The billionaire's revenge marriage

Bella pov

"Marry me."

The words remained between us.

For several seconds, I couldn't move.

Of all the things I had expected Alex Blackwood to say when I walked into his office, that wasn't one of them.

I stared at him, searching his face for some sign that this was a joke.

There wasn't one.

Alex had always been difficult to read, even when we were young. But eight years had transformed that skill into something colder. His steel-gray eyes revealed almost nothing.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

"You want me to marry you?"

"Yes."

"After eight years?"

"Yes."

"You spent eight years believing my father destroyed your family."

His jaw tightened.

"He did not."

I blinked.

That was the second time he had said it.

My heart gave a painful beat.

"Then why me?"

His eyes held mine.

"Because you're looking for the same answers I am."

"That doesn't explain marriage."

"No," he said calmly. "It explains why you should consider it."

I folded my arms.

"Try again."

For the first time, something shifted in his expression.

"You want access to the information surrounding your father's case."

I said nothing.

"I can give you that access."

My stomach tightened.

"And what do you want?"

"Control."

I almost smiled.

"At least you're honest."

"I've never lied to you about what I want."

The words struck harder than they should have.

Because once, I had believed that.

I looked away.

Outside his office, Manhattan stretched beneath us, glittering through the enormous windows. From this height, the city looked beautiful.

Untouchable.

Nothing like the life my family had been left with after the scandal.

"What are the conditions?" I asked.

Alex's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"You're considering it?"

"I'm listening."

He walked back toward his desk.

"The marriage will last one year."

"One year?"

"After that, we're free to end it."

"And publicly?"

"Until then, we're husband and wife."

I stared at him.

"You've thought this through."

"For eight years."

I looked down at the folder on his desk.

"What else?"

"You'll move into my penthouse."

"Absolutely not."

His eyes flickered with amusement.

"You haven't heard everything."

"I don't need to."

"You'll have complete financial independence. Your career remains yours. You can continue your investigation."

I looked at him again.

"And in return?"

"You'll play your part."

"What part?"

"My wife."

The words were simple.

But something about them made my pulse quicken.

I hated that.

I hated that my body still remembered him when my mind had spent years trying to forget.

"You're asking me to marry a man who hates my family."

Alex's expression became unreadable.

"I don't hate you."

I swallowed.

"That almost sounds worse."

His eyes darkened.

For one moment, the room felt too quiet.

Then he said, "You don't have to love me."

I gave him a cold smile.

"That won't be difficult."

Something flashed across his face.

Pain.

Gone almost instantly.

I hated that I noticed.

I hated even more that part of me wanted to take the words back.

Instead, I reached for the folder.

"Can I keep this?"

"Yes."

I opened it.

There were copies of financial statements, old transaction records, correspondence and documents relating to the scandal.

My heartbeat quickened.

This was more information than I'd managed to find in months.

Alex watched me carefully.

"You'll have access to everything I can legally give you."

"And if I find something that proves your family was wrong?"

His gaze didn't leave mine.

"Then we'll deal with it."

"And if I find something that proves my father was innocent?"

"Then I'll admit I was wrong."

I studied him.

That sounded almost too easy.

"What aren't you telling me, Alex?"

Silence.

His expression hardened.

"Everyone has secrets, Bella."

I closed the folder.

"Then I guess we'll find out whose secrets are worth more."

I turned toward the door.

"Bella."

I stopped.

His voice was quieter now.

"If you agree to this, there is no going back."

I looked over my shoulder.

There was something in his eyes I couldn't understand.

Something that made me wonder whether this marriage was really about revenge.

But I pushed the thought away.

I had come back to New York for one reason.

My father.

The truth.

And if marrying Alex Blackwood was the price of finally discovering what happened eight years ago, I would pay it.

I turned back toward him.

"I'll do it."

Alex didn't react.

Not immediately.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Why?"

I held his gaze.

"Because I want the truth as much as you do."

That wasn't the whole truth.

Not even close.

Alex thought I was agreeing because he had offered me access to his records.

He thought I wanted answers.

He was right.

But there was something he didn't know.

The night before I left London, I had found another document.

One that could change everything.

And I hadn't brought it to his office.

I had hidden it somewhere Alex would never think to look.

Because if my suspicion was correct, the person who destroyed our families eight years ago might still be watching us.

And I wasn't about to let them know I was coming.