The Billionaire's Ruthless Contract Bride

POV: Aria West

"You may leave now, Miss West. You're no longer needed."

Aria felt like the words were as sharp as any knife she had ever used. Everyone in the meeting went silent in shock. Her chest hurt like a war drum, and the sound of it echoed through everything she'd built.

On the top floor of Blake Enterprises, the office with glass walls sparkled with clean beauty. Manhattan's skyline sparkled in the distance, but the cold tension in the room was brighter than the city itself. Aria West stood in front of a group of executives in a half-circle, her chest moving slowly up and down to show she was angry.

It looked like a king was sitting on his chair at the head of the long black table. Julian Blake was the man who ran the kingdom. He was incredibly good-looking in a cruel, alluring way. He had a sharp chin, dark hair that looked too good to touch, and eyes as cold as obsidian.

He said in a voice that didn't sound cool, "You're going against my strategy in front of the board." "Is this your idea of professionalism, Miss West?"

Aria squeezed her hands together. "With all due respect, Mr. Blake, your strategy will bury the charity wing and expose the company to media backlash."

A few board members looked at each other in a strange way. Aria could see them fidgeting in their places, not sure if they should speak out for her or keep quiet because Julian Blake had made it clear that they couldn't.

He slowly tilted his head, like a hunter getting a good look at its prey. "Is that true?" Do you believe you know more than I do?"

"I think I care about people more than you do," she shot back. Her voice was calm, but her nerves made her hands sweat. "This is more than just numbers." It's about family. It's about life."

They were cut off from each other by a long silence.

He smiled with his lips curled together. Not nice. Not pleased. Not safe. "Miss West, you can go now. "We no longer need you."

Gasps could be heard all over the office. Some people's eyes dropped. No one moved.

Aria took a quick blink.

"Excuse me?"

He stood still and in charge. "You're fired." Starting right away."

Going back:

She was on the cover of Forbes' "30 Under 30" book a year ago. An important person on Wall Street, Martin West's daughter.

It all went bad after that. stealing money. Corruption. The police caught her father. Their family name caught fire. She went from being loved by business people to being looked down upon overnight.

She got into Blake Enterprises with just her pride, her degree, and her guts. She was being wiped again.

Aria's pride was shaky. She was ready to cry, scream, and throw something. She wouldn't give him that power, though.

She said in a whisper, "You can't do this just because I don't agree with you."

Julian moved toward her. Not far enough. His smell dark wood and ambition wrapped around her like smoke.

"Watch me."

His voice was soft. It's cold. Not safe.

His eyes did seem to be telling him something, though. The mask has a crack. Ready to go? An annoyance? She couldn't name it.

She put her heel down and walked out, the sound of her shoes hitting the tile floor like a war drum.

She wasn't sad. She wasn't even in the lift when she got there.

It broke her whole world again, though.

In the late evening

Aria and her best friend Lexi were sitting across from each other in a quiet bar. The air was heavy with the smell of booze and broken hearts.

"He made me look bad, Lex." In front of the whole board."

Lexi closed her eyes. "Julian Blake wears fancy suits like the devil." Don't worry, though. Karma is a very patient person.

Aria took a sip of her whiskey. "I wish karma worked faster." I need a job. Next week is the rent due date.

Lexi put her head down and leaned in. "What if I told you there's a way to ruin him and get your life back?"

Aria wrinkled her face. "What are you talking about?"

Lexi smiled with her lips curled up. "Julian Blake needs a fake wife badly. A friend of mine who works in law heard what his helper said. It's for a deal to join."

Aria stopped moving.

"A fake marriage?"

Lexi said yes. "And you're going to be the bride."

Aria's chest was beating very fast.

False wedding Did Julian Blake?

Who was the man who had just killed her?

She put her glass to her lips and shook her hand.

"Give me that deal." Watch how the devil treats a woman who has nothing to lose.

Julian Blake watched Aria's employee file flash one last time on his screen from the dark of his hilltop office.

"Let's see if you're worth the trouble, Miss West," he said.

I screamed into the lift and didn't dare look back. My boots squeaked as they hit the marble floor. The sound was sharp, just like every word Julian Blake had said to me. But something much more dangerous than anger beat in my heart, making it shake and betray me.

It hurt that the thought of his voice made my heart beat faster.

"Wait."

Someone reached in and opened the elevator doors, just in time.

Julian.

I held my breath. "Are you here to gloat some more?"

He walked in, still and calm, but his eyes showed that he wasn't. "No." "I'm here to warn you."

I laughed very hard. "You've already taken away my honor." What else do you want to warn me about?"

Too close, he moved in. The pricey cologne on his shirt could be smelled. It was both exciting and frustrating.

"You think I liked firing you?" he asked in a low voice. "You're smarter than that."

I was shocked and blinked. "You made me look bad in front of everyone." "You made it about me."

He clenched his teeth. "Because it was personal."

That shut me up.

My chest quickly went up and down. It felt like a breath as the heat from his body touched mine. He was only a few inches away.

"Why, Julian? "Why make it about you?"

It wasn't an answer.

The elevator made a noise. On the parking level, the doors opened, but neither of us moved. The stress was like steel cords around us.

Then he said it in a low, dangerous voice: "Because someone is after you." You had to leave before they turned you into a pawn.

I went cold. "What are you talking about?"

He looked at me like he was thinking about what to do next. "Let's just say that your dad's scandal wasn't just about him." You'll be next."

The doors began to shut once more.

"Wait, what do you mean I'm next?" Julian!"

He opened the door and left. "Aria, we'll talk soon. Not here, though. "Don't do it while they're looking."

He vanished into the darkness.

I was the only one in the lift.

I was fired, but now it wasn't the worst thing that had happened to me today.

I had exactly $14 in the bank, two letters to vacate on the kitchen table, and a sister in the hospital fighting for her life who needed a deposit I couldn't pay. The devil then called.

I was sitting on the cold kitchen floor with unread hospital bills and rejected emails all around me. The yellow light from the cracked ceiling flashed above me. The flat smelled like old coffee and hopelessness. As I opened another email, my hands were shaking.

"Thank you for your interest, Miss West, but we have moved forward with another candidate."

The same thing. Today is not the same.

"Dammit!" I slammed my hands together and threw the phone across the room. I held my breath. It hurt my chest. It had been days since I had cried because it didn't help. I tried to stop today, but I couldn't.

I failed Ava. I let Dad down. The worst part was that I failed myself.

My phone rang.

Number Not Knew.

I cleaned my face and took it. "Hello?"

"Miss West," a voice I knew called out. It's cold. Buffed up. Not safe.

I went cold. That sound hadn't been heard in a year. Not since the shame in the workplace that broke my life.

"Julian Blake?"

"I need to see you," was all he said.

I opened my eyes. "Excuse me?"

"My driver will be there in thirty minutes." "Be sure to dress right."

He put the phone down.

Like a rocket landing in a junkyard, the car pulled up in front of my run-down building.

The driver just opened the door and didn't say anything. I thought about it for a moment as I looked at my reflection in the shiny black paint. A stranger with droopy hair and tired eyes looked back at me.

Julian Blake hadn't seen this side of me before.

I felt shackled by the silence inside the car. I had to force back bile when we got to the same high-rise that used to feel like my kingdom.

The lift to the top floor was very quiet. My hands were shaking. But I felt like I owned his office when I walked in.

In a well-fitted suit, he stood by the window and looked like a sin.

"Aria."

"Julian."

His mouth moved. Not a smile. Not yet.

"You look... different."

"You look the same." It's cold and expensive."

"Still sharp-tongued, I see."

I put my arms down. "Why am I here?"

As he turned, his eyes were as bright as steel. "I have a proposal."

I laughed very hard. "You made me look bad, Julian." kicked me off the board in front of thirty people. What possible deal could you make me?"

He didn't move.

"Marry me."

I had to stop laughing.

"What?"

"Get married to me for six months." Very business-like. I'll pay off your loans, take care of your sister's bills, and give you ten million dollars in return.

Keep quiet.

I looked at him like he had grown horns.

"Is this some sick power game?"

"No." To stay alive. Yours. "And mine."

I moved back. "You're insane."

"Maybe. Ava doesn't have much time, though, does she?"

What he said cut like a knife. My body got stiff.

"How do you even know about her"

"I do things my way." Take a look. You have 48 hours.

As I turned to leave, anger boiled in my chest.

He called out, "Aria?"

I turned around.

His face couldn't be read. "You always said I'd come back weak." You were right. That is, I'm not moving. I'm giving you everything. How much is your pride worth?

I yelled and stormed out, but his offer made my heart race.

Get married to the devil, or my sister will die.

I had 48 hours to make up my mind.

I was sure this road would take me there.

Into his arms.

Or straight to hell.

I didn't like how calm he looked. Like that wicked smile he made with his mouth wasn't enough to destroy my whole world a year ago.

I mumbled, "I don't understand," and grabbed the armrest of the chair. "You want me to... marry you?"

"For six months." Julian leaned in closer, and I could smell his dark, expensive, and enticing cologne. "You'll be my loving wife." Outside. At events for the family. Events for fun. That's all.

"Without anyone else?" I shot back with a voice that was sharper than I meant.

He didn't move his eyes. "We'll talk about those terms." But I want you to be loyal. The ring will be on you. Stay in my house. And make sure to smile for the cameras.

I blinked, and my breath caught somewhere between shock and anger. "You made me feel bad." I was fired like trash. Now you want me to smile for the press?"

With his hands together behind him, he stood up and walked toward the window. "I don't trust people easily. At that time, I had no idea who you were.

"Oh, and now I'm suddenly ready to get married?"

When he turned around, the look in his eyes stopped me in my tracks. "You need help badly." I need help badly. This plan works out well for both of us. You need cash. "I need a bride."

I stood up too, feeling something tight in my chest that was like shame and something else. Something very close to being interesting. "What do you get out of it?" What do you have hidden, Julian?"

His eyes became harder. "You'll find out." "If you agree."

I put my arms together. "Why me?"

Slowly, he walked up, and his voice down. "Because you're not smitten with me." Since you dislike me. And because I have power over that.

As he brushed a hair off my face, my breath caught. His fingers were there for too long, half a second too long. A flutter in my heart told me it was lying to me, but I didn't want to see it.

"Forty-eight hours," he said in a deep, silky voice. "Tick tock, sweetheart."

Before he could see how scared I was, I stormed out. Even though the car door shut behind me, I could still smell him.

I took out my phone and looked at Ava's hospital bills. The calculator app made my thumb shake.

Then it made a noise. Number Not Knew. A new message.

"If you say no..." I'll find someone else. She loves your sister more than you do, though.

I went cold.

What the hell did he know?

"My name looks so small beneath the signature line. Like it doesn't even belong there. Like I don't belong here."

The contract lay flat on the polished mahogany desk, each clause screaming louder than the one before it. Silence wrapped around me like a noose.

"I assume you've read it all," Damien said, voice cool like untouched ice.

I nodded, my throat dry. "You've turned marriage into a transaction."

He leaned back, not even blinking. "It's always been a transaction, Miss West. I'm just not pretending otherwise."

My heart slammed against my ribs. "No touching," I said sharply, my fingers trembling as I tapped the clause I added.

"That's my one condition."

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't mix business with pleasure, so your virtue is safe."

The words stung more than I thought they would. I didn't want him, but his indifference burned hotter than desired. Still, I held my ground. "Then we agree."

"Temporarily," he said. "Until I secure full control of WestCorp. After that"

"You'll divorce me?" I cut in.

He didn't answer. His silence said more than his words ever could.

I signed.

He took the pen from my hand without touching me, signing with swift, final strokes like he'd just purchased a building instead of a bride.

Damien stood. "Our engagement will be announced tomorrow night at the Hawthorne Foundation Gala. Wear something decent."

I stood too. "This is humiliating."

He paused at the door. "No, Miss West. This is survival. Learn the difference."

"Is there a part where I get to feel like a human being again?"

"No. That wasn't in the terms you agreed to."

"You really are heartless."

"No. Just focused. And you're a means to an end. You knew that when you walked into my office."

"Maybe I did. But I thought you'd at least pretend to care."

"Pretending wastes energy. I'd rather invest it where it matters."

"Like running my father's company into the ground?"

"Like saving it from destruction your father caused."

"You don't know anything about him."

DAMIEN (quietly): "I know enough."

Aria's phone buzzes right as Damien walks out.

A new message flashes across the screen:

You signed your soul away. You just don't know it yet.

Her hands shook. Then another message appeared.

Ask him what happened to LUCAS.

Aria's stomach dropped. That nameLucaswas buried deep in a part of her past she'd been trying to forget.

She looked toward the door Damien had just walked out of.

Who the hell was she marrying?

My fingers hovered over the screen, pulse thudding in my ears.

Ask him what happened to LUCAS.

The name twisted something sharp in my gut.

Lucas.

He was the first person I ever trusted. And the first person to vanish without a trace.

I stumbled to the window, heart hammering against my ribs as the city lights blurred before me. The air in Damien's penthouse suddenly felt too thin.

I had no idea what kind of man I had just signed my life to.

I didn't even hear Damien return until his voice broke the silence behind me.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

I turned slowly. He had shed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. The perfect image of control. Cold. Dangerous. Beautiful.

"Who is Lucas to you?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

His eyes didn't flinch but something in them flickered. "Why?"

"Someone just texted me. Said I should ask you." I showed him the phone. "And warned me I signed my soul away."

His jaw tensed as he took the phone. Read. Then handed it back like it burned.

"Who's sending these?" I demanded.

"I'll find out," he said simply, already reaching for his own phone.

"No." I stepped between him and the door. "Don't brush me off. Tell me who Lucas is to you."

He paused. His gaze locked with mine, and for a moment, the air between us felt combustible.

"Lucas was a mistake," Damien said, voice low. "One your father tried to erase. I tried to help him. But by the time I got involved, it was too late."

"What happened?"

"He disappeared."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

I stared at him, frustration boiling beneath my skin. "You keep saying you're saving my family's company. But all you do is speak in riddles, twist truths. If you know something about what happened to Lucas, you owe me the truth."

"Owe you?" He stepped forward, too close, voice razor-sharp. "I owe you nothing, Aria. You came into my office desperate and bleeding power. You handed me your signature like it was the last card in your deck. I took it. That's the deal. That's the truth."

"You're a monster," I whispered.

He leaned in, his breath brushing my cheek. "You don't want a hero. You want someone to blame."

My throat closed up. The wordsthe firethey lodged somewhere between pain and fury.

"You know what?" I spat. "You're right. This is a deal. A contract. So stick to it. Stay the hell out of my personal life."

He gave me the faintest smile. "You don't have one anymore. Not since you signed that dotted line."

I slapped him. I didn't even think. My hand just moved.

He froze, then slowly turned his face back toward me.

"Feel better?"

Tears blurred my vision. "No. But it's a start."

We stood there, chest to chest, breathing heavy. The tension between us cracked and flared like a storm about to break.

His gaze dropped to my lips for one dangerous second then he stepped back.

"Get ready for tomorrow night," he said quietly. "And delete that number. Whoever's sending those texts... they're playing a game you don't want to win."

He walked away again.

But before he reached the hallway, he stopped.

"One more thing," he added without looking back. "If you want to survive in my world, Aria... stay out of the past."

My hands trembled. I sat on the edge of the bed, heart pounding.

My phone buzzed again.

You shouldn't have signed.

He's not who he says he is.

I texted back, fingers cold.

Who are you?

The reply came instantly.

Someone who tried to warn Lucas.

My breath caught.

And failed.