The CEO's Accidental Bride

The Marriage Agreement

Lila stood outside Ethan’s bedroom door for nine minutes.

Her heart was hammering so loud she was sure he could hear it from the other side.

"Don’t make me come get you, Lila."

His words from earlier echoed in her head.

She raised her hand and knocked. Softly.

“Come on,” his voice came. Low. Tired.

She pushed the door open.

His room was even bigger than the guest room. Black sheets. Floor-to-ceiling windows. And in the middle of the massive bed, two small lumps were already asleep.

David was curled against Ethan’s left side. Daniel was on his right, her little hand gripping his T-shirt.

And Ethan... Ethan was awake. Staring at the ceiling.

He looked over when she entered. His eyes were cold again. The soft look from earlier was gone.

“You took a long time,” he said.

“I’m sorry. I was—”

“Close the door.”

Lila did. The click sounded like a gunshot in the silent room.

Ethan sat up slowly, careful not to wake the twins. He swung his legs off the bed and walked to a desk by the window. He pulled out a thick folder and dropped it on the bed beside her.

“Sit,” he ordered.

Lila sat on the edge of the bed, as far from him as possible. The mattress dipped when he sat down next to her. Not touching. But close enough that she could smell his cologne.

“Open it,” he said.

Inside the folder was a contract. 12 pages. Legal words she didn’t understand. But at the top, in bold letters:

MARRIAGE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ETHAN CARTER AND LILA ADEYEMI

Her hands started shaking. “I don’t understand. We’re already married. Why do we need this?”

“Because that certificate was to make it legal fast,” Ethan said. He rubbed his temples like he had a headache. “This... this tells us the rules.”

Lila flipped a page. Her eyes caught on one line and her stomach dropped.

Clause 3: The marriage will last for 1 year. After 1 year, both parties may file for divorce with no contest.

One year.

She was selling one year of her life.

“Why?” Lila whispered. “Why me? You’re Ethan Carter. You could have any woman.”

Ethan was quiet for a long time. He looked at the twins sleeping between them.

“My ex-fiancée tried to take custody of the twins 3 months ago,” he said finally. His voice had no emotion. “She said I was an ‘unfit single father.’ That the kids needed a ‘mother figure.’ The court date is in 30 days.”

Lila’s breath caught.

“If I show up to court married, with a wife and a stable home, she has no case,” Ethan continued. “You get paid 5 million naira at the end of the year. The twins get to stay with me. Everyone wins.”

5 million.

That was enough to move out of her old neighborhood. Enough for Emma’s hospital bills. Enough for Noah’s school.

“Five million,” Lila repeated. It didn’t sound real.

“And you will act like my wife,” Ethan added. “In public. At events. To the nannies. To the court.”

Lila looked down at the twins. Emma had kicked the blanket off in her sleep. Without thinking, Lila reached over and tucked her in.

Ethan watched her do it. His jaw clenched.

“What if I say no?” Lila asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“Then you leave tonight,” Ethan said. “And I found another nanny. And you go back to being broke.”

It wasn’t a threat. It was just fact.

Lila picked up the pen he offered her. Her hand hovered over the signature line.

This was crazy. This was wrong.

But her babies were asleep next to a billionaire, in a safe bed, for the first time in their lives.

She signed. Lila Adeyemi.

The sound of the pen scratching paper was the loudest thing in the room.

Ethan took the contract, signed his own name, and closed the folder.

“It’s done,” he said.

Lila nodded, tears burning her eyes. She didn’t know if they were from relief or fear.

“One more rule,” Ethan said as he stood up. “We sleep in separate beds.”

Lila looked up, confused. “But you said—”

He pointed to a door on the other side of the room. “That’s a dressing room. There’s a single bed in there. You’ll sleep there. The twins sleep here. With me.”

Lila blinked. “You... you want me to sleep in there?”

“Yes. You’re my wife on paper. Not in my bed.” He walked to his side of the bed and lay down, one arm immediately going around Noah protectively.

Lila stared at the door to the dressing room. A single bed. Alone.

She had thought the hardest part was signing the contract.

She was wrong.

The hardest part was sleeping 10 feet away from the man she was married to... while pretending she didn’t have his children.

Lila picked up her pillow and walked to the small room.

As she closed the door, she heard Ethan’s voice, barely a whisper:

“Goodnight... wife.”

Lila froze.

Did he mean it? Or was he just practicing for court?