In Love with a Billionaire Irina, 18, is a young prodigy from the BloodMoon Foundation, known for training the most influential leaders in the world. Determined, she devotes her life to her studies and her ambitions, relegating romantic relationships to the background. Finding love is not a priority for her, especially when she is ready to do anything to honor her family's legacy. But what happens when she discovers that she is contractually engaged to the most ruthless billionaire on the planet, a man from a faraway land whose reputation frightens even the most powerful? **Xander Draymore**. This name alone makes investors and tycoons around the world tremble. Dangerously seductive but of legendary cruelty, he built his empire on ruins and sacrifices. Convinced that fate is playing a trick on him, he refuses to accept this arranged marriage which he considers a punishment. But why, from the first glance he exchanges with Irina, does he suddenly feel that she is different from the others? Is she a threat to his power or a key to his own secret ambitions? "Aren't you happy?" Irina dared to ask, as he stared out the window of his penthouse at the illuminated city, his face lit by the neon lights that made him almost vulnerable, a stark contrast to his reputation as a business predator. "Happy?" he replied with a cold smile, a hint of irony in his voice. "It's a concept I've never understood... and never will." Those words broke something inside her. But why does Xander seem to refuse all emotion? What wounds does he hide behind this facade of icy perfection? Will Irina be able to pierce her armor before losing her own heart in this game of ambitions and betrayals? And most importantly, what secret about their common bond could turn everything upside down?
Chapter 1 Chapitre 1
Chapter 1
They sat in silence, the atmosphere heavy with a weight Irina didn't yet understand. His parents exchanged furtive glances, as if hesitating to say words that could change his life. She, at eighteen years old, only saw the unusual rigidity of their gestures, the discreet tremor in her father's hand which clung to his cup of tea like a buoy.
"Irina, there is something we need to tell you. » His mother's voice was low, almost trembling.
Irina raised her eyebrows. She was used to their restraint, to this veneer of authority that dictated their house like a silent anthem, but this tone, this hesitation... it was new.
"We made a decision a long time ago, a decision that you need to understand today. »
The young woman frowned, crossing her arms. "What's going on? Why are you acting like I did something wrong? »
His mother shook her head, placing an envelope on the table between them. It was sealed, a deep red that evoked images of ancient pacts, promises engraved in indelible ink.
"It's not what you did, but what we did. This letter... it contains your future. »
Irina remained frozen, her gaze oscillating between her mother's pale face and the envelope that seemed to challenge her. She held out her hand, but hesitated. " What is this ? »
His father spoke for the first time. "A contract, signed before you were born. An alliance. »
An incredulous laugh escaped him. "A contract? Are you kidding? What does this have to do with me? »
His mother looked down. "You are engaged, Irina. Always. »
The words fell like an anvil. Fiancee. She felt her breath catch, the ground wavering beneath her feet.
"Engaged to who?" » His voice was cold, almost unrecognizable.
His father continued, each word weighing like a verdict. "To a man who comes from another world, far beyond what you can imagine. A man who..." He stopped, searching for words.
"A dangerous man," his mother finished in a whisper.
Silence exploded between them, giving way to a whirlwind of emotions that Irina could not grasp. She tore off the envelope, her fingers trembling as she broke the seal. The words on the paper seemed to dance before his eyes, a macabre dance that left no room for interpretation.
A name. Xander Draymore.
She looked up. "Are you telling me I have to marry this man? That my whole life, everything I've built, doesn't matter because you decided to do...what? To sell me? »
His mother burst into tears. "It's not like that!" It was a necessity. We had to protect our family. »
"Protect me?!" » She stood abruptly, the chair scraping the floor. "You handed me over to a stranger. A stranger that you yourself describe as dangerous. Can you explain to me how this is supposed to protect me? »
His father slammed the table, a rare gesture that silenced everyone. "You have no choice, Irina. This marriage must take place. If you refuse... the consequences could be worse than you imagine. »
She wanted to respond, but no words passed her lips. Everything in her screamed rebellion, but one look at her mother's distress paralyzed her. She felt anger mingling with a dull fear, a fear she had never known.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in a skyscraper whose glass walls reflected an entire city, Xander Draymore was reading the same letter.
His office, a fortress of marble and steel, seemed eerily silent as his eyes scanned the handwritten words. The elegant pen did nothing to soften the brutal message: he had to get married.
A grin stretched his lips. "Get married? » he muttered to himself, his voice filled with a mixture of contempt and irony.
He tossed the letter onto his desk, standing up to look at the city spread out at his feet. His reflection in the window gave him the image of an impassive man, both sculpted by power and marked by invisible shadows.
"Who dares to believe that he can impose such a fate on me? »
His assistant, a discreet but terribly efficient man, entered without a word, placing a file on the desk. Xander turned to him, his eyes icy.
"Who is she? »
The assistant hesitated. "Irina Kanev, eighteen years old, prodigy student of the BloodMoon Foundation. She is... "
"I know what she is. What I want to know is why her. »
The man swallowed. "It's a family arrangement. An old promise between your father and his grandfather. She didn't ask for any of this. »
Xander burst into bitter laughter. "Nothing asked?" So what about me? Did I ask to be chained to a kid barely out of childhood? »
He turned away, his hands clenched into fists. "They think I will obediently obey. They think their contract still has power over me. They forget that I have nothing to lose. »
"What do you want to do? » asked the assistant cautiously.
Xander was silent for a moment, then slowly turned around. His eyes glowed with a dangerous light. "I'm going to go to this wedding. But not to submit to it. I'm going to show them that I'm not being played with. Not them, not her, no one. »
In an office thousands of miles away, Irina crumpled the letter between her fingers, tears burning her cheeks. Fear and anger swirled within her, but one clear thought emerged in the chaos: if she had to face this imposed fate, she would not do so as a victim.
She raised her head, her eyes dry. " Alright. You want me to marry this man? I will. But I promise you one thing: no one will decide my life for me, ever again. »
At the same time, in his glass tower, Xander whispered, an icy smile on his lips: "Irina Kanev, prepare yourself. This marriage will not be a blessing. It will be a battlefield. »
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