I looked at him very confused as to what he was talking about. His eyes seemed to burn with something I couldn’t name, like he was holding on to a memory I wasn’t allowed to have.

Then he said it. “I have a proposition for you, Miss Bella.”

My breath caught. The air between us suddenly felt heavier, charged with something dangerous.

“I want a legitimate heir,” he continued, his tone smooth but unyielding. “One that is mine, without question. For that, I’ll need a wife. Become that for me, and I’ll grant you whatever you desire in return, revenge, protection, power. It’s all within my reach, and I can place it in yours.”

I just stared at him, stunned, my lips parting but no words forming.

His gaze didn’t falter. “We’ll stay married for three years. Nothing more. Once the contract ends, you’ll walk away with everything you ever wanted except me.”

I stared at him unsure of how to respond to what he just said.

“What?”

“I’m saying that I want you to become mine publicly.”

He extended a hand.

“Marry me, Bella and in return,” he added, “you’ll have become the very best.”

The old me would have hesitated. The innocent girl who believed love and building relationships was very important.

But she died the night Anna smiled over my handcuffs. I still didn't know nor understand his motives but I placed my hand in his.

“Deal then. ," I whispered, my hand still trembling in his.

Jesse’s grip was steady and warm.

I swallowed hard, blinking as the weight of what I’d just agreed to started settling into my bones. My fingers slipped from his grasp, and I took a breath, suddenly realizing how heavy the silence between us had become.

His expression remained unreadable, his eyes pinning me in place. “The contract will be ready for you to sign tomorrow morning,”

My chest tightened. A marriage contract. An heir. Three years. It all sounded surreal, like some twisted fairytale.

“So…” I began cautiously, eyes flickering toward the walls and towering windows of his penthouse. The view of the city sparkled in the distance, cold and beautiful. “Where do I stay for the night?”

He arched an eyebrow, as if the question amused him.

“With me, of course.”

I froze and my cheeks turned very red.

The words weren’t expected. My gaze drifted to the massive bed behind him, finally taking in the full scope of where I stood.

It was stunning.

Silken sheets, black and gold. Art that screamed money. A walk-in closet the size of my entire childhood apartment. The air even smelled expensive, leather and spice. He didn’t have the title of the richest man in the city for nothing.

Still, unease coiled in my stomach.

Jesse watched me carefully, his sharp eyes missing nothing.

“I won’t do anything to you,” he said quietly, as if sensing my fear. “Not tonight. Not unless you want me to.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

“But,” he continued, his voice dipping lower, “on our wedding night… you’ll have to play your part fully as my wife. But of course, I don't mind taking interest now.”

My heart stuttered. The words shouldn’t have shocked me. I’d agreed to this, hadn’t I? I’d shaken his hand, sealed the deal. Power in exchange for my name. My body.

Still, my face flushed even more red, heat rushing to my cheeks so fast it made me dizzy.

His wife. He wanted me to become his wife.

I glanced down, shame prickling hot beneath my skin. What kind of man was he to want a wife like me?

With a body fat in all the wrong places, stretchmarks and a face still dotted with stubborn blemishes and old scars. I wondered how someone like Jesse Black could look at me and still desire me.

He could have anyone. Any model. Any strikingly, flawless, perfect beauty. And yet… here he was. Looking at me like I was a bargain he couldn’t pass up.

I shook my head slightly, as if trying to knock the thoughts loose, but they clung.

“Why me?” I murmured, more to myself than to him.

Jesse stepped closer. I could feel the pull of his presence, strong and deliberate. His hand lifted, and for a terrifying second, I thought he’d touch me maybe brush my cheek, test the boundaries of the deal we’d made.

But he didn’t.

He only tilted his head slightly, as if studying me like a puzzle no one else had ever bothered to solve.

“Just because I want it to be you,” he said, his voice low. “Just because of that.”

His words caught me off guard.

My breath hitched. I stared at him, stunned, the weight of his confession hanging thick in the air between us. The glow from the glass walls bathed the room in soft gold, but everything inside me felt like a storm.

My throat felt tight.

I looked away, retreating towards the bed, my steps slow and uncertain.

Jesse didn’t follow immediately. He stayed rooted where he was, his gaze burning into my back like a flame I could feel but couldn’t escape.

Then, I heard him move.

The soft shuffle of his footsteps, deliberate and steady, closing the distance between us.

I felt his hand graze my shoulder tentatively, before it slid gently down my arm. I turned slightly, and that’s when I saw his eyes.

Dark. Hungry. But something else too. Restraint.

“I shouldn’t say these things to you right now,” he muttered, voice rough. “I know it’s wrong timing… but…”

His fingers found my waist, and my breath caught again. He was so close now I could smell him, fresh, clean and dangerous.

Our eyes locked.

And for one suspended moment, I thought he was going to kiss me.

His hand cradled the side of my face, and his thumb brushed just beneath my jaw.

“Bella, If you look at me like that again,” he whispered, “I won’t be able to stop myself.”

My heart raced a little then I fearlessly responded. “Then don’t stop yourself.”