chapter 2
1067 Words
CHAPTER 2
VALENTINE ROSE HARPER
“You.”
Valentine looked at her father.
Then at her mother.
Then back at him.
“No.”
Her father didn't even blink.
“I haven't heard the offer yet.”
“You don't need to.”
“That's usually how offers work, Dad.”
“Valentine.”
“Fine. Tell me.”
Her father picked up the document again, but this time his voice was quieter.
“Lorenzo Romano will settle the outstanding debt against Harper Group.”
Valentine waited.
“That’s it?”
“He wants something in return.”
“Obviously.”
Her father hesitated.
Valentine's stomach sank.
“What?”
“He wants to marry you.”
For three full seconds, nobody moved.
Then Valentine laughed.
It wasn't because anything was funny.
It was the kind of laugh that escaped when reality became too ridiculous to process.
“Sorry. I think I heard you incorrectly.”
Her mother reached for her hand.
Valentine pulled it back, not because she didn't want the comfort, but because she needed both hands to understand what was happening.
“Lorenzo Romano wants to marry me?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know me?”
“No.”
“Has he ever spoken to me?”
“No.”
“Has he even seen me?”
Her father paused.
“I believe so.”
Valentine stared.
“That's comforting.”
She stood and began pacing.
A stranger wanted to marry her in exchange for clearing thirty million dollars of her father's debt.
This wasn't a marriage proposal.
It was a business acquisition with a wedding attached.
“What kind of person does this?”
Her father didn't answer.
“Actually, don't tell me. I know. A billionaire with too much money and absolutely no hobbies.”
“Valentine.”
She stopped.
Her father looked exhausted.
The anger in her chest softened for half a second.
Then she remembered the number.
Thirty million.
“Why me?”
“He specifically requested you.”
“Requested?”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Am I a particular model of car?”
Her mother sighed.
“Your father means Lorenzo has already made his decision.”
“That's worse.”
Valentine returned to the desk and grabbed the document.
She scanned it again.
There was no romantic language. No flowery nonsense.
Everything was precise.
The debt would be settled.
Harper Group would remain intact.
Her family would keep their home.
In exchange, Valentine would marry Lorenzo Romano under agreed conditions.
One year.
One year of marriage.
Then the agreement could be terminated.
She read that section twice.
Her heart beat a little faster.
One year.
It was absurd.
It was insulting.
It was also the first thing she'd seen tonight that looked remotely like a way out.
She hated that.
“What happens if I refuse?”
Her father went very still.
Valentine already knew she wouldn't like the answer.
“Tell me.”
“The creditors proceed with legal action.”
“And Harper Group?”
“Gone.”
Her gaze dropped.
“And everything else?”
Her father didn't respond.
That was enough.
Valentine closed the folder.
She suddenly wished she could go back ten minutes.
Back before the lawyers.
Before the number.
Before Lorenzo Romano's name entered her life.
She looked at her father.
“Have you agreed to this?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you're my daughter.”
That answer hit somewhere she wasn't prepared for.
Valentine swallowed and looked away.
Her mother quietly wiped beneath one eye.
For once, Valentine had nothing sarcastic to say.
She picked up her handbag.
“I'm not marrying a stranger because he decided my family needs rescuing.”
Her father nodded.
“I know.”
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“What's he like?”
Her father frowned.
“Who?”
Valentine slowly turned around.
“Lorenzo Romano.”
Nobody answered immediately.
That was not encouraging.
Her father finally said, “He's dangerous.”
Valentine gave him a flat look.
“That's not a personality.”
“He's controlled. Intelligent. Extremely private.”
“Still not a personality.”
“And he doesn't make offers he doesn't intend to collect on.”
That erased her smile.
Valentine looked at the contract again.
Then at the amount owed.
Thirty million dollars.
Her family's home.
Her father's company.
Everything they'd spent years building.
Her fingers tightened around the folder.
“Fine.”
Her father sat straighter.
“Fine what?”
“I'll meet him.”
“Valentine—”
“I said meet him. Not marry him.”
She opened the door.
“And if Lorenzo Romano thinks he can buy a wife because my family is in trouble…”
She glanced over her shoulder.
“He's about to discover he picked the wrong woman.”
The moment she stepped into the hallway, her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Valentine stared at the screen.
She almost ignored it.
Almost.
Then she answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice came through.
Low. Calm. Unhurried.
“Miss Harper.”
Valentine stopped walking.
She didn't know how she knew.
She simply did.
“Who is this?”
A brief pause.
“Lorenzo Romano.”
Her grip tightened around the phone.
Of course.
Because apparently tonight wasn't terrible enough.
“Were you listening outside the door?”
“No.”
“Then how did you get my number?”
“I have my ways.”
Valentine closed her eyes.
She already disliked him.
“That's not creepy at all.”
A beat of silence.
Then, unexpectedly, she heard something close to amusement in his voice.
“Tomorrow. Ten o'clock.”
“Excuse me?”
“My office.”
“I don't take appointments from strangers.”
“You just agreed to meet me.”
Valentine frowned.
“I agreed to meet you. I didn't agree to obey you.”
Another pause.
“Ten o'clock, Valentine.”
The call ended.
She stared at the phone.
Then slowly lowered it.
“Oh, I absolutely hate him.”
From inside the study, her father called, “What did he say?”
Valentine looked toward the closed door.
She had no idea what she'd just agreed to.
But tomorrow, she was going to find out exactly what kind of man thought thirty million dollars entitled him to a wife.
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