The Billionaire Contact Wife

Chapter 5: Cebu Tree days Him

The private jet was bigger than my entire house.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding my one small bag. My heart was pounding.

"Come on," Ethan said. He was already inside, sitting by the window, typing on his laptop.

"Window seat," he added without looking up.

I sat down across from him. The seat was soft. The air smelled like leather and money.

For the whole one hour flight, he didn’t speak. Just worked.

I stared out the window. Clouds. Then the ocean. Then Cebu.

When we landed, a black car was waiting for us.

We drove to a five star hotel. The lobby had chandeliers. Marble floors. People in suits.

"Two rooms," Ethan told the front desk. "Connecting."

I stared. "Sir?"

"For security," he said quickly. "Don’t make it weird, Miss Reyes."

My room was huge. Bigger than my whole house. King bed. Bath tub. View of the ocean.

I felt guilty just standing there.

Day 1: Meetings. From 9AM to 6PM.

I took notes. Made coffee. Booked his meetings.

He introduced me as "My assistant." Nothing more.

At night, I called the hospital.

"Any update on my father’s bill?"

"Not yet, Miss Reyes. Tomorrow is the deadline."

₱50,000.

I hung up and cried in the shower so he wouldn’t hear.

Day 2: Rain.

We were stuck in traffic for two hours going to a client site.

Silence in the car. Just the sound of rain on the window.

Then he spoke.

"Why did you really help me that night, Luna?"

I froze. "Because... no one else was helping sir."

He turned to look at me. "You could’ve asked for money right then."

"I don’t want charity sir. I want to work. For my dad."

He was quiet for a long time.

"Good answer."

That was it. But his voice was softer.

That night, there was a gala dinner for the clients.

I wore the same black dress from before.

Ethan wore a black suit. As always.

People stared. Whispered.

"Who’s the girl?"

"New assistant?"

"She doesn’t look like she belongs here."

I wanted to disappear.

Then Sofia showed up.

Red dress. Red lips. Perfect hair.

"Ethaaaan," she said, hugging his arm. "You didn’t tell me you were coming to Cebu."

Ethan pulled his arm away. "Sofia. What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you." She smiled at me. Then looked me up and down.

"Oh. The assistant. Right."

Fiancée. Again.

My chest hurt.

Ethan stepped in front of me.

"She’s with me. Don’t."

Sofia laughed. "Relax. I’m just being friendly."

She leaned close to me and whispered.

"Be careful, sweetie. He collects poor girls and then throws them away."

Then she walked away.

My hands were shaking.

Ethan noticed. He handed me a glass of water.

"Drink."

I drank. "Thank you sir."

He looked at me. Really looked.

"You did good. You didn’t cry."

That was the first time he complimented me.

And for some reason... it felt better than ₱50,000.

Dangerous.

Day 3: Last meeting.

Ethan was stressed. The client was being difficult.

After, he went straight to the hotel bar. Alone.

I found him there at 10PM. Drinking whiskey.

"Sir?"

"Sit."

We didn’t talk. We just sat.

Then he turned to me.

"You’re different, Luna Reyes.

You don’t look at me like I’m a wallet."

My heart stopped.

"Don’t get used to this," he said quickly. Cold again.

"We fly back tomorrow. Contract resumes."

I nodded. But inside, something shifted.

At 2AM, there was a knock on my door.

It was him. Hair messy. Tie loose. Eyes tired.

"Can’t sleep," he said.

"Can you... make coffee?"

So I did. In his room. Black. No sugar.

We drank it in silence. Two in the morning in Cebu.

City lights outside the window.

And for the first time, Ethan Carter smiled.

Just a little.

"Thank you, Luna."

My name. From his mouth.

It sounded different.

I went back to my room and couldn’t sleep.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t just scared of him.

I was starting to... like him.

And that was the most dangerous part