BOUGHT BY THE BILLIONAIRE

THE RULES BREAK

*Chapter 2: THE RULES BREAK*

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8:00pm. On the dot.

Chioma stood at the top of the stairs in borrowed clothes. One of the house staff had left a dress on her bed. Black. Simple. Expensive. It fit like it was made for her. It probably was.

She hated that it fit.

The dining room was too big for two people. Crystal chandelier. Table long enough to run a race on. And at the head of it sat Daniel Okoye, cutting steak like he was cutting deals.

He didn’t look up when she entered.

“You’re on time,” he said. “Wives should be.”

“I’m not your wife,” Chioma said, pulling out the chair farthest from him. “I’m your contract.”

Now he looked up. Eyes sharp.

“Sit closer. Clause 1. Public wife. That starts at home.”

She didn’t move. “This isn’t public. There’s no one here but us and your secrets.”

Daniel set his knife down. Slow. Deliberate.

“Wrong. The staff are watching. The cameras are watching. In my house, it’s always public, Mrs. Okoye.”

Chioma’s jaw tightened. She moved one chair closer. Not beside him. Just... closer.

Silence stretched. Just the sound of cutlery. He ate like a man used to people fearing him. She ate like a woman used to going hungry.

Finally, she broke. “Why me?”

Daniel didn’t answer. Just poured wine into her glass. Red. Expensive.

“Why me?” she repeated, louder. “There are a thousand women you could’ve bought for ₦50 million. Why a broke nurse with nothing to lose?”

“Because you have everything to lose,” he said. “That makes you predictable. Controllable.”

Chioma slammed her glass down. Wine sloshed. “I’m not a dog on a leash, Mr. Okoye.”

“No,” he agreed. He stood, walked around the table. Stopped behind her chair. She could feel his presence, his cologne, his heat. “Dogs beg. You don’t.”

He leaned down. Voice low by her ear.

“That’s why I chose you. Because when I tell you to jump, I want to see if you’ll ask ‘how high’... or if you’ll push me off the building.”

Chills ran down her spine. She hated how her body reacted.

She turned her head. Their faces were inches apart. His eyes were not cold now. They were fire. Possession.

“Clause 2,” she whispered. “No touching unless you initiate.”

“Did I touch you?” he asked, not moving back.

“No. But you will.”

Daniel smiled. First real smile. Dangerous.

“Rule #1, Chioma: I bought your time. Not your surrender. Yet.”

He straightened, went back to his seat. Like nothing happened.

Chioma’s hands shook under the table. ₦50 million paid for her body. But no one told her the price of her pulse.

Before she could speak, a servant entered. Whispered something to Daniel. His whole body went still.

He looked at Chioma. And for the first time, the cold was back.

“Dinner’s over. Go to your room. West wing is off limits, Mrs. Okoye. That means you too.”

“What happened?”

“Clause 2,” he said, voice like steel. “No questions.”

But Chioma saw it in his eyes: fear. And billionaires like Daniel Okoye don’t fear anything.

Unless the contract was already cracking.

*End of Chapter 2*

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