eyes. He methodically brushed a piece of glass from his silk robe, his movements precise and cold. The master of the house was back in his throne.

He adjusted the lapels of his silk robe. "Why are you standing in my house dripping wet in the middle of the night?" he asked coldly.

Amira looked down at her shoes. Her hands twisted the wet fabric of her jacket. Her pride and her survival instinct waged a brutal war in her chest.

Survival won. She snapped her head up, her voice shaking but direct. "I need to borrow money."

She named the number. "Fifty thousand dollars. It covers my tuition and rent for the next two years."

Buxton's fingers stopped moving. He narrowed his eyes, assessing the audacious girl standing in front of him.

He let out a short, humorless laugh. "And why would I lend fifty thousand dollars to a maid who makes twenty dollars an hour?"

Amira clenched her jaw. "I'll sign a promissory note. I'll pay you back with my salary the second I graduate. You can charge me maximum interest."

Buxton pushed the joystick on his armrest. The wheelchair glided forward smoothly until the footrests were inches from Amira's knees.

He reached out with his bandaged right hand. He hooked his index finger under her chin, forcing her to look down at him.

He stared into her stubborn, unyielding eyes. Something deep within his cold, empty chest shifted.

His mind flashed to the call he had with his family lawyers earlier that day. He needed to be married by the end of the month to unlock the final, crucial portion of his grandfather's trust fund.

He looked at Amira. She was desperate, completely alone, and seemingly easy to control. She was the perfect candidate.

Buxton dropped his hand. His tone shifted to that of a corporate predator closing a merger. "I decline your loan request."

The light in Amira's eyes died instantly. Her shoulders slumped. She turned to leave.

"But," Buxton continued, his voice echoing in the quiet room, "I will pay the fifty thousand. In exchange, you will marry me."

Amira stopped dead. She spun around, her eyes wide with shock. She searched his face for the punchline of a cruel joke.

Buxton's expression was completely blank. "It is a commercial transaction. Two years. You get your tuition. I get a legal wife to satisfy a family trust requirement."

He tapped his index finger against the armrest. "Separate bedrooms. No interference in private matters. In two years, we divorce quietly, and you receive a generous severance package."

Amira's brain short-circuited. A contract marriage was insane.

But then the image of Agnes's greedy face pushing her toward Mr. Henderson flashed in her mind. Then Angelo's disgusted sneer. Her heart hardened into stone.

Compared to being sold to a pervert by her own mother, or starving on the streets without a degree, the cold proposal from this disabled billionaire was a lifeline.

She took a deep breath. She stared directly into Buxton's dark eyes, searching for a trap.

Buxton stared back, his gaze as calm as a frozen lake.

Amira's hands balled into tight fists at her sides. Her nails bit into her flesh. Her throat was bone dry when she finally spoke one word.

"Deal."

The faintest hint of a smirk touched the corner of Buxton's mouth. He pressed a button on his console. "Johnny. My study. Now."