📖 A Teenage Girl Forced to Marry a Cold CEO 🧑‍💼

Aurora’s world ended at exactly 8:17 p.m. Not because someone died. It ended because that was the exact moment the doctor placed a file on the desk at the front of her, folded his hands, and said words she had been desperately trying not to hear. “Your mother needs surgery.” Aurora stared at him with tears in her eyes. The hospital room seemed to shrink around her. “Surgery?” Aurora said The doctor hesitated. “Yes surgery and we can’t postpone.” “How much?” The doctor slid a piece of paper toward her. Aurora looked down. Her breath caught. $38,000. For several minutes, she simply stared at the paper. Thirty-eight thousand dollars. She didn’t even have thirty-eight dollars in her account. Her university tuition was already overdue. Her landlord had given them until the end of the week to pay their rent. Their refrigerator at home contained little more than bottled water, half a carton of milk, and some leftover rice. And now her mother needed an operation that cost more money than Aurora could ever imagine touching. “Doctor…” With a cracked voice . “There has to be another option.” “We can try to stabilize her for a while, but—” “How long?” The doctor looked away. “Not long.” Aurora swallowed hard. Behind the glass window, her mother lay unconscious beneath white hospital sheets. Amanda had always been the strong one. She was the woman who worked two jobs without complaining. The woman who skipped meals so Aurora could eat. The woman who had sold her favorite necklace to pay Aurora’s first university tuition. And now she was lying there, helpless and hopeless. Aurora pressed her palm against the glass. “Mom…” Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know how to save you.” ⸻ Three hours later, Aurora sat alone in the hospital parking lot. Rain fell heavily around her. She had forgotten her umbrella. Her phone vibrated. UNKNOWN NUMBER. She almost ignored it. Then it rang again. Aurora answered. “Hello?” A woman’s calm voice came through. “Is this Aurora?” “Yes. Who is this?” “My name is Lucy.” Aurora frowned. “Lucy who?” “I believe we need to discuss your mother.” Aurora’s entire body stiffened. “How do you know my mother?” A pause. “Because Amanda and I have known each other for many years.” Aurora stood. “What does this have to do with my mother’s surgery?” “Everything.” ⸻ Twenty minutes later, a black luxury car stopped in front of the hospital. Aurora stared at it suspiciously. The back door opened. An elegant woman stepped out. She wore a cream-colored coat, carried a designer handbag, and looked completely out of place in the middle of the rainy hospital parking lot. “You’re Aurora?” Aurora nodded. “Where’s my mother?” “In the hospital.” “I know that.” Lucy studied her for a moment. Then she said something that made Aurora’s heart stop. “I can pay for her surgery.” Aurora’s eyes widened. “What?” “All of it.” Aurora stepped closer. “Why?” Lucy didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she opened the car door. “Come with me.” Aurora didn’t move. “I’m not getting into a stranger’s car.” A faint smile appeared on Lucy’s face. “You’re right to be careful.” She reached into her handbag and pulled out a photograph. Aurora took it. Her eyes widened. It was her mother. But Amanda wasn’t alone. Standing beside her was Lucy. And between them were two young boys. One looked about Aurora’s age. The other was younger. Aurora looked up. “Who are they?” “My sons.” Her stomach tightened. “What does my mother have to do with your sons?” Lucy looked directly into her eyes. “Everything.” ⸻ The next morning, Aurora sat across from Lucy inside a luxurious penthouse overlooking Manhattan. Everything felt unreal. The polished marble floors. The enormous windows. The city stretching beneath them. Even the silence seemed expensive. Then the elevator doors opened. A young man walked out. Black suit. Black watch. Expression colder than the rain outside. Aurora immediately recognized him from the photograph. Lucy stood. “Adrian.” He barely acknowledged his mother. Then his eyes landed on Aurora. For the first time, something flickered across his face. Confusion. Then irritation. “Who is she?” Lucy smiled. “This is Aurora.” Adrian looked at his mother. “And why is she here?” “Because you’re going to marry her.” Silence. Aurora nearly choked. Adrian stared at his mother. “Excuse me?” Lucy remained perfectly calm. “I said you’re going to marry Aurora.” Adrian gave a humorless laugh. “No.” Aurora stood immediately. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to marry you either.” Adrian looked at her. For some reason, that seemed to irritate him even more. “Good.” “Great.” “Then we’re done here.” He turned around. Lucy sighed. “You haven’t heard the condition.” Adrian stopped. Aurora’s heart began pounding. Lucy looked at Aurora. “Your mother’s surgery will cost approximately thirty-eight thousand dollars.” Aurora’s face fell. Lucy continued. “I will pay every cent.” Aurora stared at her. “And what do you want?” Lucy looked toward her son. “A marriage.” Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Mother.” “You will marry Aurora for one year.” “No.” “One year,” Lucy repeated. “And afterward?” “You both go your separate ways.” Aurora looked between them. “This is insane.” Lucy nodded. “It is.” “Then why would I agree?” “Because I can also pay your university tuition for the entire year.” Aurora froze. Her mother’s surgery. Her tuition. Everything she desperately needed. All sitting on the other side of one impossible decision. Adrian stepped closer. His voice was low. “Don’t do it.” Aurora looked at him. “Why?” “Because you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” She stared at him for several seconds. Then she looked down at the photograph in her hand. Her mother smiling beside Lucy. A friendship Aurora had never known existed. Something about the entire situation felt wrong. But her mother was lying in a hospital bed. And Aurora couldn’t afford to be proud. She slowly lifted her eyes. “If I agree…” Lucy waited. “You pay for my mother’s surgery immediately?” “Yes.” “And my tuition?” “Yes.” “And after one year, the marriage ends?” Lucy smiled. “Exactly.” Aurora looked at Adrian. He looked back at her with an unreadable expression. Then Aurora whispered the words that would change both their lives. “Fine.” Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “What?” Aurora’s voice shook. “I’ll marry you.” ⸻ Neither Aurora nor Adrian noticed the young man standing silently near the hallway. Alexis. Adrian’s younger brother. He had heard everything. And when Aurora turned toward the elevator, their eyes met. For a brief moment, Alexis couldn’t speak. Because unlike his brother… He already knew Aurora. And he had liked her long before she became his sister-in-law. What none of them knew was that Lucy and Amanda had planned this entire arrangement months ago. The hospital bill wasn’t the beginning. The marriage wasn’t the beginning. It was the final move in a secret plan two mothers had been building for years. And Aurora was about to walk straight into it