The CEO's Accidental Bride

nder'

ficant, and my demeanor, as always, carefully calibrated. I stood in the VIP section, a glass of water in hand – I never touched alcohol at these events; clarity was my m

perties were, to me, nothing more than a quaint marketing gimmick. I'd donated it for a specific reason: the auction contract contained a peculiar, archaic clause. A whimsical addit

ed risk, a long shot. I needed a wife, a temporary one, to seal a crucial deal with the notoriously traditional and family-oriented Al-Hamad conglomerate. A man of m

paddles with casual indifference. None of them were suitable. They were too entrenched, too public, too likely to demand more than a temporary arrang

mil

e. My head snapped up. I hadn't even seen her before. She was standing near the back, a woman in a sapphire blue dress, clutchi

. And the way she looked, the sudden, mortified realization on her face..

rved my lips. This was int

uickly recovered. "Sold! To the lady i

while elegant, wasn't couture. Her hair, a rich chestnut, was pulled back in a simple, practical style. And that look of utter panic?

ed who was approaching the accidental bidder. My gaze never left her. She was beautiful, in a fresh, unvarnished way. Not the polished, manufactured beauty I was ac

, a tiny, almost imperceptible movement, but I noticed it. She was scare

y controlled. I let the pause hang, waiting for her to offer her

was clearly flustered, her face a fiery blush. "Evelyn Reed," she finally m

he champagne flute, the slight tremor in her chin, the desperate plea in her eyes. She was a picture of elegant distress. "Perhaps you'd like to discu

trap she'd stumbled into. The auction clause. She must have heard whispers of it, or perhaps she was

onger this time, though still laced with dis

condition, Miss Reed. One that, I assure you, is legally binding." I paused, letting the words sink in. "As the highest bidder, you have 48 hours

carpet with a muffled thud, not shattering. Her face went from fiery red to an ashen white. The de

breath, a disbelieving gasp. "That's...

s undoubtedly unleashing in her mind. "A delightful eccentricity, wouldn't you agree? Designed, I believe, to add

r someone to tell her this was a joke. But the faces around us were a mix of morbid curiosity

dmission raw, humiliating. Her shoulders slumped, the fight d

leaves us with the alternative." I gestured subtly towards the empty space beside me.

n, and a tiny spark of hope, quickly extinguished by overwhelming fear. "B

I knew about her business, her struggles, clearly unnerved her. "It's on the verge of bankruptcy, isn't it? A major contract, a signi

offered her a lifeline. A lifeline with a very specific, very personal p