He Married Me To Destroy Me.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes that morning was the headline. My face stared back at me from the cracked screen of my phone, frozen beneath bold black letters that made my stomach twist violently. DISGRACED VALE DAUGHTER CAUGHT SNEAKING INTO BLACKWOOD HOLDINGS AT MIDNIGHT. For a moment, I thought I was still dreaming. My heart thudded slowly against my ribs as I stared at the photo, trying to understand what I was looking at. The woman in the picture stood near a private entrance of the tallest glass building in the city. Her head was slightly turned toward the camera, just enough for the world to recognize her face. It was my face. My throat tightened. “I didn’t go there,” I whispered to the empty apartment, but the internet didn’t care about the truth. My phone buzzed again, then another notification, then another article, then another version of the same story. VALE FAMILY SHAME RETURNS: DAUGHTER TARGETS BLACKWOOD EMPIRE. My fingers began to shake as I scrolled. Hundreds of comments flooded beneath the article like; “Like father, like daughter.” “Of course she’s a thief.” “The Vale family should have disappeared years ago.” “Blackwood should destroy her.” I dropped the phone onto the bed like it had burned me. The small apartment felt suddenly too quiet, and too exposed. For three years, I had done everything possible to stay invisible. I kept my head down. I worked two different jobs. I avoided cameras, reporters, even conversations that lasted too long. All I wanted was to survive, but my last name never allowed that. Vale! Three years ago, that name had destroyed everything. My parents, our home, our reputation, our future., and now somehow… it was dragging me into another disaster. A sudden knock shattered the silence. I froze. Another knock followed, louder this time, then a man’s voice echoed through the thin door. “Miss Elara Vale?” My chest tightened instantly. No one ever used my full name unless they wanted something. I slowly slid off the bed, my bare feet cold against the floor. The apartment was small enough that it took only a few steps to reach the door. The knocking came again. “Miss Vale, we know you’re inside.” Something about the calm authority in the man’s voice made unease crawl through my stomach. I leaned forward carefully and looked through the peephole. Two men in dark suits stood in the hallway. Not reporters, not debt collectors. These men looked… official, expensive, and dangerous. One of them looked directly at the door as if he knew I was watching. “Miss Vale,” he said again calmly, “Mr. Xavier Blackwood would like to speak with you.” For a second, I thought I had misheard him. My heart skipped violently. Xavier Blackwood? Even saying that name in my head felt dangerous. Everyone knew who he was. The billionaire heir. The man whose company controlled half the city’s corporate world. The son of the very family my parents had supposedly destroyed. “What?” I murmured under my breath. My mind raced. Why would someone like him want to see me? Another knock came, firmer this time. “Miss Vale,” the man continued patiently, “we’re not leaving without you.” A strange chill crept down my spine. I opened the door just enough to look at them properly. “Yes?” I said cautiously. The taller man stepped forward slightly. “Mr. Blackwood has requested your presence.” My throat felt dry. “Requested?” I repeated. The man held out a sleek black envelope. “Requested,” he confirmed. My fingers hesitated before taking it, even touching the thick paper felt strange, like I had just accepted something far more dangerous than a letter. The moment I opened it, a single photograph slipped out. My breath caught instantly. It was the same image from the news article. It was me, standing outside Blackwood Holdings late at night, but this version wasn’t cropped. In the corner of the frame was a timestamp. 11:43 PM, last night. My stomach twisted violently. “I didn’t go there,” I said again, more firmly this time. Neither man reacted. Instead, the taller one calmly slid another item out of his briefcase. He brought out a tablet. He turned the screen toward me, and a paused video appeared. My entire body went rigid. The footage showed an office. Two men arguing loudly, and one of them was my father. The air seemed to leave my lungs all at once. The other man was older, sharp-faced, furious. I recognized him immediately. It was Richard Blackwood, Xavier Blackwood’s father. The video ended abruptly before either man finished speaking. I stared at the screen, my mind spinning wildly. That scandal had destroyed my family three years ago. If this video surfaced now… My chest tightened painfully. “What do you want from me?” I asked quietly. The two men exchanged a brief look. Then the taller one said something that made my blood run cold. “Mr. Blackwood would like to offer you a contract.” “A contract?” I repeated weakly. “Yes.” “For what?” The man’s expression didn’t change. “Marriage.” For a moment, I was certain I had heard him wrong. “Marriage?” I whispered. “Yes, Miss Vale.” My pulse pounded violently in my ears. This had to be some kind of cruel joke. “Why would Xavier Blackwood want to marry me?” The man’s answer came without hesitation. “Because,” he said calmly, “you don’t have a choice.” My stomach dropped, and he tapped the tablet screen once. The video of my father reappeared. “This footage will reach every major news network in the country within the hour.” My hands went cold. “You wouldn’t!” “We would,” he interrupted gently. My heart began racing. “What exactly does this contract say?” I asked slowly. The man handed me another document. The words blurred slightly as I scanned the page. Contract Marriage Agreement Duration: One year. Public role: Wife of Xavier Blackwood. Confidentiality: Absolute. Penalty for refusal? My eyes stopped there, and a number sat beneath it. A number so large my breath caught. “That’s impossible,” I whispered. The man finally smiled slightly. “Yes,” he agreed. “It would be impossible for you to pay.” Silence filled the hallway, and my chest rose and fell unevenly as I stared at the contract. This was insane. Why would the most powerful man in the city want to marry the daughter of the family that supposedly ruined his? Nothing about this made sense, but deep down, something inside me already knew the answer. This wasn’t kindness, this wasn’t opportunity, this was revenge! I slowly looked up. “What happens if I refuse?” The man met my eyes calmly. “Then your father’s past becomes tomorrow’s biggest headline.” My stomach twisted, and suddenly I understood. Xavier Blackwood didn’t want a wife. He wanted a victim, and I swallowed hard. “Where is he?” I asked quietly. The man stepped aside and gestured toward the elevator. “Waiting for you.” My heart pounded violently as I stepped into the hallway. Every instinct inside me screamed that this was a mistake. That walking toward Xavier Blackwood meant walking straight into danger, but I already knew the truth. I had no choice, and somewhere across the city… The man who hated my family more than anyone else in the world was waiting for me. As the elevator doors began to close, my phone buzzed suddenly in my hand. A new notification flashed across the screen. Breaking News Update: My breath stopped as I read the headline. XAVIER BLACKWOOD ANNOUNCES UPCOMING MARRIAGE. Below the article was a single line. Bride: Elara Vale. My name announced to the entire world, and I hadn’t even met the man yet.