The Billionaire's Ruthless Contract Bride

The rain started just as the car door closed. It splashed against the darkened glass like a thousand tiny fists. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"Look at me," his voice said from the opposite seat, deep and calm as ever.

I kept my gaze on the blurred city lights. "I can't. Not after tonight."

"You're overreacting."

"Overreacting?" My laugh came out sharp. "You let me walk into that ballroom knowing the story was about to drop."

His eyes stayed unreadable in the dim light. "I didn't leak it."

"But you didn't stop it either," I whispered. "And you knew."

"I knew someone was digging. That's different."

I turned to him, heat burning behind my eyes. "Different? My father's sins are splashed everywhere again. You said you'd protect me."

"I'm protecting my company first," he said softly. "You agreed to this. Don't act betrayed."

The words hit harder than a slap. "So I'm just a shield for your image?"

"You're not a shield," he mumbled. "You're a weapon. And together we're untouchable."

I shook my head. "You don't even hear yourself. You sound like one of them."

For a moment something flickered in his expression/guilt maybe but it was gone before I could name it.

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I told you from the start there would be no trust between us. Only terms."

"You told me," I said, voice shaking. "But I still believed you."

"Believing me was your mistake."

The car rolled to a stop outside the apartment. My heart was hammered. "I'm done for tonight."

"Aria" he started, but I pushed the door open and stepped into the rain.

The marble entrance blurred under the water staining my lashes. Upstairs, the elevator reflected my pale face, my destroyed makeup, the shadow of him behind me like a ghost.

Inside the flat, I peeled off my wet dress. He followed, but kept his distance.

"You're cold," he said.

"I'm frozen," I answered. "Frozen by what you've become."

He caught my wrist, softer this time. "Don't shut me out."

I pulled free. "You already shut me out when you chose your empire over me."

He breathed, hands closing. "You don't understand how dangerous this is. Whoever leaked that story isn't finished. They're using you to get to me."

I looked at him. "Then stop them."

"I'm trying," he said, voice rough. "But I can't if you keep doubting me."

"I'm doubting because I don't know who you really are."

Silence stretched. Thunder rolled over the city.

He stepped closer, eyes dark. "I'm the man who can destroy anyone who touches you."

"And yet you already destroyed me," I whispered.

He flinched, then backed away. "Go to bed. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I don't want tomorrow. I want the truth."

"I gave you the truth."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "You gave me a contract."

His jaw tightened. "Contracts don't break hearts."

I turned from him before he could see the tears. In the bathroom, I locked the door, hands pressed to the cool marble sink. My image stared back at me: hair wet, eyes wide, a stranger.

I opened the drawer and pulled out a small paper bag. Inside, a box.

My fingers shook as I read the label again even though I already knew: Pregnancy Test.

I sat on the closed lid of the toilet, heart beating so loudly I could barely breathe. Outside, footsteps paced the hall, then stopped.

His voice came, muffled through the door. "Aria? What are you doing?"

I shut my eyes. "Nothing."

"Open the door."

"I need a minute."

"I don't like locked doors."

I swallowed hard, tears running quietly down my face. "Then don't listen."

The test felt heavy in my hands. I thought of his words tonight, the possessiveness, the coldness, the way he said You're mine even if you hate me for it. I thought of the unused pack of pills still lying in the drawer from weeks ago.

My stomach turned.

His knock came again, sharper. "Aria. Open this door."

I unwrapped the test with shaky fingers. The plastic stick fell into my hand like a decision waiting to happen.

The knock stopped. Silence. Only the sound of the rain and my heart.

I took the test. Minutes stretched like hours. The world outside the bathroom shrunk to a single heartbeat.

Then the result appeared.

Two lines.

I clapped a hand over my mouth, a soundless cry escaping. The room tilted.

Outside the door his voice came again, low and dangerous now. "What's going on?"

I stared at the lines, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

"What will he do if he finds out?" I whispered to my mirror. "What will I do?"

Another knock. "Aria. Answer me."

I looked at the test again, my hands shaking, my future splitting in two directions I couldn't see.

When I finally opened my mouth, no sound came out only a question that filled the whole room, the whole chapter:

How do you tell a man who wants to own you that you're having his child?