CONTRACTED AS A BILLIONAIRE HEIR

sten

wealth and power, from the meticulously-tailored suit that clung to

d, my voice hushed wi

s it was enigmatic. "I'm someone who can solve all of you

make sense to you, are you also here to mock my life, does my father borrow money from you a

he took a step closer, the air between us charged with a sudden intensity. "I'm here because you're the onl

with uncertainty. "I-I don't unders

for 2 years, I will pay for your mother hospital bil

ike jewels on a velvet cloth. For a moment, I was froze

to pay for my mother's treatment and more. And

asked, her voice a w

to hold their own," Kieran finished, the words flowing from his lips with an undeniable conviction. "Someone wh

ds pulling me in. "This is a business arrangement, nothing more. After two years, you will w

turned on my heel and marched away, my

Kieran and his proposal as absurd as a joke. "He th

bility, lingered in the back of my mind like a stubborn itch,

n, My thoughts were gather

a leaf in the wind. "Without a job, I can't pay the lo

k like a cruel reflection of the hard edges of her li

ling at the sight of her few possessions-a meager assortment of clothes, a ha

d, my voice a plea as I c

arms crossed, his face impassive. "I

at the landlord's ankles. "Please, I'll pay you back," I sob

mask of indifference. "You've had enough time," he said

hadows over the cityscape, I gathered my meager belong

and now I was alone, adrift in a world that

o as I later return

raph of a happier time clutched in my frail hand. I watched the steady rise and fall of

essing down on me like an avalanche. I traced a fing

nity of grief, as I clutched my mother's hand, the

a reminder of my mother's fragility, and the silence of

r's illness searing through my soul. "Why me

er

rocity. The night, a vast ocean of emptiness, yawned before him, and he found him

his fiancée's infidelity seared into his mind. The image of her entangled

e peace. Each fish, a unique marvel of color and life, danced

nd struggling to remember their names. "Nemo," he whispered,

o the next, his hands shaking as

s concentration. "Flounder," he murmured, t

fish a blur of motion, their names slip

d, his voice bre

nk. The doctor had said practice would help with his prosopagn

his memory. He knew, with a certainty as hard as iron, that the woman h

oice ragged with frustrat

ss, her face loomed, her eyes full of

he silence, and Chris's blood ran cold a

nspiratorial air, her words

nd the wedding dress

e there? I need

ht to maintain his composure. "I'm not sure I ca

, her tone heavy with f

at the marriage was not born of love, but a union of politics and power. She knew that

asked her true nature. "I'll be waiting for you," she said, her

d through the busy streets, his mind focused on his d

blur of movement. A woman, her body a flurry of mo

s, the thud of impa

as he stumbled out of the car, his le

nless on the asphalt, her body broken and bloody, was the woman from the riverbank,

h anguish as he dropped to his knees, his

sign of life in her body