FORCED TO MARRY THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE IN 9 DAYS

###CHAPTER 4:JUST A TOY

Elena woke up to a woman's laugh in her kitchen.

She came downstairs barefoot, wearing Caspian's black shirt from last night — the night he kissed her in front of his father Rowan and made her believe maybe, just maybe, the contract was starting to crack.

Then she saw her.

Vivienne. The supermodel ex-wife. Arms wrapped around Caspian's neck, body pressed to his in the middle of _their_ kitchen.

"Caspian, darling, I missed you so much," Vivienne purred. "Rowan told me you married some little nobody to save your CEO chair. God, you must be miserable."

Elena froze on the stairs.

Caspian saw her. His eyes flickered to her — to his shirt on her body, her bare legs, her messy hair — and then went cold. Completely cold.

He didn't let go of Vivienne.

"Vivienne, what are you doing here?" he said, but his hands stayed on Vivienne's waist.

Vivienne smiled triumphantly at Elena over his shoulder. "I came to take you back, baby. You and I — we were real. Not like... whatever this is."

She threw herself even harder into his arms, kissing his neck.

Elena felt her stomach drop.

"Well?" Vivienne said loudly, looking straight at Elena. "Tell her, Caspian. Tell her what she is."

Caspian looked at Elena. Really looked at her. And then, with that ruthless, billionaire voice that destroyed companies, he said it.

"She's nothing, Vivienne."

Elena's breath caught.

"She's just another toy," Caspian continued, his arm now around Vivienne like he was proving a point. "A convenient little arrangement. My father wanted me married, I needed a wife on paper. Elena needed money. That's it. You think I have feelings for her?"

He laughed — cruel, empty.

"Don't be ridiculous. Elena knows her place. Don't you, darling?"

He looked at Elena and called her 'darling' like it was an insult.

Elena felt like she'd been slapped. All the heat from last night, that kiss on the terrace, his father's speechless face — it all meant nothing. She was just a contract. A toy he could pick up and put down to make his ex jealous.

Vivienne beamed. "See? I told you. Caspian doesn't love. He uses. And then he throws them away."

Elena's eyes burned, but she refused to cry in front of them. She pulled Caspian's shirt tighter around herself, suddenly feeling naked and stupid.

"Right," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Sorry to interrupt. I'll... I'll go change."

She turned to run upstairs.

"Elena."

Caspian's voice stopped her. For a second she thought he would take it back.

He didn't.

"Make us coffee while you're at it," he said coldly. "Vivienne takes hers black."

Elena didn't answer. She ran up the stairs, and the second she was out of sight, the tears finally fell.

Downstairs, Vivienne giggled, victorious, and wrapped herself around Caspian again.

"See? I knew you'd come to your senses —"

Caspian ripped her arms off him like she was on fire.

"Don't touch me," he snarled, his whole face changing. The cold mask fell and underneath was pure disgust. "Don't ever touch me again."

Vivienne stared, shocked. "But you just said —"

"I said what I had to say to get you out of my house," he hissed, low and dangerous. "You think I'd let you humiliate her? You think I'd let you stay here and make her feel worthless?"

He stepped closer, terrifying.

"Listen to me, Vivienne. Elena is my wife. She lives here. You don't. If you ever come near her again, if you ever make her feel like that again, I will ruin you. Not your career. _You_. Understand?"

Vivienne went white.

Caspian didn't wait. He walked to the elevator, punched the button, and threw her Birkin bag after her.

"Get out."

The doors slammed.

Silence.

Caspian ran upstairs, taking them two at a time, guilt eating him alive. He found Elena on the floor of his bedroom closet, knees to her chest, still in his shirt, trying not to sob.

"Elena —"

"Don't!" She flinched away. "Just don't. I got it. I'm just a toy. Message received, Mr. Sterling."

He knelt in front of her, reaching for her, but she pushed his hands away.

"I had to," he whispered, voice broken. "If I told her I — if I told her the truth, she would have never left. She would have used it against us. Against you."

"Against me?" Elena laughed bitterly, tears streaming. "You already did that yourself."

He finally grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were wrecked.

"You are not a toy to me, Elena. You have never been a toy to me."

"Then what am I, Caspian?" she choked out.

He opened his mouth. Closed it. The ruthless billionaire who always had an

answer had nothing.

Because he couldn't say it. Not yet. Not that he was already falling for his fake wife, and it terrified him.