HIS lies her test

Billionaire Romance BOOK TITLE: HIS LIES, HER TEST Episode 1: The Debt That Owns Me "I own your family's debt now, Miss Cox." Dominic Hughes didn’t flinch. No smile, no warmth ... just a cold, hard stare as he watched her world crumble right there on his glass desk, thirty stories above a city that had never shown her any kindness. Ruby's fingers balled into fists. "That can't be true." "It is." He slid a folder across the desk toward her. "Every loan. Every default. Every threat your father has been drowning in. It’s all mine now." Her heart raced, pounding against her ribs. "Why?" Dominic's jaw tightened, a flicker of something unreadable flashing in his eyes. "Because I need a wife. And you don’t have a choice." Ruby's hands shook as she gripped the folder. Inside were bank statements, foreclosure notices, and her father's shaky signature on the last page. "You’re out of your mind." "I’m just thorough." Dominic moved around the desk, his voice low and steady...the kind of voice that didn’t need to rise because he was always in control. "One year. You’ll be my wife. In public, in private, wherever the cameras catch us. Refuse, and I’ll call in the debt first thing tomorrow." "You’d throw my parents out on the street." "I’d let the bank handle that. I’m just choosing not to intervene." He stepped closer, just a foot away, and she caught a whiff of cedar and rain. "Unless you agree." Ruby's throat tightened. She despised how her pulse raced, not just from fear. "And if I say yes?" Something flickered in his expression, there and gone before she could grasp it. "Then your parents keep their home. And you become mine." "Become yours." She let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Like I’m some kind of property." "Like a wife." Dominic’s gaze held hers, unwavering. "There’s a difference, Miss Cox, whether you choose to see it or not." "Prove it." He stepped even closer. Too close. Ruby’s breath hitched as his eyes briefly dropped to her lips before snapping back up, guarded once more. "I don’t explain myself." "Then I won’t marry you." His jaw twitched slightly. For a brief moment, something almost desperate flickered behind his calm facade... there and gone in the same heartbeat. "You will," he said softly. "Because you love your parents more than you hate me." The impact of his words hit her like a slap. Even worse... because he was right. Ruby's chest heaved with a mix of anger and something far more dangerous as his gaze locked onto hers, unwavering, unreadable, and far too intense for a man who insisted this was just business. Before she could respond, the office door swung open. "Dominic, we have a problem." A woman in a sharp navy suit halted mid-step, her eyes darting between them. "Sorry... I didn’t realize you had company." "Elena. Not now." "It’s about the Whitfield contract. And the board." Elena’s eyes shifted to Ruby, calculating. "It can’t wait." Dominic let out a frustrated breath, something hardening behind his calm exterior. "Give us the room." "Dominic..." "Now." Elena exited, but not before her gaze lingered on Ruby just a moment too long... assessing, suspicious. Ruby crossed her arms. "Trouble in your empire?" "Nothing that concerns you." "Everything about you concerns me now, apparently." She gestured at the folder. "You made sure of that." Dominic's expression flickered... frustration, maybe fear, quickly masked. "This deal has more layers than you realize. Layers that could get you hurt if you start digging." Ruby's stomach knotted. "Is that a threat?" "It's a warning." A warning from the man blackmailing me into marriage." Ruby's voice trembled, fury and hurt intertwining. "You don’t get to act like a protector, Dominic." "I'm not playing any games." "Then what are you doing? Because none of this adds up. Rich men don’t buy debt out of kindness." Dominic's hands clenched at his sides. For one raw moment, the mask slipped... she caught a glimpse of exhaustion, something haunted. "You're right. It’s not kindness." "Then tell me the truth." "I can’t." His voice wavered on the word. "Not yet. Maybe not ever." "Then we have nothing to build a marriage on.” "We have your parents' house," he said, his voice dropping to a near whisper, almost desperate. "And you, safe, where I can keep an eye on you." Ruby's breath caught in her throat. "Safe from what?" Dominic was the first to look away... for the first time ever. "Just say yes, Ruby." Hearing her name from him stirred something deep inside her. "You've never said my name before." "I know exactly who you are." His voice turned rougher, more intense. "I've known for longer than you realize." Ruby's heart raced. "What does that mean?" Dominic hesitated, a storm brewing behind his eyes, then reached into his desk drawer and slid a single photograph onto the glass surface. Ruby froze in place. It was her. Just sixteen, laughing on a street corner she could barely recall, with a much younger Dominic lingering just out of sight, watching her as if she were the only thing that mattered. "You've been watching me," she whispered, "For years." "Watching over you," he corrected, his voice raw. "There's a difference." "Why?" His gaze locked onto hers, caught between the lie he had rehearsed and the truth that was desperate to break free. "Because someone wants you dead, Ruby. And I'm the only one standing in their way." The words exploded in the silence that enveloped them. "That's insane," Ruby murmured, though her voice trembled. "Who would want me dead?" "I can't tell you that just yet." "You expect me to marry a stranger who's been stalking my life because of a threat you won't even explain?" "I expect you to trust me enough to stay alive." "Trust you?" Her voice cracked under the weight of her disbelief. "You bought my family like a business deal." "I bought you time." Dominic's composure finally shattered, revealing something fierce and unguarded. "Every day you're out there without protection is a day closer to losing you, and I refuse to let that happen. Not again." "Again?" His expression hardened instantly, the door slamming shut on whatever truth had almost slipped out. "Marry me tomorrow at city hall," he said, his voice turning steely once more. "Or I can't protect you anymore." Ruby's hands trembled as she stared at him. "Who are you really, Dominic Hughes?" His eyes darkened ... torn, dangerous, achingly human for one final second. "The only man standing between you and a bullet." The office phone rang, sharp and sudden. Dominic answered, listened, and his face went bone-white. "When?" he snapped. "Where is she now?" He hung up, turned to Ruby, and for the first time, she saw real fear in his eyes. "They found you," he said. "Tonight. We don't have until tomorrow." He grabbed her wrist. "We leave now."