BOUGHT BY THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE

THE CONTRACT IS BROKEN

CHAPTER 11: The Contract Is Broken

I should have said no.

I should have pushed him away.

But when Ethan looked at me on that bed, with that hunger and anger and something that looked painfully like love, my body betrayed every logical thought I had.

"Last chance, Amara," he whispered, hovering over me, his shirt already open. "Tell me to stop and I will. I will walk out and sleep in the guest room. But if you stay silent... you are mine."

My heart was pounding so loud I thought he could hear it.

The contract said one year. It said heir. It said business.

It never said anything about feelings. It never said what to do when your fake husband looks at you like you are the only air he can breathe.

I didn't say stop.

I reached up and touched his face.

That was all he needed.

His mouth crashed onto mine. Not gentle like at the dinner. This was desperate. Hungry. Months of holding back exploding in one second.

His hands were everywhere. In my hair, on my waist, pulling my dress up.

"Amara..." he groaned against my neck. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"

"You... you never tried..."

"Because I knew once I had you, I would never let you go," he said, his eyes dark. "And I have to let you go in ten months. Remember? That's the contract."

The contract.

That one word brought me back to reality.

I froze under him.

Ten months. After ten months, he would divorce me. Take his heir and leave me with nothing. Just like Valentina said.

He felt me tense.

"What is it?"

"Ethan... after the baby... what happens to me?"

He went still. His face changed.

"What do you mean?"

"The contract says after I give you an heir, the marriage ends. So... you will take the baby and... and I have to leave?"

He didn't answer for a long second. That silence told me everything.

"Is that the plan?" My voice broke. "You buy me, I give you a son, and then you throw me away?"

"Amara, stop..."

"No! Tell me! Is that why you were so patient? So I would fall for you and just give you everything you want?"

He got off me, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

He looked at me, and for the first time, the ruthless billionaire looked vulnerable.

"If I tell you the truth, you will run."

"Try me."

He sat on the edge of the bed, his back to me.

"My grandfather's will... it doesn't just say I need a wife and an heir. It says if I don't have a son before I turn 32... I lose everything. The company, the houses, all of it goes to Valentina's father. My uncle. He has been waiting for me to fail."

"So?"

"So I have 3 months left. I turn 32 in 3 months."

My eyes widened. "3 months?"

He turned to me. "Yes. Valentina knows. That's why she came back. She knows I am desperate. She knows if you don't get pregnant now, I lose."

He grabbed my hands. "I didn't want to pressure you. But Amara... I need you. Not just for the company. For me. Please."

My world stopped.

He wasn't just using me for a baby.

He was begging me to save his entire empire.

And we had only 3 months to do it.