The Billionaire's Bet

BILLIONAIRE BET CHAPTER 1 — “THE BOY WHO DIDN’T EXIST” The first thing Maya Rivers noticed about the stranger was not his face—it was the way he stood still in a world that never stopped moving. Damon Locke had that kind of presence. Quiet. Watchful. Invisible, yet impossible to ignore once seen. And Maya should have walked past him like everyone else did that morning outside Crescent Hall University, but something in her refused. She was already late for her scholarship orientation, clutching her folder like a lifeline, her heart heavy with hopes she wasn’t sure she deserved. But the man leaning against the old fountain—dark hair falling into his eyes, plain shirt, ripped jeans—pulled her attention like gravity. He looked out of place. Almost like he was hiding. Or running. Or both. Maya slowed down, breath unsteady. Focus. You don’t have time to stare at strange men, she reminded herself. Not when her entire future depended on today. Not when her mother was working double shifts just to pay for transportation and food. Not when she had dreams bigger than her bank account. Yet she found herself stopping anyway. Then his eyes lifted—sharp, startlingly intense—and the world seemed to hush between them. For one small second, she forgot how to breathe. He straightened, surprise flickering across his features, as if he wasn’t used to being noticed. He wasn’t wrong. People walked past Damon Locke every day without realizing they were ignoring the heir to one of the biggest private conglomerates in the country. A man hiding from a life he didn’t want. A name he refused to carry. A billionaire pretending to be nobody. Today, unexpectedly, someone saw him. --- “Are you… alright?” Maya asked softly. Her voice was gentle—too gentle for a world as harsh as theirs. Damon blinked. “Me?” “Yes, you.” She hugged her folder protectively. “You look like someone who hasn’t decided if he wants to stay or disappear.” A corner of his mouth lifted. “Which one do you think it is?” She hesitated, then answered honestly. “Disappear.” His chest tightened. She’s not wrong. Before he could speak, a black limousine pulled to the curb with the elegance of a predator choosing where to bite. The tinted window slid down. And Damon’s jaw locked. Theo Drake. Billionaire. Media darling. The kind of man who never heard the word no and didn’t know the meaning of enough. The man Damon spent years trying to avoid. The man who ruined his life once—and could ruin it again. Theo’s perfect, serpent-smooth smile widened the moment he saw him. “Well, well,” Theo drawled. “Hiding in plain sight, are we, Locke?” Maya looked between them, startled. “You two… know each other?” Damon didn’t answer, but Theo leaned forward like a cat that’d found its favorite mouse. “Old friends,” Theo said casually. “Very old. Very complicated. And apparently”—his eyes flicked over Damon’s outfit, dripping with mockery—“very poor these days.” Maya stiffened. “You don’t have to talk to him like that.” Theo’s gaze snapped to her. Then paused. Then sharpened. Damon felt the shift instantly and stepped subtly in front of her, but Theo’s interest had already ignited—quiet, focused, dangerous. “And who,” Theo asked with a slow smile, “is this?” Maya flushed slightly but held her ground. “I’m Maya. Maya Rivers.” Theo’s expression changed in the tiniest, chilling way. Recognition. Calculation. Opportunity. Then came the moment Damon dreaded—the moment Theo connected the dots. “Maya Rivers,” Theo repeated. “The girl attending the Crescent Scholarship Orientation today? Top of her class? Zero connections but… exceptional potential?” Maya blinked. “How do you—?” “Some people become interesting long before they realize it.” Damon’s stomach dropped. No. Not her. Anyone but her. Theo stepped out of the car, straightened his suit, and faced Damon fully. “I see why you’re hiding in this charming little campus,” he said. “Trying to start over? Pretending you’re not the Locke family’s walking scandal? But now…” His eyes returned to Maya—slowly, deliberately. “Now I’m curious.” Damon’s fists tightened. “Theo. Don’t.” Theo tilted his head. “Or what? You’ll disappear again? Run from another mess you created?” Maya stepped back, overwhelmed. Damon shot her a reassuring look, but it wasn’t enough to hide the storm brewing behind his eyes. Theo smirked. “You know what? Let’s make this fun. It’s been a while since you and I played a game, Damon.” “No,” Damon growled. “Whatever you’re thinking—no.” But Theo was already deciding. Already winning. “Here’s my wager,” Theo announced. “I bet I can steal her away.” Maya froze. “Excuse me?” “You heard me.” Theo’s smile was both charming and lethal. “Her attention. Her trust. Her heart, if it comes to that. I bet I can take it… right out of your hands.” Damon stepped closer to Maya, voice low and furious. “She has nothing to do with us.” Theo’s gaze glittered. “But she does now.” Maya’s pulse hammered. “I’m not a prize. And I don’t belong to either of you.” “Of course not,” Theo replied smoothly. “But I’m very, very good at winning things that don’t belong to me.” Damon’s voice was sharper than Maya had ever heard. “I’m not playing.” “But you already are,” Theo said softly. “Because I know exactly what you’re trying to do. You’re hiding, Damon. Hiding from your name, your power, your past. And she—” He pointed at Maya. “She is the first person you’ve actually looked at in years.” Heat rushed to Maya’s cheeks. Damon didn’t deny it. Theo leaned in, whispering just loudly enough: “I bet I can take her from you before you even admit you want her.” Damon lunged a half-step forward, rage flickering like lightning. Theo opened the limo door and said casually: “The bet has begun.” --- It shocked her as much as it shocked him. “Don’t talk to him again,” Damon said urgently. “Don’t get in his car. Don’t trust anything he says. He’s dangerous.” Maya stared at his hand wrapped around hers—warm, strong, trembling slightly. “Why me?” she whispered. He swallowed. “I don’t know. But I’m not letting him use you.” Before Maya could respond, Theo called out: “See you soon, Maya Rivers. Don’t let him scare you… he’s afraid you’ll like me more.” The limo sped away. Damon exhaled shakily. Maya pulled her hand from his, confused, breathless. “What is happening?” He ran a hand through his hair. “A mistake from my past just found you. And now… I have to protect you from it.” “Why?” she whispered. He looked at her like she was the only real thing in his world. “Because he will destroy anyone to get what he wants. And now,” Damon said, voice dropping to a dangerous softness, “he wants you.” --- Damon was lying. Not about Theo’s danger. But about why he wanted to protect her. Because the moment he looked at Maya Rivers… Something inside him woke up. Something he wasn’t ready for. Something he wasn’t allowed to feel. Something Theo had seen before Damon admitted it even to himself. --- They didn’t notice the black SUV parked across the street. Didn’t see the camera aimed directly at them. Didn’t see the message being typed: “Target identified. Maya Rivers. Proceed?” A second message popped up immediately: “Yes. She must not end up with Damon Locke.” --- Maya turned to Damon, voice trembling. “Damon… who exactly are you?” He opened his mouth. And for the first time in his life… Damon Locke couldn’t answer.