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The billionaire's secret vow

The billionaire's secret vow

Jerrad A.D

5.0
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She hated him before she even met him. Alexis Carter is one of the best legal minds in New York, known for her ruthless ability to take down powerful men who think they're untouchable. When she's assigned to handle a high-stakes corporate case, she's ready for war-until she realizes her new client is Damian Blackwood, the same billionaire who destroyed her family years ago. Damian Blackwood built his empire on control. Cold, calculated, and untouchable, he has never let anyone get close enough to see his weaknesses. But when a past mistake comes back to haunt him, he's left with one solution: marry the one woman who despises him the most. It was supposed to be a contract marriage, nothing more. A game of power, protection, and survival. But in a world where trust is just another currency and secrets can destroy empires, Alexis and Damian will have to decide: Are they playing the game, or are they falling for each other?

Chapter 1 The Man Who Ruined My Life

The first time I ever saw Damian Blackwood in person, I wanted to destroy him.

I had imagined the moment a thousand times-walking into his office, standing face-to-face with the man who single-handedly crushed my family. I'd envisioned cold, hard fury, the kind that burned away all reason. I'd even prepared a speech, sharp words designed to cut through his arrogant exterior and expose him for the villain he was.

But when I finally stood in front of him, in his sleek, glass-walled empire that overlooked Manhattan like he owned the entire city, I felt something far worse than anger.

I felt powerless.

"Ms. Carter," he greeted smoothly, leaning back in his leather chair, his expression unreadable. "I've heard a lot about you."

I lifted my chin, forcing myself to meet his gaze head-on. His eyes were cold, calculating-blue, but not the kind that reminded you of the ocean or the sky. No, Damian Blackwood's eyes were the kind that belonged to winter, to the edge of a frozen lake where you didn't realize how deep the darkness went until you were already drowning.

"Not nearly as much as I've heard about you," I shot back.

A flicker of something passed through his expression-amusement, maybe? It made my skin crawl. He knew who I was. He had to. But if he did, he didn't show it.

I gripped the file in my hand a little tighter, my nails pressing into the leather. Keep it professional, Alexis. Focus on the case.

This wasn't about my past. It wasn't about my father.

This was about my career.

That's what I told myself when my law firm assigned me to this case, the biggest of my life. I was here to represent Blackwood Enterprises in a multi-billion-dollar contract dispute-nothing more.

Still, I had hesitated before stepping into the building, my fingers frozen on the handle of the revolving door. Because once I walked in, once I faced him, it would be real.

And if I wanted to take him down, I had to play the long game.

"So, you're the new lawyer handling my case." Damian's voice was smooth, with the kind of effortless authority that made lesser men bow and stronger ones grit their teeth. "I expected someone... older."

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?" I kept my tone cool, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

"Take it however you want." He gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit."

I didn't.

Instead, I placed the case file on his desk, tapping it once. "I reviewed the contract in question. It's airtight. Your company shouldn't have any legal issues unless there's something you're not telling me."

His lips quirked upward-not a smile, exactly. More like the ghost of one. "You don't waste time, do you?"

I arched a brow. "You strike me as a man who doesn't like wasting his either."

His gaze flicked over me, assessing, and for a moment, the room felt smaller, the space between us charged. I hated that he had this effect on me-that his presence felt like gravity itself, pulling me in when all I wanted was to escape.

"You're right," he said, closing the file without even looking at it. "Which is why I have a counteroffer for you, Ms. Carter."

I stiffened. "A counteroffer?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, his fingers laced together. "Marry me."

Silence.

The kind that stretches, expands, until it's the only thing you can hear.

I let out a sharp laugh, shaking my head. "I think I misheard you."

"You didn't."

I stared at him, searching for the catch, the punchline-anything that would make this less insane.

"Is this a joke?" I demanded.

His expression remained unreadable. "Do I look like I joke?"

No. He didn't.

I exhaled slowly, trying to regain control of the conversation. "You can't possibly think-"

"You want revenge." He cut me off, his voice low and smooth. "And I need a wife. We both get what we want."

I went still.

Every muscle in my body locked, my breath catching in my throat.

So he did know who I was.

"Why would I ever agree to that?" I asked, my voice sharper now, more controlled.

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he stood, stepping around the desk until he was standing directly in front of me. Too close. Close enough that I could smell the faint trace of expensive cologne, something dark and rich and dangerously intoxicating.

"Because," he said quietly, "if you want the truth about what really happened to your father, this is the only way you'll get it."

The air vanished from my lungs.

I wanted to call him a liar, to tell him I didn't believe a single word that came out of his mouth. But I couldn't, because deep down, I had always suspected there was more to the story.

Damian Blackwood might have taken everything from me.

But now, he was offering me the one thing I could never walk away from.

The truth.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to keep my expression blank. He thinks he has all the power. He thinks he's in control.

But he doesn't know who he's dealing with.

"If I say yes," I murmured, tilting my head slightly, watching him. "You understand that means you're stuck with me, right?"

For the first time since I walked into his office, he actually smiled.

"Good," he said. "I was hoping you'd say that."

I should have turned around and walked out. I should have laughed in his face and told him to go to hell.

Instead, I did something far worse.

I extended my hand.

The moment his fingers closed around mine, a slow, deliberate shake sealing our twisted agreement, I realized something terrifying.

I had just made a deal with the devil.

And for the first time in my life, I wasn't sure if I was the hunter-or the prey.

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