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The Billionaire's Blood-oath Bride

The Billionaire's Blood-oath Bride

"One signature. One life-long debt. One night to change everything." Elara Vance thought she could escape her family's dark past, until the ruthless tech-mogul Silas Vane corners her with a contract she can't refuse. Her father didn't just owe Silas money-he owed him a blood-oath. The deal is simple: Marry Silas for 365 days, endure his cold touch, and play the perfect doll for the media. In return, her family's sins are erased. But Silas isn't just looking for a wife; he's looking for the woman who shattered his heart ten years ago. Elara is wearing a dead woman's face, and Silas is a man who never forgets a betrayal. As the line between hate and heat blurs, Elara realizes the debt isn't money... it's her heart. And Silas Vane is coming to collect.
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Chapter 5

The night air was cool against Verina's heated skin, a welcome relief from the suffocating luxury of the ballroom. She gripped the cold stone railing of the balcony, her knuckles white. Silas's words still echoed in her mind, "I protect what is mine." He had called her an acquisition, yet he had defended her like a queen. "He's quite the actor, isn't he?" The voice came from the shadows at the far end of the terrace. Verina jumped, her hand flying to the diamond collar at her throat. A man stepped into the moonlight. He was younger than Silas, with a messy shock of blond hair and a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He wore a tuxedo, but he carried it with a casualness that suggested he didn't care for the rules of high society. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Verina said, turning to head back inside. Silas's warning about talking to others flashed in her mind. "Wait, Verina. Don't run," the man said, taking a step forward. "I'm Julian. I used to be Silas's lead developer, back before he decided to burn down everyone who ever helped him." Verina paused, her curiosity warring with her fear. "You worked for him?" "I built the empire with him," Julian said, his voice bitter. He looked around to ensure they were alone. "I know why you're here. I know about the 'debt' your father supposedly ran up at the Vane casinos." Verina's breath hitched. "Supposedly?" Julian leaned against the railing, his eyes fixed on the city. "Your father was a gambler, Verina, but he wasn't a fool. Three hundred million dollars? No one loses that much in a month without help. Silas didn't just wait for your father to fail, he engineered it. He bought the debts from the smaller sharks, inflated the interest, and trapped your father before he even knew he was in a cage." "Why?" Verina gasped, the world spinning. "My father is an old man. Why would Silas spend years trying to ruin him?" Julian looked at her, his expression turning pitying. "Because of the 'dead woman's face' you're wearing, Verina. Has he told you about Clara yet?" The name felt like a physical blow to her chest. Silas had mentioned she was wearing a dead woman's face in the contract meeting. "Clara was Silas's sister," Julian whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant music. "Ten years ago, she died in a hit-and-run. The driver was never caught, but the car was registered to your father's company. Silas doesn't want the money, Verina. He wants a life for a life. He's not marrying you to save his reputation. He's marrying you to make you pay for a sin you didn't even commit." The sound of footsteps behind them made Julian vanish into the shadows before Verina could ask another question. "Verina." She spun around. Silas was standing in the doorway, his silhouette tall and imposing against the golden light of the ballroom. His eyes scanned the balcony, narrowing as they landed on her. "I told you not to wander," he said, his voice dropping to that lethal, quiet tone. He walked toward her, his presence instantly consuming the space. "Who were you talking to?" Verina looked at the man she had just married, the man who had supposedly saved her father. For the first time, she didn't just see a cold billionaire. She saw a man fueled by a decade of hidden rage. "No one," she lied, her voice trembling. "I just needed some air." Silas reached out, his hand gripping her waist and pulling her flush against him. He tilted her head back, his eyes searching hers for the truth. "You're a terrible liar, Verina. Your heart is racing." He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear. "Remember our deal. One year of obedience. If I find out you're plotting behind my back, I won't just stop at your father. I'll make sure there's nothing left of the Vance name but ashes." Verina looked into his dark eyes, realizing the trap was much deeper than she had ever imagined. She wasn't just a wife or a prisoner. She was the scapegoat for a tragedy she knew nothing about. And as Silas led her back into the ballroom, she realized she wasn't just fighting for her freedom anymore. She was fighting for her life.

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