Married to the Billionaire Against My Will

Episode 2 : The Dinner Too Many

The timid crackling of the fireplace and the dim light of the crystal chandeliers vainly tried to mask the palpable tension that filled the grand dining room. Vanessa, elegant in her simple black dress, stood upright, her gaze fixed and distant, barely noticing what surrounded her. The muffled bursts of voices, the anxious whispers, the nervous clinking of glasses on fine porcelain—all reached her like a distant echo, a troubling fog that clouded her senses.

Her father, Jacques Fournier, once a titan of the textile industry, looked like a man teetering on the edge of a razor’s blade. His eyes were glassy, staring blankly at the polished surface of the long mahogany table, his face drawn tight with worry, jaw clenched as if to hold back an overwhelming flood of despair. Since Vanessa had arrived a few hours earlier, she had felt the crushing weight of his anxiety and guilt pressing down on the entire household. This dinner was not an ordinary one, she knew. It was a crossroads—a reckoning. And she had never imagined it would unfold this way.

Around the table sat several men in dark suits—closed, tired faces hardened by years of harsh decisions. Creditors, bankers, businessmen—silent judges who had gathered to seal a fate Vanessa already dreaded. Among them, the cold, merciless gaze of Mr. Laurent, their main creditor, bore into her like an accusing glare, leaving no room for hope or mercy.

Jacques suddenly rose, his voice hoarse and trembling, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen... thank you for coming tonight,” he began, his hands shaking slightly as they grasped the back of his chair for support. “I know this meeting is... difficult for all of us.”

A tense murmur rippled through the guests.

Vanessa felt her heart tighten painfully in her chest. She had always believed, naively, that her family could weather any storm. But tonight, the carefully maintained façades were crumbling. The foundation beneath her feet was cracking, and she could no longer ignore the depth of the crisis.

“The debts have piled up. Failed investments, bad deals...” Jacques continued, each word seeming to strip a piece of his soul away. “We have until the end of the month to find a viable solution, otherwise...” His voice faltered. He didn’t finish the sentence, but the suffocating silence that followed spoke louder than any words could.

Vanessa glanced toward her mother, Anne, who sat at the opposite end of the table. Her pale face, marked by illness and sleepless nights, looked more fragile than ever. She gripped an embroidered handkerchief tightly, her eyes swollen and red from unshed tears. The sight tore at Vanessa’s heart.

It was as if the world she had known—the house, the fortune, the plans for the future, the sense of security—was collapsing around her like a house of cards.

Suddenly, the sharp, cold voice of one of the creditors pierced the fragile atmosphere.

“Mr. Fournier, you understand that we can no longer wait. Deadlines have been postponed for too long. We must recover what is owed to us,” the man said flatly, his tone void of sympathy.

Jacques bowed his head in helplessness.

Vanessa felt a dull, burning anger rise within her. Why was no one speaking of solutions, of chances, of hope? Was this really the end?

Her father’s gaze found hers, pleading silently across the table.

“Vanessa... my daughter, I need to speak to you privately after this dinner,” he said quietly.

The weight of his words struck her like a hammer. She nodded silently, her mind already racing, aware that what she was about to hear would change everything.

The guests finished their drinks with strained politeness, exchanging looks heavy with unspoken reproach. The dinner, already thick with tension, had lost any trace of conviviality. The flickering light seemed to dim, swallowed by an overwhelming despair that hovered like a dark cloud.

When the last guest finally left, the front door slammed with an echo that reverberated like a death knell. Jacques led Vanessa down a dim corridor to his office—a room she knew well, but which suddenly felt alien, cold, and almost threatening.

He closed the door behind them, then took a few pacing steps before turning to face her.

“Vanessa, you need to understand... We are standing at the brink of the abyss. Bankruptcy is inevitable if we don’t find a way out—fast,” he said, his voice grave.

She nodded, swallowing her fear, clenching her fists to keep herself composed.

“But Dad, there has to be a way. We can’t just give up like this.”

Jacques lowered his gaze, avoiding her eyes. When he finally spoke, it was with the weight of a man crushed by secrets kept too long.

“It’s not that simple. Twenty years ago, your grandfather made a pact with a business partner... a pact I only discovered recently. That pact binds our family to a marriage—an arranged marriage.”

Vanessa stared at him in disbelief.

“What? An arranged marriage? But Dad, that’s... that doesn’t exist anymore. Not in this day and age. And I am not a piece of merchandise to be traded!” Her voice trembled with shock and rising indignation.

Jacques sighed deeply, as if the confession was an unbearable burden.

“I know it’s hard to hear, but this man—Alexandre—is an influential billionaire. His father and your grandfather sealed this agreement to protect their businesses and reputations. In case of financial ruin, the marriage of their children was supposed to guarantee a strong alliance... a lifeline.”

Vanessa felt a lump rise in her throat. She struggled to hold back the sudden tears threatening to spill.

“You mean I should... marry a stranger? To save our family?” she whispered, the words tasting bitter on her tongue.

“I have no choice, Vanessa. It’s the only chance we have left. Otherwise, everything we’ve built—the legacy of generations—will collapse.”

A heavy silence fell between them. Vanessa wanted to scream, to protest, to refuse outright. But when she looked into her father’s eyes, she saw a man broken by the weight of his decisions and the desperation of his situation.

She was no longer the carefree young woman who had entered the house hours ago, laughing and hopeful. She was now trapped by an ancient pact and a family duty that stretched beyond her control, beyond her dreams.

As she left the office to return to her room, a swirl of conflicting thoughts engulfed her. Was she ready to sacrifice her freedom, her happiness, her future... to save the honor of a family teetering on the edge of ruin?

That night, sleep eluded her. Her mind was a tempest of anger, fear, and sorrow. The dinner too many had marked the beginning of a nightmare whose full extent she could not yet fathom.

The next morning dawned cold and gray, as if the sky itself mourned the night’s revelations. Vanessa lay awake long after the house had fallen silent, replaying every moment, every word. Her father’s haunted expression, the cold judgment in the eyes of the creditors, the helplessness of her mother.

She thought of the promise she had made to herself—to be independent, to choose her own path, to live free of obligation and expectation. And now, all that seemed like a distant dream.

Her phone buzzed softly on the bedside table. A message from an unknown number: “Alexandre requests your presence. Tomorrow evening. It’s time.”

Vanessa’s breath caught. The name was unfamiliar, but the urgency was clear. The pact was not just words on paper—it was real. And she was about to meet the stranger who might decide her fate.

Her heart pounded with a mixture of dread and defiance. Could she face this future without losing herself completely?

Across town, in a sleek glass tower that gleamed coldly under the morning sun, Alexandre prepared for the meeting. A man as enigmatic as he was powerful, his mind already weaving strategies, calculating risks and rewards. He too was bound by the pact sealed decades ago by men long gone, and now the weight of their legacy rested on his shoulders.

Neither Vanessa nor Alexandre knew then how this meeting would set in motion events far beyond a simple arranged marriage. What began as a desperate attempt to salvage business fortunes would evolve into a complex web of secrets, power struggles, and f*******n emotions.

But for now, the dinner too many had drawn the first lines of an irreversible story, one where love, duty, and freedom would clash with devastating consequences.

The grand dining room was silent once more, but the echoes of that night lingered in every corner—whispering of sacrifices made, lives changed, and the heavy price of family honor.

Vanessa closed her eyes and whispered to herself, “I will not be a prisoner of this pact. Somehow, I will find my way.”

And with that fragile hope, she steeled herself for the uncertain path ahead.