The Billionaire's Secret Wife

By six o'clock on Friday evening, Zara Adebayo had lost her job, her savings plan, and the little sense of security she had been holding onto for the past two years. Earlier that afternoon, Zara had been reviewing the figures for one of Adeyemi Holdings' subsidiaries when she noticed something that didn't add up. Several payments had been made to the same private company over a period of three months. The amounts were different, but the descriptions were almost identical. She checked the records twice. The company existed. The payments were legitimate on paper. But there was one problem. The services they were supposedly paying for didn't appear anywhere in the company's records. Zara had flagged it in her report. Two hours later, she was called into her manager's office. And now she was unemployed. She sat in her car outside the office building, staring at the termination letter on the passenger seat. "Employment terminated with immediate effect." She read the sentence again. Then again. It still didn't make sense. “I didn't even do anything wrong,” she whispered. Her phone rang. Halimah. Zara let it ring twice before answering. “Hello.” “Zara, where are you? I've called you five times.” “Outside the office.” There was a pause. “Did they sack you?” Zara closed her eyes. “Yeah.” “Oh, Zara…” “Don't.” “But...” “I said don't.” Halimah sighed. “Okay. I'm not going to say anything. Just come home.” Zara looked through the windshield at the Lagos traffic slowly building along the road. “I can't.” “Why?” “I have to sort something out first.” “What?” Zara glanced at the termination letter. Her rent was due in three weeks. Her younger brother's school fees were already overdue. Her mother's medication. And the money she'd been saving for months was barely enough to cover one of them. She had planned everything around her salary. Now the plan she'd built her life around was gone. “I'll explain when I get home,” she said. “Zara...” “I'll call you.” She ended the call before Halimah could ask another question. For a few seconds, she just sat there. Then someone knocked on her window. Zara jumped. A man in a black suit stood beside her car. “Ms. Adebayo?” She lowered the window slightly. “Yes?” “Mr. Adeyemi would like to speak with you.” Her stomach dropped. “Which Mr. Adeyemi?” The man didn't answer. He didn't have to. Zara looked toward the entrance of the building. A black Mercedes was parked across the road. Damian Adeyemi stood beside it. Even from a distance, she recognized him. She hadn't spoken to him directly in months. But she remembered him. Everyone in Lagos' corporate world knew Damian Adeyemi. At twenty-nine, he was the CEO of Adeyemi Holdings and one of the youngest billionaires in the country. He was also the man whose company had been at the centre of the financial report that had cost Zara her job. She rolled the window back up. “No.” The man remained where he was. “Mr. Adeyemi said you'd probably refuse.” “Then he knows me better than I thought.” “He asked me to give you this.” The man slipped an envelope through the small opening in the window. Zara stared at it. She didn't want it. But curiosity won. She took it. The man walked away. Zara opened the envelope. There was one sheet of paper inside. An address. And beneath it: 7:00 p.m. Tonight. No explanation. No signature. She looked across the road. Damian was already gone. At 7:12 p.m., Zara stood outside a quiet restaurant in Victoria Island, wondering why she had come. She should have gone home. She knew that. But she also knew she couldn't afford to ignore anything that might help her situation. A waiter led her upstairs to a private room. Damian was sitting alone. He looked up when she entered. “You're late.” Zara pulled out the chair opposite him. “I almost didn't come.” “I expected that.” “Then why invite me?” Damian closed the folder in front of him. “Because I have a proposal.” Zara almost laughed. “If this is about the report, I've already explained everything.” “I'm not here to discuss the report.” “Then what?” He studied her for a moment. “You're unemployed.” Zara's expression hardened. “I'm aware.” “You have rent due.” She stared at him. “And?” “Your brother's school fees are also overdue.” Her entire body went still. “How do you know that?” Damian didn't answer immediately. That silence irritated her more than anything else. “You investigated me?” “I needed to know who I was dealing with.” “I don't know what you think you know about me, but..." “I want you to marry me.” Zara stopped. The room suddenly felt very quiet. She stared at him. Then she laughed. Not because it was funny. Because there was no other possible reaction. “You're serious?” “Yes.” “You brought me here to ask me to marry you?” “Yes.” “Why me?” “I'll explain.” “No. You don't get to say something that ridiculous and then tell me you'll explain later.” Damian leaned back. “I need a wife.” “Then find one.” “I don't want the women my family has chosen for me.” “That sounds like a personal problem.” “It is.” Zara stood. “I think we're done.” “Sit down.” She glared at him. “Don't tell me what to do.” For the first time, something almost like amusement appeared in his eyes. “Then sit because you want to know what I'm offering.” She hesitated. Then slowly sat. Damian pushed a document across the table. Zara looked down. Marriage Agreement. Her mouth fell open. “You actually prepared a contract?” “Yes.” She looked at him. “How long have you been planning this?” “Long enough.” That answer made her uncomfortable. She opened the document. There were conditions. A private marriage. A fixed period. Separate finances. No public announcement without mutual agreement. No interference in each other's personal affairs. And one final condition. The marriage would end when the contract expired. Zara slowly lowered the pages. “You've lost your mind.” “Possibly.” “And you expect me to sign this?” “No.” Damian's answer surprised her. “I expect you to think about it.” She stared at him. “What do I get?” “Enough money to solve your immediate problems.” “How much?” He named the amount. Zara's breath caught. It was more money than she had ever had in her account at one time. She hated that her mind immediately began calculating. Rent. Her brother's fees. Her mother's medication. Food. Bills. A few months without panicking every time her phone rang. She looked back at Damian. “You really expect me to believe this is just because you need a wife?” “No.” Her eyes narrowed. “What aren't you telling me?” Damian was silent. And somehow, that silence was more frightening than any answer. Zara closed the contract. “I need time.” “You have until tomorrow evening.” She stood. “I'll think about it.” As she reached the door, Damian spoke again. “Zara.” She turned. His expression had changed. There was no arrogance in it now. Only something she couldn't understand. “Whatever you think you found in those company accounts,” he said quietly, “stop looking.” Her heart began pounding. “What does that mean?” Damian said nothing. Zara walked out of the room. She made it halfway down the stairs before her phone vibrated. Unknown number. She opened the message. You should have listened to Damian. Her steps stopped. Another message arrived. Some things about the Adeyemi family are better left buried. Zara stared at the screen. Then she looked back toward the private room upstairs. For the first time, she wondered if Damian hadn't chosen her because she needed money. Maybe he had chosen her because of something she didn't even know about herself. And that frightened her more than the marriage ever could.