I will marry you for a billion dollars

Chapter 2

I was sitting in the airport lounge, my bag hugging my knees like a lifeline, still trying to catch my breath from the last few hours, when a conversation behind me snagged my attention. Two men were talking,not whispering, not in a casual way, but with that kind of authority that made people around them subconsciously give them space.

The taller one, dark suit, black shoes shining like polished obsidian, was fuming. “I’ve been waiting for over an hour,” he said, voice low but sharp. “If she doesn’t meet my terms or measure up to my standards…she’ll lose it. I’ve prepared for this. I’ve…set it up. A billion-dollar contract for a marriage lasting exactly one year. She either agrees or she doesn’t get anything.”

I froze. A billion-dollar marriage contract? My head snapped around, my heart hammering. Billion. Dollar. Contract. One year.

I felt like the universe had dropped a lifeline directly into my lap. My life was a wreck. My savings were gone, my business destroyed, my apartment lost, and my name smeared across every gossip blog in the region. I was broke, humiliated, and desperate. Every rational thought screamed that this was insane,but I didn’t care.

Before I could think twice, my voice slipped out, loud enough for them to hear: “I’ll do it!”

The taller man spun around, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. I barely had time to realize what I’d said before the smaller man behind him cleared his throat and muttered something about patience.

“You…what?” the taller man said, black eyes narrowing at me.

“I heard you,” I said, panic and hope swirling together in my chest. “I’ll do it. I don’t care what it is. I’ll marry you for a year. Billion dollars, you said? Done. Just…tell me what to do.”

The man blinked at me like he hadn’t expected a random girl in an airport lounge to raise her hand and volunteer. And maybe he hadn’t. But after a beat, he smirked,an almost amused, calculated smirk,and gave me a card. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious,” I said, my voice a little too loud, my hands shaking. “I…need this. I’ll follow everything. Just…give me a chance.”

“Tomorrow. Ten a.m. sharp,” he said. “Here,” he handed me an address written on a sleek, black card with gold lettering. “Bring yourself. Don’t ask questions. Don’t be late. Lawyer will be there. We’ll finalize the terms. That’s it.”

I clutched the card like it was a lifeboat. “I’ll be there,” I whispered.

The next morning, I woke up at the ungodly hour of six, my stomach a knot of nerves and excitement. I can't believe I was doing this.

What if it was illegal or dangerous? Was I that desperate? The answer was yes.

I packed carefully,triple-checked that my ID, passport, and the black card were tucked safely into my bag,and dressed in something simple yet polished: a cream blouse tucked into high-waisted black trousers. I didn’t want to look desperate. I wanted to look capable. I wanted to look like someone who deserved a billion-dollar contract, even if I had no idea who I was signing up to marry.

The restaurant was tucked away in a secluded corner of the city, far from the usual paparazzi routes, and every inch of it screamed wealth,marble floors, dark wood, soft ambient lighting, velvet chairs that made me feel like I had stepped into someone else’s life entirely. I wasn’t sure I belonged here, but I squared my shoulders and walked in.

At a table by a corner, the man sat with perfect posture, jet-black hair slicked back, black eyes that seemed to look right through me. Beside him was a woman I assumed was his lawyer, shuffling papers and taking notes with the kind of efficiency that made me nervous just to watch.

The man didn’t smile. He just raised an eyebrow. “You’re early,” he said, his voice low, calm, but commanding in a way that made me stumble over my words.

“I…uh…thought it better to be on time,” I said, gripping my bag strap like it was an anchor.

“Good,” he said. “Sit.” He gestured to the chair across from him. “We’ll go over the terms.”

As I sat, I tried not to stare. He was…intimidating. I didn’t know him, didn’t know his name yet, but there was a quiet authority about him that made it impossible to look away. He slid a folder across the table. “These are my conditions,” he said. “You will comply fully. You will marry me for one year. During that time, you will follow all rules laid out here. You will live as my wife publicly. There are…restrictions. Limitations. Anything beyond this will result in the contract being void. You walk away with nothing. Do you understand?”

I nodded. “I understand.”

I wasn’t going to argue. I wasn’t going to flinch. I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. But then a thought struck me, sharp as ice. “I have my own terms,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I want…help. I need to make sure the people who ruined me are…taken care of. I don’t care about the moral stuff,they deserve it. But I need your influence, your power, your connections. I need this contract to serve more than just…money.”

His black eyes locked onto mine, unreadable. Then, very slowly, a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I can agree to that,” he said, “on one condition. You do not ask who I am or why we must marry. We play the part. Everything else, I will deliver exactly as agreed. No questions. No doubts. No deviations.”

I swallowed, my heart hammering. “Deal.”

He nodded once, then flicked his hand at the lawyer, who slid another folder across the table. “Keys. Documents. Allowance. Employment at ETS as agreed.”

I blinked. The keys were heavy in my hand, the kind you didn’t just get from some stranger at a table. My own apartment, secure, secluded, expensive. My car, already waiting for me in the valet lot. A monthly allowance to start my life over. And employment at ETS, a company I had never heard of but apparently he trusted me enough to place me in.

I realized I was holding my breath. My pulse was loud in my ears. I didn’t even know his name, didn’t even know what he looked like outside of the first glance, but…this was real. All of it.

“Anything else?” he asked, voice calm, almost teasing.

“Um…your name?”

He leaned back, watching me with an unreadable expression. “Ethan.”

He didn't give me a last name but that was fine and I nodded.

“Welcome to your new life, Mrs Evelyn Gu.”

He pushed a gold band, a shimmering one with diamonds to me.

I carefully took it and slid it on. Mrs Evelyn Gu. My name. My identity. Somehow it felt different now, like stepping into a costume I would wear for a year,powerful, untouchable, and completely disposable at his whim.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, still trying to process the surreal moment. “I…won’t fail.”

“You won’t,” he said simply, then stood, signaling the lawyer to follow. “Everything is in place. You have keys, documents, allowance. You have one week to settle into your new residence before we begin the…public portion. Anything beyond that, follow the rules we outlined. Understood?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice firm, though my heart was doing somersaults.

As they left, I sat there a moment longer, staring at the folder on the table. The pen, the paperwork, the keys,all tangible proof that my life was changing. My fingers traced the edge of the folder and the ring. I could feel a spark of hope, of power, of revenge building inside me. I didn’t know how it would all play out, but for the first time in days, maybe weeks, I didn’t feel broken.

When I left a couple minutes later to my car, I could still hardly believe it.

I was married now, Mrs Evelyn…something.