Amelia Carter stared at the message on her phone until the words blurred.

I'm sorry, Amelia. I can't marry you. My family has already chosen someone else. Please don't contact me again.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

Three years.

Three years of believing that Ethan was the one person who would never abandon her.

And now, when she needed him most, he had disappeared.

“Miss Carter?”

Amelia looked up.

The receptionist was watching her impatiently.

“Your mother's hospital bill is still outstanding. The hospital can no longer extend the payment deadline.”

Amelia swallowed.

“How much time do I have?”

“Forty-eight hours.”

Forty-eight hours.

Her mother's treatment couldn't continue without payment.

Amelia lowered her gaze.

“I'll find the money.”

She didn't know how.

She had already borrowed from everyone she knew.

Her bank account contained barely enough money to buy groceries for the week.

As she stepped outside the hospital, rain began falling.

She stood beneath the entrance, hugging herself while cars rushed past.

Then a black luxury car stopped directly in front of her.

The rear door opened.

A man stepped out.

Tall.

Broad-shouldered.

Dressed in an immaculate black suit.

Damien Blackwood.

Amelia's heart immediately sank.

Of all the people in the world, why him?

Damien walked toward her without an umbrella.

His expression was unreadable.

“Amelia.”

She frowned.

“What do you want?”

“I heard about your mother's condition.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“How?”

“That doesn't matter.”

“It matters to me.”

Damien stopped in front of her.

Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a thin black folder.

He held it toward her.

“Open it.”

Amelia didn't move.

“What is this?”

“A solution to your problem.”

She reluctantly took the folder.

Her eyes widened as she read the first page.

Marriage Agreement.

She looked up sharply.

“Are you insane?”

“No.”

“You want me to marry you?”

“Yes.”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips.

“You've got to be joking.”

“I don't joke about business.”

“Marriage isn't business.”

“With me, it is.”

Amelia shoved the folder against his chest.

“Find someone else.”

Damien caught it before it fell.

“I'm offering you fifty million dollars.”

She froze.

“What?”

“Your mother's medical expenses will be covered. Your debts will disappear. You'll receive ten million dollars immediately after signing.”

Amelia stared at him.

“Why me?”

For the first time, something changed in Damien's eyes.

Something she couldn't understand.

“Because,” he said quietly, “you're the only woman I can marry.”

“That makes no sense.”

“It doesn't need to.”

He stepped closer.

“Six months. We live together. We attend certain events together. We convince everyone that we're genuinely married.”

“And after six months?”

“You walk away.”

Amelia looked down at the contract again.

Six months.

Fifty million dollars.

Her mother's life could be saved.

But marrying Damien Blackwood?

The man who had once publicly called her family insignificant?

She shook her head.

“No.”

Damien's expression remained calm.

“I thought you'd say that.”

He turned to leave.

Amelia watched him walk away.

Then she remembered her mother's pale face lying in the hospital bed.

She closed her eyes.

“Wait.”

Damien stopped.

Amelia's voice trembled.

“If I agree…”

He slowly turned around.

“…you'll pay for everything?”

“Yes.”

“And you won't touch me?”

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Not unless you want me to.”

Her cheeks burned.

She immediately looked away.

“This is only a contract.”

“Of course.”

Amelia took a deep breath.

“Then I'll do it.”

Damien walked back toward her.

But before she could ask anything else, he leaned closer and whispered,

“There is one thing you should know before you sign.”

Amelia looked at him.

His eyes were suddenly cold.

“I didn't choose you because I need a wife.”

He paused.

“I chose you because you're forbidden.”

Amelia's heart stopped.

“What does that mean?”

Damien said nothing.

He simply opened the car door.

“Find out after you become my wife.”

And then he walked away.

Amelia stared after him, clutching the contract against her chest.

She had no idea that the moment she signed that paper, she wasn't simply marrying a billionaire.

She was stepping into a secret that had been waiting for her for ten years.

And Damien Blackwood knew the truth.