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1393 Words
“What did you just say?” Elena asked, staring at Alexander as though she had heard him wrong.
“I said exactly what you think I said.” His voice remained calm, almost indifferent. “I’m required to be married within three months, and I’ve decided that you will be my wife.”
Elena blinked.
For a moment, she could only stare at him.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she finally asked. “A prank? Because if it is, it’s not funny.”
“It isn’t a joke.”
The seriousness in his expression made her stomach tighten.
“I don’t understand.” She said, confusion dancing across her face.
“It’s simple.” Alexander leaned back in his chair. “I’m offering you a contract marriage. One that benefits both of us.”
“A contract marriage?” she repeated weakly.
“I need a wife. You need money for your brother’s surgery.”
The words hit her like a slap.
“Why me?” she asked. “You could have any woman you want. A model. A socialite. Someone beautiful and sophisticated. Why would you choose me?”
“Because every other woman wants something from me.” He said coolly.
Elena frowned.
“They want my name, my money, my influence. The moment those things disappear, I become irrelevant.” His eyes settled on her. “You, on the other hand, are different.”
She let out a nervous laugh.
“And you think I wouldn’t want your money?”
A brief silence followed.
Then Alexander spoke.
“I know you need money. That’s different.”
The way he said it made her chest tighten.
“I’ve thought this through carefully before approaching you, Elena.”
Her name rolled off his tongue so effortlessly that it sent an unexpected shiver down her spine.
“But you’re my boss,” she said.
“Yes.”
“And you want me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
The answer came so quickly that it left her speechless.
This couldn’t be real.
Nothing about this made sense.
Alexander glanced at his watch before looking back at her.
“You don’t have to answer immediately. Take your time.”
“How much time?”
“Seven days.”
Seven days to decide whether she wanted to marry one of the richest men in the country.
Seven days to decide whether she wanted to sell a year of her life for the money that could save her brother.
“I…” She swallowed hard. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good.”
That was all he said.
No pressure.
No persuasion.
Just confidence that she would seriously consider it.
“You may leave now.”
Elena stood on shaky legs and walked toward the door.
The moment she stepped outside his office, she released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Her heart was racing.
A contract marriage?
To Alexander Vale?
The entire situation was insane.
Yet as she walked down the hallway, one thought refused to leave her mind.
What would her life become if she actually said yes?
Most women would have reacted differently to a proposal from a billionaire CEO. Excitement. Calculation. Curiosity.
But Elena looked trapped.
And strangely enough…
That was exactly why he chose her.
The office door opened quietly behind him.
“I really hope you didn’t frighten her.”
Alexander didn’t turn around.
Victor stepped into the office carrying a stack of documents.
He had worked with Alexander for years and was one of the few people who could speak freely around him.
“She looked like she was about to collapse when I saw her leaving the floor.” Victor continued.
Alexander’s voice remained calm. “She’ll come around.”
Victor sighed. “Because she needs the money.”
Alexander finally turned slightly.
“Yes.”
Victor shook his head slowly. “That almost sounds cruel.”
Alexander said nothing.
Because maybe it was.
But the Hartwell family had never been built on kindness.
It had been built on power.
—
Three weeks earlier.
The Hartwell estate had been drowning in chaos.
Servants whispered nervously in corners while reporters crowded outside the massive gates like vultures waiting for blood. Every television station in the country was covering the scandal.
Hartwell Corporation was collapsing publicly.
And the cause had a name.
Liam Hartwell.
Alexander walked through the mansion calmly, his polished shoes echoing against marble floors. Unlike everyone else in the house, he wasn’t panicking.
Panic solved nothing.
Inside the main study, voices thundered through the room.
“You humiliated this family!”
His grandfather, Patrick Hartwell’s voice was powerful despite his age.
Alexander entered quietly.
His grandfather stood beside the fireplace gripping his cane tightly while Liam sat across from him looking exhausted and angry.
Several newspapers were scattered across the table.
HEADLINES screamed from every page:
HARTWELL CEO INVOLVED IN AFFAIR SCANDAL
INVESTORS DEMAND RESIGNATION
CORPORATE IMAGE IN CRISIS
But the affair itself wasn’t the real problem.
The problem was that Liam had been publicly exposed cheating with a famous actress who was married to one of Hartwell’s loyal investors while company funds were being secretly used to cover luxury trips, gifts, and private accounts connected to the relationship.
The scandal exploded online overnight.
Shareholders were furious.
The board panicked.
And suddenly the perfect golden grandson wasn’t so perfect anymore.
“It was one mistake,” Liam snapped bitterly.
Patrick Hartwell slammed his cane hard against the floor.
“One mistake?” the old man thundered. “Your face is on every news station in the country!”
Liam laughed darkly. “But it’s just a cheating scandal.”
“Yes,” Patrick said coldly. “But most people are not CEOs of billion-dollar corporations. Especially not one with the reputation like Hartwell’s.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Patrick turned toward Alexander.
Everything shifted immediately.
“Alexander.”
His tone softened slightly.
“You’ll take over as CEO effective immediately.”
Liam’s head snapped upward.
“What?”
Alexander remained calm.
Unlike Liam, he had always known this was possible.
Patrick Hartwell only had two children—Alexander’s mother, Eleanor Hartwell and Liam’s father, Martin Hartwell. But instead of keeping the Hartwell name after marriage, she had chosen love over legacy and married Vincent Vale years ago.
That was how Alexander became Alexander Vale instead of Alexander Hartwell.
But blood was blood.
And Patrick never forgot that.
Especially after Eleanor died.
“You’re replacing me with him?” Liam asked in disbelief.
Patrick’s expression hardened. “You left me no choice.”
Liam stood abruptly. “This company was supposed to be mine!”
“And you destroyed that yourself.”
The room went quiet again.
Patrick slowly walked toward Alexander now.
“You understand what this responsibility means.”
Alexander nodded once.
“Yes.”
Unlike Liam, he had spent years proving himself quietly. While Liam enjoyed attention and parties, Alexander built companies overseas, expanded investments, and became known for discipline and control.
The board trusted him.
The shareholders respected him.
And Patrick knew it.
But then the old man’s expression changed slightly.
“There is one condition.”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed almost invisibly.
Patrick continued.
“The board will only confirm your permanent position if you are married within three months.”
Liam burst out laughing immediately.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Alexander stayed silent.
Patrick looked directly at him.
“After Liam’s scandal, the shareholders want stability. They want a family man leading the company. Someone responsible. Someone less likely to destroy the corporation because of reckless affairs.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “So now marriage is a business requirement?”
“In this family,” Patrick said sharply, “image matters.”
Then he turned back to Alexander.
“You are disciplined. Controlled. Intelligent. But unmarried men with power become targets for scandal.”
Alexander’s voice remained calm. “And marriage fixes that?”
“It reassures the board.”
The old man’s gaze sharpened.
“You have three months.”
Alexander didn’t argue.
He simply asked, “And if I am unable to marry in three months?”
Patrick’s answer came instantly.
“Then the board appoints someone else who is capable or better still, you marry Vanessa Laurent.”
- Writer
