Contract Marriage with my Amnesiac Billionaire

04

AURORA

Nathaniel Vale standing in my gallery felt unreal, like a scene from someone else’s life. The morning light streamed through the front windows, catching on his dark hair and sharp features. He looked expensive yet calm, confident yet strangely gentle. Something about him pulled me forward even before my mind caught up.

For days, a part of me had secretly wondered if he would ever come. I told myself it didn’t matter, but deep down, I had been waiting. Waiting to know that the stranger I dragged from a burning car was alive and breathing and safe.

But I hadn’t expected him to walk in like a storm dressed in a suit.

He stopped in front of me, and for a heartbeat, we just stared at each other. His eyes were deeper in person, clearer than the dazed look I remembered from the hospital bed. They carried a strange softness, something vulnerable.

“Miss Aurora,” he said, his voice warm and steady. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could speak, Grace stepped between us like a guard dog.

“She already said you’re welcome,” Grace snapped. “So you can go now.”

I nearly choked.

“Grace!”

“What?” she hissed under her breath. “Billionaires only show up for drama. And trouble. Mostly trouble.”

But Nathaniel didn’t flinch. If anything, he looked… understanding.

“I’m not here to cause trouble,” he said calmly. “I’m here because I owe her more than a simple thank you.”

That made my stomach tighten.

He paused, almost studying me for a moment as if trying to decide how honest he should be. Then he lifted the folder in his hand.

“I would like to make a proposal,” he said.

Grace frowned hard. “No. Whatever it is….no.”

“Grace!” I snapped again, mortified.

Nathaniel gave a faint, polite smile but stayed focused on me.

“I need a wife,” he said plainly.

I blinked. Hard.

“A… wife?”

“Yes.” He opened the folder slowly, revealing papers neatly arranged. “For one year. A contract marriage.”

My heart tripped. Grace nearly screamed.

“A WHAT?!”

Nathaniel continued, unwavering. “I want someone I can trust. Someone who doesn’t want anything from me except what is clearly written. Someone who won’t lie to me or play games. Someone who has no interest in the wealth or power of my family.”

Grace looked ready to explode. “And you picked HER? Out of everyone in this entire country?”

He lifted his eyes to mine again. “I picked her because she saved my life when she had nothing to gain. That tells me more about her character than anything money can buy.”

Heat rushed up the back of my neck. I didn’t know what to say.

He continued, voice smooth, almost businesslike.

“I also know your gallery is struggling. This arrangement can help both of us.”

He turned the document toward me.

“Ten million dollars. Paid monthly. In exchange, you live with me, attend events with me, and legally act as my wife for one year.”

The world spun for a moment.

Ten. Million.

Grace grabbed the paper from his hand before I could.

“She’s not doing this,” Grace said sharply. “Are you insane? A contract marriage? What kind of dark billionaire nonsense is this?”

“Grace, enough,” I whispered.

“No, not enough!” she shot back. “Aurora, he looks like he stepped out of one of those mystery documentaries where the rich husband does weird things and then everyone disappears.”

Despite myself, a tiny laugh escaped. It was ridiculous… but not as ridiculous as the fact that the offer pulled at something deep inside me. An impossible door opening during a time we were drowning.

“I’m not here to harm anyone,” Nathaniel said gently. “This is strictly business. Aurora would be free after a year with full payment and no strings attached.”

It sounded almost too clean and too simple.

I drew in a slow breath. “Why me?”

His eyes softened in a way that made my chest tighten.

“Because you don’t see me as the world does,” he said quietly. “And I need someone who feels real.”

Silence washed over the gallery.

Grace folded her arms. “She still isn’t doing it.”

“This is… too much,” I said quickly. “I can’t marry a stranger. Contract or not.”

Nathaniel nodded once, accepting without argument.

“I understand.”

He placed the folder gently on the counter.

“Think about it,” he said. “If you choose to decline, I won’t bother you again.”

Then he left.

Grace waited until the door closed before turning to me dramatically.

“NO. Absolutely not. N-O.”

I didn’t answer. My mind wasn’t screaming the way hers was. It was whispering questions instead, dangerous ones.

Ten million dollars.

Enough to pay off the gallery’s debts.

Enough to rebuild everything we’d lost.

Enough to breathe again.

An hour later, Aunt Lila arrived from the back office. Grace immediately dove into the story with hand motions, urgency, and a glare that could peel wallpaper.

Aunt Lila froze.

“A Vale came here?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Grace said. “And he had the nerve to offer her a contract marriage.”

Aunt Lila’s expression darkened instantly.

“Aurora. Don’t even think about it.”

“Why not?” I asked quietly.

“Because that family uses people,” she snapped. “Especially people like us. They chew you up and spit you out. Don’t get involved with them. Ever.”

Her voice shook. That was what surprised me. She was scared. Not annoyed…scared.

And I couldn’t understand why.

*

The warning burned in the back of my mind all day as we tried to work. But my thoughts kept circling back to the contract lying folded in my bag.

A year as his wife.

Public events.

A clear end date.

Ten million dollars.

A chance to save the gallery.

A chance to stop drowning.

The more I tried to ignore it, the louder it pressed inside my head.

By evening, I heard soft, broken sounds from the hallway. When I walked toward it, I found Aunt Lila sitting on the floor with her face buried in her hands.

“Aunt Lila?” My voice cracked. “What happened?”

She looked up, eyes red.

“Another creditor,” she whispered. “We’re out of time, Aurora. I don’t know what else to do.”

My heart dropped. She had always been strong, so seeing her like that made something inside me harden.

I couldn’t keep watching her drown for my sake.

I didn’t sleep. Not even for a minute. I sat at the edge of my bed with the contract open, reading each page over and over. Nothing harmful. Nothing hidden. Just business.

Just one year.

At dawn, with my hands shaking, I picked up my phone.

Nathaniel answered on the first ring, as if he had been waiting.

“Aurora?” he said gently. “Are you okay?”

I swallowed hard.

“I… I’m ready,” I whispered. “I’ll marry you.”

Lots of hours later, I stepped out of his sleek black limousine, the city lights reflecting off the polished metal.

My heart beat wildly as I looked down at the pure white wedding gown flowing around me, expensive, fitted, elegant. The boutique had worked fast, giving me no time to think.

I lifted my head.

Ahead of me stood the entrance to the discreet private venue where Nathaniel Vale was waiting for his contract bride.