THE BILLIONAIRE'S VENGEFUL BRIDE

The Contract

The contract lay between them like a loaded weapon.

Bella stared at the thick stack of papers on Alexander Sterling's desk.

One year.

Twelve months.

Three hundred and sixty-five days.

Then freedom.

At least, that was what the final page promised.

She reached for the pen.

"Before I sign," she said, "I want something changed."

Alexander sat opposite her, perfectly composed.

"What?"

"The confidentiality clause."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"You already agreed to it."

"I agreed not to disclose private Sterling business. This clause says I can't discuss anything related to our marriage."

"Correct."

"That's too broad."

"Why?"

"Because if you do something illegal, I need to be able to protect myself."

Alexander's eyebrow lifted.

"You expect me to commit a crime?"

"I don't know you well enough to rule it out."

Sebastian, who stood near the window, coughed suspiciously.

Alexander shot him a look.

Sebastian immediately examined the ceiling.

Bella almost smiled.

Almost.

Alexander looked back at her.

"You've become very comfortable challenging me."

"I've become comfortable protecting myself."

"There's a difference."

"Not when you're involved."

His gaze held hers.

Something tense passed between them.

Alexander leaned forward.

"Fine. The clause will be amended."

Bella studied him suspiciously.

"That was easy."

"It wasn't."

"You didn't argue."

"I've learned that arguing with you is inefficient."

She smiled faintly.

"You're learning."

Alexander's eyes dropped to her mouth.

The smile disappeared from Bella's face.

His gaze remained there for one second too long.

Then he looked away.

His fingers tightened around the pen.

He hated the involuntary reaction.

He hated how easily her smile could distract him.

More than that, he hated that he had begun recognizing her expressions.

The tiny crease between her brows when she was suspicious.

The slight lift of her chin when she was challenging him.

The way her lips curved when she was trying not to smile.

He shouldn't notice any of it.

He shouldn't want to.

She was Daniel Hart's daughter.

His enemy.

A means to an end.

Alexander forced his attention back to the contract.

"Anything else?"

Bella scanned the pages.

"The wedding."

"What about it?"

"I don't want a massive ceremony."

"No."

She looked up.

"No?"

"The wedding will be public."

"Why?"

"Because the market will notice."

"And?"

"Investors, competitors, the press. A marriage between the Sterling and Hart names will attract attention."

Bella sighed.

"I don't care about investors."

"I do."

"Of course you do."

His expression remained cold.

"You're marrying a billionaire. People will expect a wedding."

"Let them expect."

"They'll get one."

Bella folded her arms.

"I don't want strangers examining me."

"You'll survive."

"You're very comforting."

"I'm not trying to be."

She looked down at the contract again.

"How many people?"

"Two hundred."

Bella's head snapped up.

"Two hundred?"

"Three hundred."

"Absolutely not."

"Two hundred."

"One hundred."

"One hundred and fifty."

"One hundred."

Alexander stared at her.

She stared back.

Finally, he sighed.

"One hundred."

"Thank you."

Sebastian turned his face toward the window.

His shoulders were shaking.

Alexander's voice became dangerously quiet.

"Sebastian."

"I'm not laughing."

"You are."

"I'm breathing."

Bella covered her mouth.

A small laugh escaped.

Alexander looked at her.

For one unexpected moment, the room felt different.

Her laughter was soft.

Warm.

Real.

And something in his chest shifted.

His gaze stayed on her.

Bella slowly lowered her hand.

Their eyes met.

The air changed.

Alexander became acutely aware of how close she was.

The faint fragrance of her perfume.

The warmth of her skin.

The soft movement of her hair as she breathed.

His body reacted.

His shoulders tightened.

He pushed his chair backward.

The sudden movement startled her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You looked uncomfortable."

"I'm fine."

"You're doing it again."

His eyes hardened.

"Doing what?"

"Running away."

"I'm not running."

"You practically moved across the room."

Alexander stood.

"Perhaps you should stop standing so close."

Bella glanced down.

She hadn't realized she had moved toward the desk.

She looked back at him.

"You're the one who asked me to marry you."

"And I'm beginning to question my judgment."

Her eyebrows rose.

"Already?"

"No."

His voice dropped.

"I'm questioning it now."

Bella's lips twitched.

"Good."

Alexander looked away before he could react to her smile again.

He hated this.

He hated the physical awareness that seemed to appear whenever she was close.

It was distracting.

Unwanted.

Dangerous.

He needed distance.

He needed control.

He needed to remember why he had brought her into his life.

Revenge.

Nothing else.

"Sign the contract," he said.

Bella looked at him for a moment.

Then she picked up the pen.

Her signature appeared beneath the final clause.

Bella Hart.

Alexander took the pen.

He signed beneath hers.

Alexander Sterling.

The moment the ink dried, Bella stared at their names.

They looked strange together.

Almost natural.

That irritated her.

She closed the folder.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"So we're married?"

"Legally, no."

She frowned.

"Not until the ceremony."

"Correct."

Bella nodded.

"Then I suppose I'll see you at the wedding."

Alexander's gaze lifted.

"Tomorrow."

She froze.

"Tomorrow?"

"The wedding."

Her mouth fell open.

"You said there was a week."

"I changed it."

"Alexander."

"What?"

"I need time."

"For what?"

"To mentally prepare for marrying a man who looks like he wants to strangle me every time I speak."

Sebastian coughed again.

Alexander ignored him.

"I'll give you twenty-four hours."

"That's not preparation."

"It's generous."

Bella shook her head.

"You're impossible."

"And you're marrying me."

She stared at him.

"That's still debatable."

"You signed."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You know, I could still change my mind."

Alexander's expression became unreadable.

"No."

The single word was quiet.

Certain.

Bella's heart skipped.

Not because of the threat.

Because of the intensity behind it.

Alexander seemed to realize how he sounded.

His jaw tightened.

"Not after we've entered a legal agreement."

Bella studied him.

"Right."

She picked up her bag.

"I'm leaving."

He nodded.

She walked toward the door.

Then stopped.

"Alexander?"

"What?"

She looked over her shoulder.

"Why do I have the feeling you're more nervous about this wedding than I am?"

His expression hardened.

"I'm not nervous."

Bella smiled.

"Sure."

She walked out.

The door closed.

Alexander remained still.

Sebastian waited several seconds.

Then—

"You're nervous."

Alexander turned slowly.

"Do you value your employment?"

"Very much."

"Then stop talking."

Sebastian grinned.

"You're marrying the only woman in the city who isn't afraid of you."

Alexander said nothing.

"Actually," Sebastian continued, "I think you're afraid of her."

Alexander's eyes narrowed.

"Leave."

Sebastian laughed as he walked out.

Alone again, Alexander looked down at the contract.

Their signatures sat side by side.

He should have felt victorious.

Instead, something unfamiliar settled in his chest.

He had spent years imagining what it would feel like to finally have a Hart within his reach.

He had imagined satisfaction.

Power.

Justice.

He had never imagined uncertainty.

Or attraction.

Or the way Bella's laughter had sounded in his office.

Alexander closed his eyes.

This is temporary.

One year.

Then it would end.

He would make sure of it.

He picked up the contract and placed it inside the locked drawer.

His phone rang.

"Alexander."

His mother's voice.

Eleanor.

"Yes?"

"I heard."

His expression changed.

"Heard what?"

"That you're marrying Bella Hart."

Alexander went silent.

Eleanor's voice lowered.

"Tell me you haven't made this mistake."

His gaze moved toward the door Bella had disappeared through.

"I know exactly what I'm doing."

"No," Eleanor whispered.

"You don't."

Alexander frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Silence.

Then she said the words that made every instinct in him sharpen.

"Some marriages begin with love."

She paused.

"Yours is beginning with a lie."

The call ended.

Alexander stared at the phone.

For the first time, his certainty cracked.

Not because of Bella.

Because of the fear in his mother's voice.

He slowly looked toward the locked drawer containing the contract.

A lie.

He knew exactly what lie he was hiding from Bella.

She believed he wanted this marriage because of business.

Because of protection.

Because of control.

She didn't know the truth.

Alexander had never intended to tell her.

He wasn't marrying Bella Hart to protect her.

He was marrying her because he intended to uncover every secret the Hart family had buried.

And when he found the truth about his father's death—

He would finally have his revenge.

Or so he believed.

Across the city, Bella stood beside her apartment window, staring at the rain.

Tomorrow she would become Mrs. Alexander Sterling.

She should have been terrified.

Instead, she was thinking about the look in Alexander's eyes when she laughed.

For one brief moment, the ruthless billionaire had disappeared.

And Bella had seen the man underneath.

She didn't know which version frightened her more.

The man who hated her—

or the man who seemed to be fighting himself whenever she came too close.