Accidentally contracted To The Crippled Billionaire

Chapter 2: deadline

Elara’s POV

The bracelet on the shelf was the first thing I saw that morning. Memories of last night flooded my brain. Looking beside me, I realized the stranger from last night was gone. My face went pale. I wished he had stayed.

He’s just a stranger, Elara. What are you expecting?

My gaze shifted to my reflection. My body was covered in dark marks and hickeys, from my neck down to my thighs. I heaved a sigh, and guilt twisted in my stomach.

I wanted to get back at her, but this was not the plan. What if I ended up pregnant by a complete stranger? What if my parents found out? Or worse — Celine. I could already picture the mocking smile on her face when she found out I’d hooked up with some guy I didn’t even know.

I dragged my feet to the car park, and every step reminded me of him. “Well, well. Look who decided to crawl home,” she scoffed, leaning against the wall like she’d been waiting for hours. “Where have you been? Today is the family meeting. Don’t tell me you’re trying to play smart.”

“I’m not ready for your drama, Celine.” My voice came out flat, hollow.

I pushed past her into my room and tossed my bag onto the bed. She followed me to the doorway, her eyes scanning me up and down.

“You stink of alcohol,” she said, pinching her nose. “Are you trying to look pitiable? Don’t ruin the wedding, okay? I’m just here to remind you not to screw up today. Oh, and I bought a pink dress that I don’t like anymore. You can just wear that.”

She turned and finally walked away. I immediately shut the door and locked it, leaning against the wood with a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she hadn't noticed anything else. I tugged my collar higher, my heart pounding. I was still thinking about what happened last night. Just as sleep started to pull me under, the door flew open.

It was my mom. "Get up, Elara. The Mercer family will be here in the next hour. You need to get dressed—you know how strict they can be." She didn’t even wait for me to reply before slamming the door.

I stood up, my eyes landing on the pink dress my sister had brought earlier. There was no way I was wearing that. I opened my closet, only for reality to hit me: I had no decent clothes of my own. Everything in my wardrobe was just a hand-me-down that Celine had rejected.

Frustrated, I grabbed my card, determined to quickly run out and buy something decent. But as I headed downstairs, I ran right into my mom and Celine, whose smiles vanished the moment they saw me.

“Are you trying to run away?” Celine asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I want to get a dress. I don’t have one,” I replied bluntly.

Her brow arched. “But I gave you a pink dress this morning. It’s a perfectly good designer piece. Are you seriously too ungrateful to wear it, or are you just trying to embarrass us in front of the Mercers?”

“Elara, is that true? Your sister gave you a dress and you refused it?” Mom snapped. “You better go put it on.”

She snatched the card out of my hand before I could speak, turning back to my sister. “You look so pretty, Celine. Thane really has great taste.”

My eyes stung as I walked back to my room. The reality hit me that I would have to see that traitor today and sit at the same table with him. I forced my feet into a pair of heels that barely fit. Downstairs, Celine screamed with excitement.

“Elara!!!”

I didn’t wait for a second shout before heading down the stairs.

“Look who it is,” Diane, Thane’s mother, smiled, pulling Celine into a hug.

I watched both families exchange pleasantries, completely ignoring me. Thane’s gaze met mine from across the room. His lips moved, mouthing *I’m sorry*, but it meant nothing to me. An apology wasn't going to change anything. The moment Celine noticed us looking at each other, she grabbed his arm tightly.

“They look stunning together,” Diane said with a smile.

The Food I hadn’t touched yet was already choking me.

A sharp scoff drew my attention to Evander, who was sitting right beside Thane.

“Is she adopted?” he asked bluntly.

The room went completely quiet. My mom forced a tight smile. “She is Celine’s twin…”

Evander cut her off, looking directly at me. “I know she’s her twin sister, but looking at them, it’s hard to believe they even belong to the same family. Are you sure they're actually related? She looks the exact opposite of my wife…”

“Stop calling my wife yours!” Thane yelled.

“We all know what happened. Celine was supposed to be mine. But your mom and dad shoved her ugly twin at me instead because you own the damn company and she’s the ‘perfect one.’ So don’t you stand there and call her your wife”

“She rejected you, stop blaming me!”

Richard, Thane’s father, slammed his fist on the table. “This dinner is meant to unite our families, not to tear them apart with your petty fighting!”

Diane reached forward and place her hand gently on his arm. “Richard, please, calm down. Let's not ruin the evening.”

Looking across the table at Celine’s smug smile, something inside me finally snapped.

“I’m not getting married to him,” I muttered. When no one responded, I said it louder. “I am not getting married to him.”

Celine’s fork dropped, clattering loudly against her plate.

“Elara, what are you saying?”

Under the table, I felt my mom tugging the hem of my dress, warning me to shut up. I ignored her.

“I can’t marry a man who doesn’t respect me. He just called me an ugly twin in front of everyone—is that the man I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with? I’ve had enough.” I quickly wiped a tear away, refusing to let them see me cry.

“Are you trying to marry Thane instead?” Celine snapped, her voice rising. “He is not yours!”

“I never said I wanted Thane.”

Beside Celine, Thane's face dropped.

“Who else is going to marry you if it’s not Evander?” “He already did you a favor by agreeing to—”my dad was cut off.

“I didn’t agree to anything,” Evander corrected with a smirk.

Celine’s face immediately brightened up. She turned to my father with a sweet, innocent smile that I knew was completely fake. “Dad, if she is too good for Evander, then she should find someone else who is ready to marry her before this week ends.”

To anyone else, it sounded like she was trying to help me. But Celine knew exactly what she was doing—there were only two days left in the week.

My mom leaned in close, her breath hot against my ear. “You heard your sister. if you don’t have a man to bring home before this week ends, you have no choice. You will marry Evander.”

I looked around the table at their expectant, mocking faces, and a sudden, desperate calmness washed over me. I stood up from my chair.

I looked at my mother straight in the eye.

“Fine I will bring you a husband by Friday.“