Mr. Billionaire Wants Me Back

One – Fl

he building looked worse than it had yesterday if that was even possible-like it might collapse under the weight of its

g was slipping through my fingers-every plan, every hope, every carefully laid-out versio

en just as infuriating then as he was now-smug, unreadable, and far too used to getting his wa

acked sidewalk with a ring in my poc

d faintly of chamomile tea and old wood-a scent I'd come to associate with my grandmother. She was curled up in her favorite chair near the window,

oftly. Her voice was just a whisper no

didn't quite reach my eyes. "H

to press for answers, but I could feel her eyes on me-always watching,

r hand in mine, the skin paper-thin and cold, and pressed a kiss to her knuckle

hrug. "I'm fine,

ng faster than expected, that the basic treatments weren't enough a

eater that rattled more than it warmed. This wasn't the life we'd imagined. It wasn't

man I barely trusted in exchange for

ffer like it was the most logical thing in the world. Two years. That was the deal. I'd

he'd said. A si

le.

know why me-why someone like Lucas, who could have anyone, would go through the trouble of finding m

er tha

simple but beautiful-a thin platinum band with a single diamond that shi

ust two years. It wasn't love. It

" she said, her tone soft but laced with concern.

light and meaningless-but it felt wrong to use

d, forcing a smile. "Just

omise me you'll take care of

e she was okay that I hadn't stopped to ask if I was. Most days I felt lik

se," I w

tly squeezed my hand. I

ht off, staring out the window into the dark. I didn't know what

ound myself pull

s name. It

e said, not a quest

y eyes. "I

meone over tomorrow with the paperwork. And a car. You'll

ned around the ph

believable, Flora. If people think it's a real marriage, it'll be

the sound of Grandma's coughing from the

," I

without say

-

eatrice came to measure me for "appearance wardrobes." She was sharp, efficient, and said almost n

ck-tie event next Friday, as Lucas's fiancée. T

countdown had started. I packed slowly, trying not to ma

e full truth, not yet. Only that I had taken a new job and would be travelin

like she

-

ver seen on TV. The driver didn't say much-just opened the door and ha

Floor-to-ceiling windows. Marble floors. Everything is pristine

leaning against the kitch

grandmother?" he asked, not

I said. "Confu

There's somethin

d. "Wha

choose you just because of your s

at him. "

ebating whether to tell me the truth. Then

stepped ba

at triggered it, but your name came up in a report last year. Your mother's history, your scholarship ties

ded. "That ma

know my father. He's paranoid. Controlling. O

what does that have to

et him off my back-it protects you. If he

o the couc

tell me this bef

say yes on your own," h

stretched

at the ring, t

just about savin

it nev