Married By Agreement

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

Nathaniel Stone

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

Romance Revenge Celebrities Drama Revenge Female-centered

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Aurora POV

I can't do this," Ethan whispered

I blinked, confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked softly

For a second, in just a second;I wondered if this was part of his elaborate plan to surprise me. Ethan was dramatic like that. The musicians might start playing our song. The lights could dim. Our families could stand up and cheer. He would drop to one knee and laugh at how gullible I was.

He couldn't look at me. His jaw clenched. His eyes were darting everywhere else; the chandelier hanging above us, the glass of champagne he hadn't touched. His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. His fingers curled around the velvet tablecloth as he muttered the words from his mouth.

"I can't go through with it. He said, slowly The proposal. Us."

My entire body went cold. My breath froze halfway into my lungs. The sound suddenly blurred. The orchestra at the far end of the restaurant faded into a distorted hum. Every pair of eyes from the other tables glued themselves to us.

"Wait...what?" My voice cracked

Ethan stood. The chair's legs scraped loudly against the polished marble floor, as everyone stared at us from other tables

He reached into his coat pocket, My heart leaped.

There. The box. Finally. He's nervous. He panicked. He didn't mean it.

But instead, he pulled out his hand.

"Aurora..." he said quietly,

"I need the key to my apartment back."

The words sliced through me. My breath hitched

"Is this a joke?" My voice trembled. "Ethan, tell me this is a joke," I whispered

He didn't answer.

Two nights ago, I had snooped through his laptop two nights ago and found an open tab for "2-carat oval engagement rings." My heart had skipped. I had even practiced saying yes in front of the bathroom mirror, hands over my mouth, fake tears in my eyes.

Tonight, everything was supposed to fall into place.

Except he didn't pull out a ring box. Everyone was here. Everyone saw it.; my father, my stepmother, and my stepsisters, Ethan's older brother, and even my nosy aunt who lived in the UK. They watched from their table at the back, wide-eyed and surprised.

"Why... why?" I whispered. The question managed to come out of my throat, barely formed.

"Say something!" I yelled suddenly, the sharpness of my voice cutting through the entire room.

Ethan flinched. His lips parted, his eyes filled with guilt

"I'm sorry, Aurora. I love you. But I've made a mistake."

The air shifted.

I didn't see her at first.

My sister, my stepsister;Camilla. She stood from a nearby table where I hadn't even noticed she was seated. Tonight wasn't about her. Except, apparently, it always had been.

She moved faster than I ever imagined she could. Her heels clicked against the marble floor, and before I could piece together what was happening, she was standing beside Ethan.

And then-

She grabbed him by the collar of his perfectly ironed white shirt. With her fingers tangled in his hair, she kissed him. Their mouths moved like they had been starving for each other

I froze.

Ethan didn't push Camilla away.

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