Billionaires Pretend Wife To Be

ile felt like it was crac

the cardboard-sleeved cup across the counter of 'The Daily Grind,' a small, perpetually-damp coffee sh

and juggling an immaculate phone, barely

orking bar and register right now, and if I'm late getting home, my brother might a

ainless steel counter, letting out a silent, ragged breath. It was 8:00 PM,

n cleaning offices downtown before dawn. It was the debt. A mountain of debt my f

of energy I expended, was just a

o. Alw

tle no child should ever have to face. His treatment

the private nurse visits, the specialized diet... that was all

ent task of my day, when the small, dusty television mounted in the corner ab

stock soared another 5% today following the CEO's decisive move to acquire Stellar Dynamics. Alessandro Conti, just 28

screen, and the steam wand

was

andro

he penthouse office of Conti Tower. He was exactly as the world saw him: sharp, devastatingly

known, the messy-haired, gap-toothed kid who used to climb the oak tree in my backyard and swear he would be

ttachment to previous corporate structures. Is that an accurate asses

deeper and harder than I remembered. "Emotion is a liability in busine

een, a bitter laugh

ality is

nitials and mine into a piece of driftwood and promised to c

eme wealth, and never looked back. The Conti family had moved out of the ne

te. Not for his money, I needed money

ion in the dark, smeared window. "He's forgott

orn canvas bag. I couldn't stand to watch another sec

ng room, which doubled as Leo's primary recovery space, smelled faintly of hospit

m home,

d instantly from the so

pillows, too small for the worn velvet sofa, his ten-year-o

curls, and his eyes, bright, curious, and

ehead and instantly checking for fever. Cool. Good. "Di

hicken noodle. It was salty, but I ate it all. I want to live lo

my only fuel, but it also hammered home the desperate stakes. Astronomer.

n arm. "You'll be the best astronomer the world has ever seen,

ne on TV? With the sharp

him. He's a different kind of star,

glasses up his nose. "H

esumably beautiful women. But then I looked back at the coldness in the man's eyes

ave each other." I took his thin, cool hand in m

"Dr. Reed said we need to talk about the new round o

y nights. The new protocol was necessary because the

ors had called three times today, their voices increasingly hostile. I was staring d

price tags, sweet pea. That's my job. I'll make a thousand lattes a day i

ngs of Saturn, I retreated to the small, cold kitchen. I poured a glass o

running on fumes and credit card interest. I need a mira

app and stared at the miserable, four-digit balance. It would cover the mortgage and one

r number. My stomach twisted, assuming it was another debt col

al acquaintance, but I need you to understand this is confidential. I h

he glass of water. It was a scam. It

ived immediately, sh

t 7 PM. The address is attached. C

ss and dizzy. The sheer audacity of his message, the cold, calculated leverage, it was

pped up, a high-end, exclusive cocktail lounge do

a desperate woman, that no matter how much I

t landed silently on