THE BILLIONAIRE'S FORBIDDEN OBSESSION

CHAPTER TWO -SIX MONTHS

I should have walked away.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I woke up the next morning.

I should have torn up the contract.

I should have returned the money Victoria had transferred as an advance.

I should have forgotten Damien Cross existed.

Instead, I stood in front of my mirror wearing the dress his assistant had delivered to my apartment.

It was beautiful.

Too beautiful.

The black material hugged my body perfectly, making me feel like someone I barely recognized.

A note had been attached to the hanger.

YOU'LL NEED THIS TONIGHT.

No signature.

I didn't need one.

Damien.

I looked at myself again.

"What am I doing?"

My phone rang.

Victoria.

"Are you ready?"

"Not really."

She laughed softly.

"You'll be fine."

"Where are we going?"

"Mr. Cross's family dinner."

My stomach tightened.

"You never mentioned meeting his family."

"There's a lot you don't know yet."

That sentence bothered me.

Before I could ask anything else, she ended the call.

An hour later, a black car stopped outside my apartment.

The driver opened the door.

I climbed inside.

And there he was.

Damien sat in the back seat, looking at his phone.

He barely glanced at me.

"You're late."

I checked my watch.

"I'm two minutes early."

His eyes lifted.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

Then his gaze traveled over my dress.

Something dark flashed in his eyes.

"You look beautiful."

The compliment surprised me.

"Thank you."

He looked away.

"Sit."

I sat beside him, leaving as much distance between us as possible.

The car began moving.

For several minutes, silence filled the space.

Then Damien spoke.

"Do you understand the rules?"

"Most of them."

"Tell me."

I sighed.

"Six months. Public appearances. No talking to the media about the contract. No dating other men."

"Anything else?"

"I can't embarrass you."

His eyes moved toward me.

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because I chose you."

Again.

Those words.

I turned toward the window.

"Why me?"

He didn't answer immediately.

When he finally did, his voice was quieter.

"Because you're different."

I frowned.

"Different from who?"

"Everyone else."

That wasn't an answer.

But before I could push him, the car stopped.

We had arrived.

The Cross family mansion was enormous.

I stepped out of the car and immediately felt like I didn't belong there.

Damien came around the vehicle.

Before we walked inside, he reached for my hand.

I looked down at our joined hands.

"Do we have to do this?"

His fingers tightened around mine.

"Yes."

The warmth of his palm against mine sent an unfamiliar sensation through my body.

We walked inside.

People turned to look at us.

Whispers began immediately.

"That's her?"

"She's beautiful."

"Where did Damien find her?"

I tried to ignore them.

Then a woman approached.

She looked elegant, wealthy, and intimidating.

Damien's mother.

Her eyes moved from him to me.

"So you're Amara."

I smiled nervously.

"Yes, ma'am."

She studied me for several seconds.

Then she smiled.

"Welcome to the family."

I almost choked.

Family?

I was supposed to pretend to be this man's girlfriend.

Nobody had told me his mother would welcome me as if I were already her daughter-in-law.

Dinner was even worse.

Questions came from every direction.

How did we meet?

When did we fall in love?

What did I like about Damien?

I answered as carefully as I could.

But then someone asked the question I wasn't prepared for.

"How long have you loved him?"

I looked at Damien.

He was already staring at me.

His expression was unreadable.

I opened my mouth.

"I..."

Before I could finish, Damien reached beneath the table and took my hand.

His thumb slowly brushed over my fingers.

"She's still shy about it," he said.

Everyone laughed.

I forced a smile.

But something felt strange.

His touch didn't feel fake.

It felt too natural.

Too intimate.

Later that night, after dinner, I found myself alone with him on the balcony.

The city lights stretched beneath us.

I pulled my hand away.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Do what?"

"Hold my hand."

His eyes darkened.

"We're supposed to look like we're in love."

"Right."

I turned toward the city.

"Six months."

"Six months."

Then his voice came from behind me.

"Unless you decide you don't want to leave."

I turned around.

"What?"

He stepped closer.

His gaze held mine.

"Nothing."

I shook my head.

"You're strange, Damien Cross."

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"You have no idea."

I didn't understand what he meant.

I didn't know that Damien had known about me long before that contract was placed in front of me.

I didn't know he had already memorized the little things I liked.

I didn't know that the man standing in front of me had spent months watching me from a distance.

And I certainly didn't know that six months was never his real plan.

Because Damien Cross had no intention of letting me walk away when the contract ended.