THE BILLIONAIRE CONFIDENTIAL WIFE

CHAPTER 1: THE CONFIDENTIAL WEDDING NIGHT Jermaine's hands were shaking as she signed the marriage paper. She was not signing for love. She was signing for survival. Her mother was in the hospital in Douala, her father's small shop was closed, and the bills were piling up like a mountain she could never climb. The lawyer pushed the paper closer. "Sign here, Miss Jermaine. Once you sign, you become Mrs. Stephen Cole." The door opened and Stephen walked in. Tall. Dark. Rich. Dangerous. His suit was perfect, but his eyes were cold. He looked at her like she was a business deal, not a wife. "Listen carefully, Jermaine," he said, his voice low and deep. He stepped closer, so close she could feel his breath on her neck. "This marriage is confidential. You will live in my house. Sleep in my house. But you will never ask me about my past. And you will never fall in love with me." Jermaine swallowed hard. "I won't," she whispered. "I don't even like you." Stephen smirked. That smirk made her heart beat too fast. He leaned even closer, his lips almost touching her ear. "Good. Because if you fall for me, Jermaine... I will ruin you." That night, in his big mansion, Jermaine lay alone in the guest room, but she could not sleep. She heard his footsteps outside her door. He stopped. For a long time, he just stood there, as if he wanted to come in... but he didn't. What was Stephen hiding? And why did her body react to a man who hated love? She didn't know that this cold billionaire was already obsessed with her. CHAPTER 2: THE JEALOUS BILLIONAIRE* Three days after the wedding, Stephen took Jermaine to a business party. "You will stay beside me," he warned her in the car. "Smile. Don't talk too much. And don't look at any other man." Jermaine rolled her eyes. "I am your wife, not your prisoner." At the party, everyone stared at her. She was beautiful in her red dress, and Stephen could see men looking at her. Then Daniel, Stephen's business rival, walked up to her. He was handsome, charming, and he smiled at Jermaine. "You are the most beautiful woman here," Daniel said, offering her a drink. Before Jermaine could answer, Stephen appeared behind her. His hand wrapped around her waist, possessive and tight. He pulled her close to his chest. "She is taken," Stephen said coldly, his eyes burning with jealousy. "And she is mine." Jermaine felt her heart race. His hand was hot on her waist. His voice was angry, but his touch was gentle. In the car on the way home, Stephen was silent. Then he suddenly said, "Why were you smiling at him?" "I was just being polite!" Jermaine shouted. Stephen stopped the car. He turned to look at her, his eyes dark with something she had never seen before. Desire, anger, jealousy, all mixed together. "Jermaine, you are my wife. Even if this marriage is confidential, you are still mine. Do you understand?" Jermaine's breath caught. She wanted to hate him, but her heart was beating for him. CHAPTER 3: THE SECRET HE HIDES* One week later, Jermaine found a photo in Stephen's office. It was a woman. Beautiful, with a smile like hers. On the back, it said: "My first love. I will never forget you." Jermaine's heart broke. So Stephen did know how to love. He just didn't love HER. That night, she confronted him. "Who is she?" she asked, holding the photo. Stephen's face turned pale. For the first time, the cold billionaire looked broken. "Her name was Sarah," he said quietly. "She died in a car accident three years ago. It was my fault. Since then, I promised myself I would never love again." Jermaine felt tears in her eyes. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to tell him it was not his fault. But Stephen pushed her away. "Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity." He walked to his room and locked the door. Jermaine stood outside, crying. She didn't know that Stephen was also crying inside, because for the first time in three years, a woman had made him feel alive again. And that woman was Jermaine. CHAPTER 4: THE NIGHT HE COULDN'T CONTROL HIMSELF It was raining that night. Jermaine was sitting on her bed in the guest room, wearing a simple white nightgown, her hair wet from her shower. She was still thinking about Sarah, about Stephen's pain, about the way he pushed her away. She heard a knock. Soft. Hesitant. Not like Stephen at all. "Come in," she said quietly. The door opened and Stephen stood there. He was not wearing his suit. He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and his eyes were red, like he had been drinking or crying or both. "I couldn't sleep," he said. Jermaine's heart started beating fast. "Me too." He walked in and closed the door behind him. For a moment, they just looked at each other. No cold billionaire, no contract wife. Just a man and a woman who were hurting. "Jermaine," Stephen whispered, his voice breaking. "You asked me about Sarah. I have never told anyone the truth. It was my fault. I was driving. I was arguing with her. And then..." His voice stopped. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. Jermaine did something she was not supposed to do. She forgot the contract. She forgot the rules. She moved closer and touched his shoulder. "Stephen, it was not your fault. You loved her. And you lost her. That does not make you a bad man." Stephen looked up at her. His eyes were full of pain, and something else. Something hot, deep, and dangerous. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "Like what?" Jermaine asked, her voice shaking. "Like you care about me. Because if you care about me, I will not be able to stay away from you." Before Jermaine could answer, Stephen reached out and cupped her face in his hands. His touch was gentle, like she was something precious. "Tell me to stop," he said. "Tell me to leave, Jermaine. If you don't, I won't be able to stop." Jermaine knew she should tell him to leave. This marriage was confidential. She was not supposed to fall in love. He told her never to fall in love. But her heart was not listening. "I don't want you to leave," she whispered. Stephen closed his eyes for a second, like he was fighting with himself. Then he leaned in and kissed her. It was not a cold kiss. It was not a business kiss. It was slow, deep, and full of all the feelings he had been hiding for three years. Jermaine felt her whole body tremble. She had never been kissed like this before. Stephen pulled her closer, holding her waist, burying his face in her neck. He whispered her name over and over, like a prayer. "Jermaine... Jermaine..." She held him tightly, feeling his heart beating fast against her chest. For the first time, the cold billionaire was warm. For the first time, he was not hiding. That night, Stephen did not go back to his room. He stayed beside her, holding her hand under the blanket, just holding her, like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go. When Jermaine woke up in the morning, Stephen was still there, watching her sleep. "You stayed," she said, smiling sleepily. "I stayed," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "And I don't regret it." But then his phone rang. And his face changed. It was his ex, Victoria. And she was back in town. Jermaine's smile disappeared. She knew that whatever had happened last night, it was about to be challenged Do you want ?Chapter 5: Victoria Returns!! WHO IS SHE??? CHAPTER 5: VICTORIA RETURNS The morning after Stephen stayed in her room, Jermaine woke up happy for the first time in a long time. She made breakfast. She was humming. She even smiled at the maids. Then the doorbell rang. A beautiful woman walked in like she owned the house. Long legs, perfect makeup, expensive dress. She walked straight to Stephen and hugged him tightly. "Stephen, baby, I'm back!" Stephen froze. Jermaine froze too. "Victoria," Stephen said, his voice cold. "What are you doing here?" Victoria smiled. "I missed you. I heard you got married. Is that true? A confidential marriage? Who is the poor girl?" Then Victoria saw Jermaine standing in the kitchen with an apron on. She looked at her up and down, like Jermaine was a maid. "Oh. This is her?" Jermaine felt her heart break into pieces. Stephen had stayed with her last night, held her hand, whispered her name. But now, in front of Victoria, he was silent. He did not say, "This is my wife." He did not hold Jermaine's hand. "Stephen, tell her," Jermaine said, her voice shaking. "Tell her who I am." Stephen looked at Jermaine, then at Victoria. He looked torn. "Victoria, we need to talk outside," he said. He walked out with Victoria, leaving Jermaine alone in the kitchen. Jermaine waited. 10 minutes. 20 minutes. 30 minutes. She could hear Victoria laughing outside. Laughing like she used to laugh with Stephen. Tears started falling from Jermaine's eyes. She took off the apron and ran to her room. She started packing her bag. "I am stupid," she whispered to herself. "He said never fall in love with him. And I fell. It's my fault." Just as she was about to leave, Stephen rushed in and grabbed her bag. "Where are you going?" he asked, breathing hard. "I'm leaving! You and Victoria can be happy together. I was just a contract to you!" Stephen grabbed her face with both hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Jermaine, listen to me. Victoria is my past. She left me three years ago when I needed her most. You are the only woman who stayed. You are the only woman who made me feel alive again." "Then why didn't you tell her I'm your wife?" Jermaine cried. "Because I was scared," Stephen said quietly. "I was scared that if I tell the world you are my wife, my enemies will hurt you. This marriage is confidential to PROTECT you, not to hide you." Jermaine stopped crying. She looked at him. "Protect me?" Stephen nodded and pulled her into a tight hug. He held her so tightly, like he was afraid to lose her. "You are mine, Jermaine. Not Victoria's. Not anyone's. Mine. Do you understand?" Jermaine nodded in his chest, feeling his heart beating fast. Outside, Victoria was watching them through the window, her eyes full of anger and jealousy. She whispered to herself, "This is not over, Jermaine. Stephen was mine first. And I will get him back, no matter what What do you think Victoria will do next? Comment Victoria is evil if you hate her. CHAPTER 6: Victoria's actions just when we thought everything will finally fall in place, our Pretty Devil Victoria enters the room with fire in her eyes to destroy the feelings that have been built by Stephen and Jermaine by exposing Stephen's other little secrets. while pulling Jermaine away from Stephen's chest she said " Let go of him!, you don't have any right over him because your marriage wasn't out of love but contracted and if you don't know " while pointing at Stephen, she continued " He has had five other failed contracted marriages with innocent girls who tried to fall in love with him" turning back to Jermaine, she continued " if he could do that to the other five Pretty innocent looking girls, then who are you?" she asked and continued " I am the only woman he truly loves, and my darling did he tell you we have not just one but two children? and keep this in your dumb head, he didn't send me and our kids out, I left because I needed a break and I'm back for my baby," When she said all that, surprisingly Stephen stayed quiet without altering a word and he suddenly left the room. Jermaine is broken 💔 😢, lost and doesn't know what to feel or think, our pretty devil goes after Stephen ChAPTET 7: JERMAINE'S STRENGTH After two days of broken feelings, Jermaine stands in her room balcony looking down stairs while talking to herself " I'm a beautiful girl, I deserve a lovely man and a happy marriage, I will stay on my own and make sure to delete what so ever I have with Stephen" Jermaine made up her mind to stay strong ,ignore her feelings and to work on herself rather than catching feelings. As a first class graduate from the university who tried severally to get a job but couldn't then felt discouraged and later accepted the contract marriage as the only options to help her sick mother, decided to pick up her pieces and got back to the job hunting. This time it worked for her as she got the position of a bank manager with a well paid salary which could be used to take care of her sick mother siblings and herself. she was very happy as she succeeded to get a good job. For some days now Jermaine has been avoiding Stephen by going very early to work and came back late when he was already as sleep, this kept happening till Stephen started monitoring her every move. On a Monday morning Jermaine got up very early to prepare for work, with her towel on she was about entering the bathroom when she got a knock on the door, she said " who's there?" a bass voice followed her voice replying " its me, Steph!" then she said again, " go away, what are you doing here, Stephen replied " I'm ready to talk please hear me out" then Jermaine angrily said " no!!" , Stephen with a shaking voice replying with pains in his heart " I'm not going anywhere till you hear me out", but Jermaine refused to listen and asked him to do what he likes because she actually careless now. Stephen being hurt and willing to explain himself went back to his room to get the extra keys 🔑 of Jermaine's room. He opened the door meeting Jermaine inside almost half naked with just her Towel on.....