The perfect billionaire needs an heir

"You have just a year to live" the doctor told him. "But if u get treatment now, you might still have a chance.

"There will be no treatment," Dion gave a curt response, still retaining his usual aloofness. Such news which would usually send one into a state of panic seemed like the daily live broadcast to Dion. He seemed to be taking it lightly even though it was a matter of life and death.

"No one should know about this," Dion said with finality, his cold gaze never leaving the doctor's face.

Instantly, the doctor was filled with intense fear as he had already informed Dion's family of his dire situation, hoping that they would convince the latter to take treatment. However, he couldn't help but feel like he had just dug his own grave by doing so_The look Dion was giving him was enough to make one pee his pants.

His eyes bore deeply into the doctor's, almost as if he wanted to see through his soul, making the doctor quickly avert his gaze. He could feel his back and forehead already drenched in cold sweat, while he also suppressed the urge to urinate. Never in his life had he met someone so intimating. His presence alone made one feel suffocated and his eyes... His eyes were as dark and lifeless as a moonless night, devoid of any glimmer of hope or warmth. They held a depth of emptiness that sent a shiver down anyone's spine.

"Erh... Mr. Salvador, If you'd excuse me, I have another patient to attend to," the doctor quickly stood up, leaving the office before Dion could respond.

Once he was out of the office, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

...

Back at the Salvador mansion, old Mr. Salvador paced back and forth, in the living room, occasionally glancing at the entrance with impatience evident on his face.

"Pacing about won't solve anything," his wife, Diana mumbled, glancing up to meet her husband's gaze. She was sitting on one of the couches while holding a fashion magazine and although she was worried, she didn't show it, instead, her expression was as calm as a tranquil lake on a quiet summer evening.

"How can I be calm Dia? I'm only like this because of your grandson why won't he just listen to the doctor? He's just...

His words were cut short as soon as his grandson walked into the living room. Old man Salvador immediately stuttered toward him stopping him before he could proceed any further.

"Young man, what's this I'm hearing? You refuse to take treatment," Old man Salvador stamped his walking stick to the ground, glaring at his grandson furiously.

"You will take treatment immediately."

"That darn doctor," Dion cursed under his breath, his eyes turning extremely cold. After all, he did warn the doctor not to tell a soul, who would have thought the doctor would defy him?

"I won't take treatment," Dion was unshaken even in the face of his angry-looking grandfather. And just like always, he returns the old man's glare with his expressionless one.

"You...

"Let him be Aaron... He just arrived, you should at least let him take a seat first, or better still, let him go upstairs and rest. We'll talk about this again at dinner," the old madam made a sign for Dion to leave at the same time pulling her husband away.

"Nana, there is nothing to talk about, I won't change my mind."

The couple halted their movement.

"You unfilial grandson," Aaron intended to approach his grandson, but his wife's firm hold prevented him from doing so.

Diana pulled Aaron away to their garden.

"Sit," She said, pointing at one of the stools and she watched as her husband reluctantly sat on the stool.

Sighing, Diana also sat on one of the stools beside him, gently holding his hands.

"Aaron, you know how your grandson is, even if you move the heaven and earth once his mind is made up, it's impossible to change."

"But we can't let him die like that Dia, he is our only grandson."

"I know Aaron. After we lost his parents all we had was him and for years we feared that he would end up like his mother, having the same deadly illness. Now that it is confirmed, we need to use the right approach to make him get treatment... We need to get him married."

Aaron raised his brow. " How does getting him married solve this?"

"Aaron, remember that love drove his father to his early grave," Dion's father had fallen into deep depression after losing his wife, and lost his own life a month later while drunk driving. So Diana believed that the same love could help her grandson.

"Maybe if he could love someone, then he'll agree to take treatment... Don't worry I already have everything planned out we just have to convince him.

"What if he doesn't fall in love? You know your grandson, his heart is harder than a piece of rock," Aaron muttered, looking worried.

Diana looked at him with a faint smile and replied,

"We can only hope...

*Day of the wedding*

Dion's eyes were glued to the entrance of the church as he stood on the altar, wearing a black suit with his long raven black hair neatly styled back in a neat bun. His gaze was filled with impatience... One could mistake that he was eager to get married because he was madly in love with the woman. Although it wasn't entirely false, however, his eagerness was so he could get it done with, after all, he was quite a busy man.

Glancing at the entrance one more time, Dion took his gaze to his grandparents.

Besides his grandparents, there were only a few more people in attendance and they were Dion's relatives. His granduncle, grandaunt, his friends Rune, Galvin, and Mark, and a few other relatives. The other guests were from his soon-to-be bride's side. Although Dion was the number one elite in the country, the richest and most desirable man who even goes by the title... the perfect man, only a few people were aware of his wedding... Those who were the closest to him and his family.

Dion wanted a low-profiled wedding, after all, what was the use of a lavished, high-profiled wedding when he only had a year to live? Furthermore, he wasn't marrying for love.

"Nana...

The sound of bells cuts off his speech.

Dion immediately averts his gaze to the entrance of the church, watching his soon-to-be bride being led forward by her father...

As they drove to the church, Elara's dad and grandma wouldn't stop talking about how perfect Dion Salvador was. Dion Salvador was an ace of his generation, he was a guru in business who attained success at a very young age, he was this and that, he was the epitome of the greatest. They sang his praises on and on like two high school girls, fanning over their favorite boy group.

For the past month, they've gone on and on about him, that even in her dreams Elara could still hear his name.

"Elara, for you to become worthy of such a man you have to become perfect like him," Grandma Eva said, but perfection was something Elara didn't believe in.

She believed that everyone had their flaw and no one was perfect except God. But clearly, her family thought differently. They believed that this Dion Salvador was so perfect, that Grandma Eva even had Elara enroll in a school where they trained women to become a perfect bride a week after her twenty-third birthday.

Elara never thought that like those girls from wealthy families, she too would be forced into an arranged marriage, after all her family wasn't a wealthy one, but a middle-class one. However, the fact that they were very proud and ambitious was no secret or something new. It was just surprising that they would make her marry a man whom she knew nothing about for the sake of their ambition.

At first, Elara thought Grandma Eva wanted her to enroll in that school to gain experience for the future. but barely after a month of her training, Mr Evan(Elara's dad) finally told her the real reason why she had to take the perfect bride training.

They wanted her to wed the eldest son of the Salvador family so they had to make sure she was perfect enough for him.

At first, Elara kicked against it. She was still quite young, besides, she grew up with a single parent and her past relationship ended badly, so she had stopped believing in love, commitment, or marriage. Furthermore, the marriage alliance wasn't just to anyone, but the eldest son of the most wealthy, influential, and powerful family in the country. And to be married to such a man meant having to live in a certain way that pleased others. Making sure that whatever you did was perfect in both the eyes of your husband, his family and also the public. So Elara felt that it was too much of a burden for her. However, Grandma Eva and Mr. Evan wouldn't let her be, they made it a do-or-die affair.

"El, listen to me, this is a chance for our family to rise to the top, and to do so, you have to marry the eldest son of the Salvador's."

"El, just once make a sacrifice for your family and stop being selfish. Remember you promised to make me proud, I think by agreeing to this marriage you have fulfilled your promise to me."

Each day they said almost the same thing to her, making it look like she was a bad person if she refused the marriage proposal so Elara finally agreed.

How hard can it be? Since Grandma Eva, her dad, and the rest of the family were so keen on how perfect this Dion Salvador was, Elara went online to research about him. Nevertheless, she found no picture of him, and almost all the news written about him were things she had already heard before... How perfect he was...

Slowly, days went by and then months, and before Elara knew it, it was already the day of her wedding.

Dressed in a beautiful white flora dress, Elara slowly walked down the aisle holding onto her father's arm. Words could not describe how nervous she felt... Her palm was sweaty while her heart drummed loudly against her chest, making it almost impossible to hear the church bells.

'it's finally happening,' Elara said to herself, taking a deep breath as her dad let go of her hand.

Elara was now standing before her soon-to-be husband, but all she could do was bite her lips and pick her nails. She even held her breath, probably out of fear or nervousness, however, she couldn't bring herself to look at this perfect man who got everyone singing his praises, even though she was dying of curiosity.

"Elara Roland, do you take Dion Salvador as your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer to love and to obey, till death do you part," Elara was suddenly pulled away from her train of thought, hearing the priest's voice.

'umm... I don't know,' she muttered inwardly, but blurted out "I do," after a while hesitation, still not looking at the man before her.

The same question was repeated, but this time to Dion, to which he replied "Yes I do."

"You may now kiss the bride," the priest announced immediately after Dion gave his reply.

Huh! Hold on... Kiss?

Elara's gaze immediately darted to the priest, before finally landing on her husband for the first time. To say she was stunned was an understatement, Elara was completely out of breath and enchanted because it was the first time she was seeing someone like him. Someone so... Someone so perfect.

He had the most beautiful pair of forest green eyes and long raven black hair, which was styled in a low bun and he was at least 6'7 feet tall. Elara didn't think one could be so enchanting but he was... And it made her feel somewhat inferior. Not that she was ugly, Elara was very beautiful although not extremely_ she had flawless brown skin and compared to him, she was about 5'5 feet tall with long wavy golden hair, and also beautiful honey brown eyes.

However, the man before her, he was...

'Elara remember no one is perfect, maybe he's only perfect on the outside, after all, perfection isn't all about the look,' Elara reminded herself but even so, she couldn't help the uneasiness that irked her.

Why was he so breathtaking?

Elara became so lost in thoughts that she completely zoned out, forgetting about the kiss, until she felt something soft on her lips.

Instantly her body stiffened, and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it.

'Mr. Perfect man was kissing her and his lips were incredibly soft and...

He pulled away almost immediately, looking at Elara with an emotionless face. And she couldn't help but shudder, seeing his cold and distant looks. he probably was also forced into this marriage.

'But wasn't that a good thing?' Elara thought. However, for some reason, the thought didn't sit well with her.

...

Elara couldn't believe just how fast things had happened as she and Dion sat in the back seat of his Bentley which was moving at a really fast pace. By now the wedding was over, and the newlywed had both said goodbye to their families, before leaving the church together. Although it had been almost an hour, Elara still couldn't believe she was now going to be living with this strange man who was now her husband. Everything felt like a dream. Or perhaps she could say something out of a movie.

As they drove in silence, Elara would occasionally glance at the man sitting beside her. He was leaning against the seat, with his eyes closed, however, she could tell that he wasn't asleep seeing the way his long slender finger continuously tapped on his thighs.

They haven't said a word to each other since they left the church, Elara wanted to break the icy and awkward atmosphere between them. However, each time she opened her mouth, she always failed to get the words out making her sigh in frustration.

"If you have something to say, just say it already and stop sighing,"

Elara flinched when she heard Dion's alluring deep voice. It was the first time he was speaking to her since they met, and she couldn't help but look at him awkwardly with her mouth slightly hung open.

"What?" Dion mumbled raising his perfect eyebrow as he turned to look at the woman beside him. He wasn't a man of many words, so waited for her to speak first, but seeing the way she looked at him as if in a daze, he couldn't help but ask.

"You can't speak?

"Uhrmm...no no, it's not like that... I, I uhrmm... It's nothing," Elara stuttered, unable to say what she intended to because his emotionless green eyes were staring right into her brown ones so intently like he was peeking at the deepest part of her soul.

Inhaling, Elara quickly took her gaze from him, pondering how she was going to live with a man like him who looked so intimidating without even trying.

...

An hour later, they drove into a gigantic mansion, at the outskirts of town. The place looked like an ancient palace surrounded by tall trees and gave off a serene vibe. Looking outside the window, Elara's eyes shone in awe, unable to stop herself from marveling at the beautiful sight before her.

Are we going to be living here?

She almost blurted out. but decided it was best to shut her mouth. After all, they wouldn't have driven all the way here for hours, if they weren't going to be living there. But again she was so excited.

By now, the sun was setting and it was also a bit chilly, as soon as the car stopped before the mansion, Dion said to Elara.

"Hurry, so you don't catch a cold,"

Elara nodded, quickly trailing after him as they sauntered toward the mansion.

The place was dark when they walked in, Dion immediately turned on the light. And as the beautiful living room came into view, Elara's eyes shone with amazement seeing how the living room was neatly arranged. There was a huge fireplace at the end of the living room and also an exquisite couch, with plush cushions and elegant fabric. Nevertheless, what really catches Elara's eye was the magnificent golden chandelier that hangs proudly from the center of the ceiling. Its intricate design and shimmering crystals create a dazzling display of light and shadows, casting a warm glow across the room. Although, she had seen many mansions before Elara had never seen one that was quite like this one. She couldn't help but think that the house was perfect.

Glancing around the living room, Elara once more became intrigued by how silent and empty the place looked.

'I haven't seen a soul since we arrived' she thought, turning to Dion who was standing beside her. Elara made a hand gesture as she spoke "Do you live here alone?"

"I do," he gave a short reply, also turning to meet her gaze. "You must be tired, I'll show you to your room," He began leading the way, even before she could reply.

Elara followed behind him without thinking much about what he said. She silently observed the decor of the hallway, painted in white and just like the living room, beautiful golden chandeliers hung on the ceiling throughout the entire hallway.

"This is your room, everything has been prepared," Dion announced once they arrived at the fourth room on the second floor.

"I hope you like it. But if it's not to your liking, feel free to change it," with that he turned to leave but halted after a few steps.

"Freshen up and come down for dinner."

Elara stared at the closed door, then back at the man who was already walking away.

"Are we not staying in the same room?"

Dion paused immediately hearing her yell behind him. He slowly turned to her and said with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that what you prefer?"

Elara was caught off guard and felt slightly embarrassed by his question. She didn't want him to think that she was desperate but she had been plagued by curiosity since it was common knowledge that most married couples shared a room. However, if she knew he was going to ask such a question that made it seem like she had such desire, she would have remained silent.

"Uhmm, I'm just asking, Mr. Salvador,"

Dion silently observed her for a while before responding calmly.

"Miss Roland, I thought it was best to stay in separate rooms until we get to know each other better. Is that okay with you?"

Huh!

'Why not,' Elara said inwardly. It's not like she wanted them to be in the same room. Like he said, they were strangers who knew absolutely nothing about each other. Therefore she even loved his idea.

"Mr. Salvador, I'm totally okay with that," she quickly dashed into her room after saying that, leaning against the closed door.