Married to the cold billionaire

The First Goodbye

Eliana barely heard the click of the heavy door as she stepped out of Damon’s study, the contract still clutched in her hand like a death sentence. Her heels echoed sharply on the marble floors as she hurried toward the entrance, each step pulling her further away from the life she once knew.

Outside, the storm had softened into a gentle drizzle, but inside her chest, the tempest raged on.

She slid into the backseat of the waiting car, the familiar face of their longtime chauffeur, Robert, offering her a kind smile.

“Home, Miss Carter?” he asked gently.

She hesitated for a second before nodding. “Yes… home.”

As the city blurred past the rain-speckled window, Eliana fought to keep her breathing steady. She should have felt relieved — her family’s debt would be cleared, their dignity restored.

But instead, she felt like a prisoner, trapped in a golden cage she willingly locked herself inside.

By the time they reached the modest Carter home, the gray clouds overhead mirrored the heaviness in her heart. She stepped out and inhaled deeply, the scent of wet earth grounding her.

Her mother met her at the door, her lined face etched with worry.

“Eliana, where have you been? I was getting worried—”

Her words faltered when she saw Eliana’s expression — a mixture of exhaustion, fear, and something darker.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Eliana lied. She forced a smile, weak and brittle. “Everything… everything’s going to be okay.”

Her mother cupped her cheek tenderly. “You always carry the world on your shoulders, my sweet girl. You don’t have to do it alone.”

If only she knew.

If only she understood what her daughter had just given away to keep that world from crashing down on them.

Over a simple dinner that night, Eliana listened to her little brother chat excitedly about school projects and soccer games. She soaked it all in — the clinking of dishes, the warm hum of ordinary life — because she knew soon, it would all change.

She would move into Damon Blackwood’s cold, grand world — a place where love was forbidden, and loyalty was purchased with ink and paper.

Later, after everyone had gone to bed, Eliana sat alone by the window, staring up at the bruised night sky.

Her engagement ring — a simple platinum band Damon had provided with the contract — sat heavy on her finger. It glinted in the moonlight, beautiful and hollow, much like the man who had given it to her.

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she blinked them away.

There was no room for weakness anymore.

A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts. She turned to see her mother, a blanket in hand.

“You’ll catch a cold sitting there,” her mother said softly, draping it around her shoulders.

“Thanks, Mom,” Eliana whispered.

Her mother pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Whatever happens, remember — you deserve happiness, Eliana. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”

Her throat closed up painfully. She nodded, afraid that if she spoke, the dam would break.

After her mother left, Eliana finally let herself cry. Silent tears slid down her cheeks, disappearing into the folds of the blanket.

In three days, she would walk down an aisle and marry a man she barely knew.

In three days, she would say goodbye to the girl she used to be — the girl who believed in love, hope, and happy endings.

From now on, survival was her only vow.