A contract marriage. A forbidden attraction. A love neither of them expected. Alessandro DeLuca is a billionaire CEO with a ruthless reputation. He built an empire from the ground up, believing love is just a distraction-until a legal clause threatens to strip him of everything. His only option? Marriage. Sienna Monroe is a journalist struggling to make ends meet, caring for her ailing father. When Alessandro, the man she once exposed in a scandal, offers her a cold, calculated marriage deal, she refuses-until circumstances force her hand. What starts as a business arrangement soon spirals into a dangerous game of passion and betrayal. With the world watching their every move, Alessandro and Sienna must fake their love to protect their secrets. But as emotions blur the lines, Sienna discovers the man behind the arrogance and Alessandro realizes that losing her might cost him more than his empire. But when lies are exposed, enemies resurface, and hearts are broken, will their love withstand the ultimate test? Or was this marriage always meant to end in heartbreak?
Chapter 1 ACT 1: THE MARRIAGE DEAL
Chapter 1: The Billionaire's Proposal
Sienna
The moment I walked into the DeLuca Enterprises skyscraper, I knew I was stepping into enemy territory.
The air inside was cold, calculated, suffocating with power. The kind of place where men in custom-tailored suits spoke in whispers, where women walked in sky-high heels, eyes sharp as knives, and where the very walls seemed to hum with the sound of money and corruption.
I didn't belong here. I had no business stepping into the lion's den. And yet, I had come anyway. Because Alessandro DeLuca had summoned me.
The receptionist, a polished woman with ice-blonde hair, barely looked up as she gestured to the elevator. "Mr. DeLuca is expecting you."
I stepped in, my stomach twisting.The numbers climbed. Twenty-fifth floor.Thirty-seventh. Forty-fifth.By the time the doors slid open, I was ready to face the devil himself.
And there he was.
Alessandro DeLuca.
The first time I had met him, it had been at a charity gala, one where the rich played pretend, throwing money at causes they didn't care about just to look generous. I had been there as a journalist, exposing the hypocrisy of men like him.
He hadn't liked that.
Now, he leaned back in his Italian leather chair, watching me with those piercing blue eyes that had destroyed weaker men in boardrooms.
"Sienna Monroe," he drawled. "You came."
His voice was deep, measured, with a hint of amusement. Like he already knew what my answer would be before I even sat down.
I clenched my fists, keeping my expression neutral. "You gave me no choice."
A slow, knowing smile curved his lips. "Good. I prefer when people realize they have no power in my presence."
My nails dug into my palm. Bastard. But I wouldn't be intimidated.
Not by Alessandro DeLuca. Not by the man who had built an empire with blood and steel, who had single-handedly crushed competitors, and who now sat before me, the very picture of wealth and arrogance.
I didn't sit.
He watched me for a moment, then gestured lazily to the chair opposite his. "Sit."
I didn't move. "Let's get to the point."
He smirked. "You always were impatient."
I bit back the urge to snap at him. He was trying to get under my skin, and I wouldn't let him. He steepled his fingers, his eyes darkening with something unreadable. "I need a wife."
The words hung in the air like a slap. For a moment, I thought I had misheard him the deadly seriousness in his gaze told me I hadn't.
A laugh bubbled in my throat, sharp and bitter. "Excuse me?"
"I need a wife," he repeated smoothly, like he was asking for a business transaction rather than something personal.
I shook my head. "You've lost your damn mind."
"On the contrary," he said, leaning forward, his gaze locking onto mine like a hunter sizing up his prey. "I'm very much in control."
I crossed my arms. "Find someone else."
His lips twitched. "I want you."
A slow chill crawled up my spine.
Me?. I asked with curiosity
Alessandro DeLuca wanted me to be his wife.
I let out a harsh breath. "Whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested."
His expression didn't change. If anything, his blue eyes sharpened, like a predator who had just found the one challenge he couldn't resist.
"This is not a game, Miss Monroe. This is a business deal."
Business. Of course.
Because men like him didn't marry for love. They married for power, for control, for convenience.
I should have walked away. I should have turned on my heel and left.
But then he pulled out a check, slid it across the desk toward me.
And when I saw the amount written on it, the air punched out of my lungs. I gripped the edge of the chair to steady myself.
It was more money than I had ever seen in my life. More than enough to save my father.
Alessandro tilted his head, watching me closely, calculating my every reaction. "Marry me for one year. In exchange, I will cover your father's medical bills and ensure you never have to struggle again."
My throat went dry. He knew.
He knew about my father. About the hospital bills crushing me, about the debt piling up, about the sleepless nights I spent wondering if today was the day I lost everything.
I clenched my jaw. "How do you even know about that?"
His expression didn't flicker. "I make it my business to know everything."
My fingers curled into fists. "And why me? Why not some rich socialite who would love to be Mrs. DeLuca?"
His lips twitched again. "Because they would expect love." The words knocked the breath out of me.
He didn't say it with hesitation. He said it with absolute certainty.
Alessandro DeLuca didn't believe in love.
This was a business transaction to him. Nothing more.
The check sat between us, like a loaded gun.
One year of my life.
One year as his wife.
One year trapped in a world of luxury and deception, pretending to love a man who didn't believe in love at all.
I should have said no. I should have walked away.
But then I thought of my father. Of the hospital. Of the bills I would never be able to pay on my own. I thought of everything I had already lost.
And I realized that sometimes, losing yourself is the only way to survive.
I met Alessandro's gaze.
Steady and unwavering.
And I said the words that would change my life forever.
"Fine. I'll marry you."
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