THE BILLIONAIRE BOUGHT WIFE

MARA POV "Seven days, Mr. Rush. After that, we start seizing assets." I stopped in the doorway of my father's office, my hand still on the frame. Two men in dark suits stood in front of his desk. "Mara," my father said when he finally saw me. His voice cracked on my name. "You didn't have to come." The shorter man turned around and smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Ms. Rush. We were just telling your father that his time is almost up." I stepped inside and tried to sound calm. "How much time are we talking about? We asked for an extension. Our logistics contract pays out next month. If you give us a few more weeks, we can cover…" "The extension expired yesterday, Ms. Rush," the taller man interrupted, and this time he was the one who slid the folder toward my father. "We represent the party that now holds the majority of your debt. One hundred and eighty million dollars. Your creditors have been very patient with you. Seven days is all that's left. After that, we begin seizing assets." Seven days. My stomach dropped. I had grown up in this building. Losing a building is one thing. Losing Rush Holdings means losing everything my parents spent twenty-five years building from nothing. "We will find it," I said. My voice cracked and I hated that it did. "We will find the money." The men didn't argue. They just nodded and left, leaving the papers on the desk. They already knew we didn't have it. When the door closed, my father finally sat down. He put his head in his hands. He is fifty-eight years old, but I had never seen him look old until today. "I ruined us," he whispered. His voice broke. "Your mother told me not to expand that fast. I didn't listen. I wanted to prove I could still grow it." "Dad, don't." I went around the desk and knelt beside him so I could look up at him. "We are not done. Okay? Look at me. We are not done." I said it for him. I was also saying it for myself. In my head I was already calculating. I had money hidden away in accounts my family knew nothing about. It wasn't nearly enough to save Rush Holdings, but it was enough to buy me time. My father wiped his face with his palms and looked at me like he was ashamed to be seen this way. "The debt," he said slowly. "A large portion of it... it was bought. Two weeks ago. By Von Enterprises." My blood went cold. Adrian Von. Everyone in business circles knew that name. A ruthless thirty-year-old billionaire who had taken over his father's company at twenty-six and doubled its value in four years by destroying his competitors. "Why would Von suddenly buy our debt?" My father shook his head, exhausted. "I don't know. I asked for a meeting for days. They finally answered today. He said he'll only meet with you." "What? Why?" "I don't know, Mara. I really don't." So the men who had just left were not strangers sent by some bank. They were his. The thought sat in my chest like a stone. That afternoon, I made up my mind to meet Adrian Von myself. Von Tower was glass and black steel, one of the tallest buildings in the city, the kind that makes you feel small on purpose. His assistant took me up to the 42nd floor and left me outside the doors without even knocking. I stood there a moment, smoothing my jacket, reminding myself that fear was something I could hide. Adrian Von was standing by the window when I walked in. He was taller than I expected. "Mara Rush." He knew it was me without turning around. "You look like your mother." The words made my skin prickle. I stayed near the door. I didn't want him to think I was desperate, even though I was. "I came to talk about my father's debt." He finally turned. His eyes were grey and completely unreadable, studying my face like he was searching for something he'd lost. "You want an extension?" "Or a restructuring plan," I said quickly. "We have incoming payments, we can…" "No." He cut me off before I could finish. I clenched my fists at my sides so he wouldn't see my hands shaking. "Mr. Von, Rush Holdings has been around for twenty-five years. We've never defaulted before this year. If you give us…" "I didn't buy your debt to get my money back with interest, Mara." He walked to his desk and sat down. "I bought it to get something else." He said it with a smirk, then opened a folder and slid a single paper across the desk toward me. It was a marriage contract. I stared at it. "What is this?" "Marry me for twelve months," he said, calm like he was offering me a job. "Live in my house. Follow the terms in that contract. After twelve months, we divorce, and I erase the entire hundred-and-eighty-million-dollar debt. Your father keeps his company. Your mother keeps her house." For a second I thought I had misheard him. Then I thought it was a sick joke. "Are you serious?" My voice rose before I could stop it. "You want me to marry you? You don't even know me." "I know enough." His jaw tightened. "I know your family needs me. And I know you have no other option." The arrogance in his voice snapped something in me. All the fear I'd been holding since morning turned to anger. "No." I pushed the paper back so hard it nearly slid off the desk. "I don't know what kind of game you play with women, but I'm not for sale." He had reduced my entire life to a number on a contract. I would rather watch Rush Holdings burn than let him believe he could buy me. I turned and walked out, my hands shaking so hard I could barely open the heavy door. My hand was on the handle when I heard him speak to someone else in the room. I hadn't even noticed a man standing quietly in the corner. "She'll come back," Adrian said. Then his voice turned cold, so cold that the hair on my neck stood up. "And when she does, I'll make the Rush family pay for Victoria."