Married by mistake to the billionaire
He was the billionaire betrayed on his wedding day.
Two broken vows. One ruthless deal.
When Adrian Voss offers Talia Monroe a six-month marriage contract, it's supposed to fix their reputations not destroy their hearts.
He's cold, calculated, and terrifyingly in control.
She's impulsive, fiery, and impossible to tame.
He says, "You'll marry me. You'll play the role. You'll obey."
She shoots back, "You don't scare me."
He leans closer, eyes like ice. "Good. Fear is useless. But obedience... that might save you."
She signed for revenge.
He planned for convenience.
Neither expected obsession.
In a marriage built on power, the real danger is falling in love.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 3
Talia's POV
The suite smelled of cedar, polished leather, and something faintly metallic - the scent of order, maybe. Even the air-conditioning hummed with precision.
I sat on the edge of a velvet chair that probably cost more than my car, my wrinkled wedding dress dragging over the marble floor, my sanity hanging by a bobby pin.
Across from me, Adrian Voss didn't move. Not a twitch. Not a fidget. Just stillness - calculated and predatory. He turned a page, the paper whispering against his fingertips like it was afraid to make a sound.
"You're quiet," he said, without looking up.
"I'm thinking," I answered, my voice sharp enough to hide the tremor underneath.
His pen paused midair. "Dangerous habit."
I scowled. "You asked me to marry you. I'm allowed a few thoughts before I join your... whatever this is."
He finally looked up, and the room shrank a little. There was no fire in his gaze - no anger, no warmth. Just precision. Analysis. Like he was deciding whether I was worth investing in... or dismantling.
"Correction," he said. "I didn't ask. I offered a deal."
Oh, perfect. The romance version of a corporate merger.
"You know," I said tightly, "most people pretend to be charming when they want something."
"I'm not most people."
"No kidding."
His eyes dropped back to the papers in front of him. His wrist flicked once - smooth, exact - and a thick document slid across the table toward me.
"You'll find the terms straightforward," he said. "Six months. Mutual benefit. Public appearances only. You'll live here. You'll be paid handsomely."
My hand hovered over the paper, then froze. "You're serious."
"I don't say things I don't mean."
He leaned back - not to relax, but to observe. His gaze tracked every small movement I made, not lustful, not kind... just studying me like I was data.
I flipped through the pages, pretending my hands weren't shaking. "Six months," I repeated softly. "And what happens after that?"
"You walk away with your name intact," he said. "And so do I."
My laugh came out brittle. "You realize this is insane, right?"
He didn't even blink. "Only if you're sentimental."
He said it like he hadn't just been engaged for all of five minutes.
"Why me?" I asked suddenly.
He tilted his head. "Excuse me?"
"You could've picked anyone. Someone made for magazine covers. Why a stranger with a ruined wedding and a bad sense of humor?"
Something shifted in his expression - not a smile, exactly, but something close. "Because you're inconvenient enough to be believable."
"Inconvenient?"
He nodded once. "You're not easy to control. The press will find that... fascinating."
"So I'm your chaos hire," I muttered. "How flattering."
He didn't deny it. "Exactly."
And you're about to say yes, aren't you, you glorious idiot, my subconscious whispered.
I stood abruptly, the need to breathe outweighing the need to appear composed. The air in the suite felt too structured, too deliberate. Even the silence had rules.
"This is ridiculous," I said. "You can't just-"
"I can." His voice was even. Quiet. And final. "You'll spend months dodging paparazzi if you walk out of here. They'll hound you for every tear you shed at that church. Or-" He nodded toward the papers. "You can take back control of the story."
I froze.
"Control," he repeated, softer this time - like he knew exactly which word would gut me.
My heartbeat thudded in my ears. "You're using me."
He shrugged, the faintest lift of his shoulders. "You're free to use me back."
God, I hated him. Hated him so much it was starting to sound suspiciously like interest.
I crossed my arms, refusing to give him the satisfaction of intimidation. "You don't even feel bad about any of this, do you?"
"Feelings," he said, tone flat, "are liabilities. I prefer precision."
I wanted to throw something at him - anything, just to see if he'd flinch. He wouldn't. He was too still, too composed. Even his pulse probably asked permission before beating.
"Pity looks good on no one," he added quietly. "But power? That's a different story."
The words landed like a punch.
Power.
The one thing I'd lost the second my ex-fiancé ran. The thing every headline would strip from me by morning.
And now here was Adrian Voss - offering it back, not kindly, not gently, but like a transaction. Cold. Calculated. Tempting.
That's when I realized this wasn't surrender.
It was strategy.
I wasn't signing to hide.
I was signing to fight back.
"Fine," I said finally, stepping forward. "Six months. But I'm not your puppet."
His gaze lifted - faint interest, maybe even amusement. "Don't test me, Talia."
The way he said my name was a warning - soft, sharp, final.
"Do we have a deal?" he asked.
My pulse jumped. "You'll regret this."
"I rarely do."
He handed me a pen - heavy, gold, the kind used to sign history or ruin lives. I signed anyway.
When I slid the papers back, he didn't smile. Didn't thank me. Just tapped once on the signature line, checking my work like a teacher grading a test.
"Welcome to your new life," he said simply.
"Do I get a raise if I survive it?" I muttered.
He stood, buttoning his jacket. "Survival is its own reward."
By morning, my phone was a war zone.
Hundreds of notifications. Missed calls from Maya. And the headlines-
#VossWedding
London's Coldest Bachelor Secretly Marries Jilted Bride!
I was still staring at the screen when Adrian walked out of the ensuite - hair damp, shirt crisp, tie perfectly knotted, every inch of him composed.
"You did this," I said, stunned.
"I did," he replied simply. "The publicist released it at six. Right on schedule."
"Schedule?" My voice rose. "You planned this?"
"Of course." He adjusted his cufflinks without looking at me. "I don't improvise."
"You could've warned me!"
"You signed a contract, not a friendship."
My jaw dropped. "You're-"
He glanced up. "Efficient. You've said that."
Efficient. Manipulative. Emotionally frozen. Congratulations, Talia, you married an Excel spreadsheet.
"You're unbelievable," I muttered.
He stepped closer, and the air shifted - colder, heavier. His cologne hit me, cedar and something dark. The kind of scent that whispered money and danger in the same breath.
"And yet," he said, voice low, "you're standing here, wearing my name."
I straightened my shoulders. "You don't scare me."
He stopped a breath away, gaze steady, voice calm enough to freeze blood. "Good. Fear is unproductive."
Then, after a pause that stretched too long: "Obedience, however... that might save you."
My breath caught.
He picked up his briefcase, not sparing me another glance. "Seven o'clock," he said. "Don't be late."
"For what?"
"Our first public appearance."
"And if I don't show up?"
He didn't turn around. "Then I'll find a way to make you."
The door closed behind him, quiet as a gunshot.
I exhaled, half a laugh, half disbelief.
You married the devil, babe, my subconscious whispered. And he didn't even have to sell you your soul. You handed it over yourself.
You may also like
8.8
Serena, heir to Britain's top jewelry company LUXE, suffers sudden amnesia at the peak of her life and is saved from drowning by Ryan.
She falls for him instantly, but even after three years of marriage, she cannot replace the place in his heart held by his forever love, Sophie.
After a near-fatal kidnapping and Ryan attending a charity gala with Sophie's sister Ivy, Serena hits rock bottom and tells Ryan.
"Let's get a divorce."
He replies, "You won't survive without me."
Breaking free from heartbreak, Serena's career soars as she becomes an internationally renowned designer.
Regaining her memories, she returns to LUXE and gives birth to twins. Surrounded by eager admirers, Ryan panics and pleads, "Serena, I was wrong-let me see our children."
But can Ryan truly win back Serena's heart? Or has too much been lost? The answers unfold in this gripping tale.
9.4
As a "wolfless" Omega at the absolute bottom of the pack hierarchy, my only goal was to build a safe, normal life with my fiancé, Dan.
That illusion shattered the day I came home early from work. I found Dan completely naked, tangled in my bedsheets with my cousin, Laura.
The suffocating stench of their betrayal polluted my home. Dan frantically tried to blame Laura, while she shrieked that they had been sleeping together for months. My sanctuary was destroyed. With no family to turn to, I fled into the night. Heartbroken and desperate for oblivion, I ended up in the office of my terrifying boss, Alpha Kane Cain. Fueled by whiskey and grief, I recklessly surrendered to him, signing a note consenting to whatever he wanted just to make the pain stop.
But the next morning, the blinding pleasure was replaced by pure terror. Kane hadn't pulled out. In our brutal world, an unmarked, wolfless Omega carrying an Alpha's child would be cast out and hunted. I panicked, begging him to let me leave, convinced I was just another disposable mistake.
Instead of letting me go, the ruthless Alpha's eyes darkened with a terrifying, primal possessiveness. He pulled out the note I had signed in my drunken haze.
"You gave me this power, little wolf," he growled, ordering his men to move my belongings to his estate. "Don't pretend you can take it back now."
7.8
For five years, I was the secret weapon behind A-list actor Johan Lee. As his top agent and devoted girlfriend, I cleaned up his scandals, secured his contracts, and deliberately dressed down so I would never outshine him. Tonight was his birthday, and I was waiting in his penthouse in black lace, ready to surprise him.
The only surprise was the one I got when he walked in with a 22-year-old actress. From inside his walk-in closet, my romantic evening turned into a nightmare as I listened to them fall into his bed.
But the cheating wasn't the worst part. It was hearing his cruel, dismissive laugh as he explained why he kept me around.
"She's safe," he told the other woman. "She dresses like a depressed librarian. I don't need a queen trying to steal my spotlight. I need an assistant."
An assistant. Five years of my life, my love, and my career-building genius, all reduced to a convenience. The grief in my chest instantly hardened into ice. The mousy girlfriend he took for granted was gone forever.
I walked out of that closet, ended his career with a single video, and thought I was finally free. But then my aunt called, screaming. My family's company was mysteriously facing bankruptcy, and their only way out was to enforce an old family contract. I was to be sold in marriage to the ruthless billionaire who engineered their downfall: the infamous Colvin Sykes.
8.8
Elena's life has never been easy. She's 23, broke, and working long hours at a small café just to keep a roof over her head. Her best friend, Elizabeth, worries she'll work herself to death, so one night she drags Elena to a house party.
Elena doesn't like parties, but she goes anyway. That night changes everything.
Looking for the bathroom, she opens the wrong door and finds herself in the same room as a man-tall, handsome, and mysterious. They don't exchange names. They don't plan it. One thing leads to another, and they spend the night together.
By morning, he's gone. No note. No name. Just gone.
Elena tries to forget about it until weeks later, when she realizes she's pregnant. Panic hits her hard. She doesn't know the man's name. She doesn't have his number. She's broke and alone, but she decides to keep the baby and work harder.
Around this time, Elliott, Elena's boss, starts visiting the café often. He's friendly, supportive, and becomes her closest friend. She has no idea Elliott is connected to her mystery man.
When the café job can't cover her bills anymore, Elliott helps her find a better job as a secretary in a big company. She's relieved-until her first day on the job, when she sees him. Jaxon Thorn. The father of her baby.
Jaxon is shocked too. He feels betrayed that she didn't tell him sooner. She feels hurt that he left without a word. Things get even worse when Khloe-the woman desperate to marry Jaxon-steps in to destroy Elena.
One night turned their worlds upside down. Now, they have to face the truth: Can love really come from one mistake?
7.9
Meet Maya Brooks, a 22 year old who dropped out of school after her father was murdered and her family lost everything.
Determined to uncover the truth behind his death, she takes a job as a personal maid to Ryan Greenville a 25 year old, irresistible CEO known for using and dumping women.
Cold, powerful, and emotionally guarded, Ryan never planned to fall for anyone again until Maya entered his life.
As their worlds collide, dark secrets begin to surface.
Get ready for a thrilling journey of love, revenge, and hidden truths.
7.6
I am the illegitimate, mute daughter of the wealthy Owen family, kept hidden in the attic like a shameful secret.
To save his failing company, my father decided to sell me off to a repulsive, predatory investor named Grossman.
At the family dinner, Grossman's sweaty hands roamed my bare legs while my half-sister Kaleigh intentionally spilled red wine on my dress, laughing as she watched me suffer.
When I grabbed a steak knife to defend myself, my father slammed his fist on the table.
"Sit down, or I will cut off the maintenance payments for your mother's grave."
My stepmother and sister sneered, treating me like a piece of meat meant to be sacrificed for their luxury. I was starved, locked away, and treated worse than a stray dog, all while my family paraded their high-society status to the world.
I couldn't understand why they hated me so deeply, or who really ordered the hit that killed my mother twenty years ago. The police reports were buried, and I was entirely powerless, trapped in a house of monsters.
But they didn't know that the night before, I had accidentally stumbled into the secret life of Burleigh Livingston—the ruthless, supposedly paralyzed billionaire who was faking his madness.
When Burleigh suddenly crashed our family dinner and threw a limitless Black Card on the table to outbid Grossman and buy me for the night, I didn't hesitate.
I grabbed the handles of his wheelchair, accepted his twisted deal, and prepared to use the devil himself to tear my family apart.