The Tycoon Reluctant Bride

You are mine

*Chapter 12

The car ride was silent.

Too silent.

The only sound was the soft hum of the engine and my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Outside the window, Lagos traffic blurred past in streaks of yellow and red.

Damian drove with one hand on the wheel. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might c***k. His white shirt sleeves were rolled up, and I could see his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel.

He was furious.

And I had no idea if he was furious at Mr. Okoye... or at himself.

"Why did you do that?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. My voice sounded small in the big car.

Damian didn’t look at me. "Do what?"

"Back there. In the boardroom." I twisted my hands in my lap. The silk of my dress felt suddenly too tight. "With my uncle. With the board."

I took a shaky breath. "Rule #1 says keep it professional. You didn’t have to embarrass them. You didn’t have to... defend me."

For a second, nothing.

Then he slammed the brakes harder than necessary at a red light. The car jerked.

He turned to me. Finally.

His dark eyes were burning. Angry. But not at me. At the world.

"They don’t get to talk to you like that," he said. His voice was low. Dangerous. Final.

"Contract or not, you’re Mrs. Adeleke. You carry my name. And I protect what’s mine."

My breath caught in my throat.

_What’s mine._

The words hit me like a slap. And like a promise.

Rule #4: No personal attachment.

Rule #7: No falling in love.

I was supposed to laugh it off. Remind him it was just business. Just 6 months.

But my mouth wouldn’t move.

Because no one had ever stood up for me like that. Not when my father’s company went bankrupt. Not when my aunties called me a burden. Not ever.

"Don’t," I whispered.

"Don’t what?" His eyes searched mine.

"Don’t make me think this is real."

Damian looked away first. He hit the gas when the light turned green.

"You think I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t, Amara?"

The way he said my name... not "wife", not "Mrs. Adeleke"... just _Amara_. It did something to my chest.

We pulled into the driveway 10 minutes later. The mansion was quiet. Too big. Too empty.

Before I could get out, his phone rang.

_Unknown Number._

He glanced at it. Declined.

It rang again.

This time the name flashed: _Zara._

His ex.

My stomach twisted. Rule #2: Do not get jealous.

Damian saw it too. He picked up on the third ring, but put it on speaker by accident.

"Damian baby, where are you? The board said you brought some girl—"

He hung up. Immediately.

Then he looked at me. And for the first time since I met him, he looked... guilty.

"I’m not going back to her," he said quietly.

I nodded. Couldn’t speak.

We walked inside in silence. Up the stairs. To our separate rooms.

Rule #5: No sharing a bedroom.

But at my door, he stopped.

"Amara."

I turned.

"Thank you... for not running in there."

And then he walked away.

I closed the door and slid down to the floor.

My heart was racing.

Because the most dangerous part of this contract...

Wasn’t the 7 rules.

It was the man who was starting to break all of them for me.