There was silence between us before he slowly removed his sunglasses, as his gaze locked into mine.
Then, he smirked, he was clealry amused by my boldness in approaching someone like him.
"My solution, huh?" he murmured with curiosity.
I lifted my chin slightly, refusing to let him intimidate me. "That's right."
The man beside him which was clearly his assistant, cleared his throat. "Sir, we don't even know who she is...."
The tall imposing man raced a habd immediately to silence him. His gaze remained locked on me. "You need a groom. I need a bride."
I crossed my arms, he was clealry not the man that wanted love, so that was just too convincent for me, we both needed a facade, perfect match!
I exhaled slowly, as i steadied my heartbeat. "Should we make an agreement?"
He stepped closer as he looked at me, "We should!"
Before I could respond, Daniel cut in, looking between us like we'd lost our minds. "Sir, with all due respect, You don't even know her name."
He turned to me expectantly and before he could utter anything, I said
"Bianca Martins!"
He looked at me with shock or recognition for a second, but then, it was gone as quickly as possible. He knew my name. Or at least, he had heard it before
Daniel, his assistant cleared his throat again with nervousness, "Sir, the Martins… They're...."
The man lifted a hand, to silence him effortlessly, "I know who they are."
Of course, he did. My family wasn't just wealthy—we were known. Not on a global scale, but in certain circles. The kind that made people either respect you or envy you.
He lifted his arm to check whatever the time was before uttering, "We do not have much time, I am Derek By the way, Derek Callahan"
And then suddenly it felt like the name hit me, like a stone, I knew that name.
Everyone knew that name.
Callahan Industries—a multi-billion-dollar empire spanning real estate, tech, and luxury brands. He wasn't just wealthy. He was wealth itself. One of the youngest billionaires in the country, powerful enough to make or break anyone with a single decision.
And now, I was standing in front of him, abiut to get married to a man like him,
"Get the paperwork ready." He said as he turned to Daniel
Daniel hesitated for a second, but Derek's gaze left no room for argument. With a resigned sigh, his assistant nodded, already pulling out his phone to make the necessary arrangements.
I, on the other hand, was still processing the reality of what I had just done.
Derek Callahan.
Of all the people in the world, I had walked straight up to him and proposed marriage like it was nothing.
Within a minute, Everything was ready, we soon walked into the registry, standing before an officiant as we signed our names on a marriage certificate of convincesness.
No love. No emotions. Just necessity.
*****
We both stepped out of the registry, And just like that, I was no longer Bianca Martins, the woman abandoned. I was Bianca Callahan, wife of a billionaire.
Derek adjusted his cufflinks, with an unfathomable expression. Meanwhile, Daniel still looked like he was witnessing a crime scene.
"This is madness," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
Derek shot him a look that immediately shut him up. Then, without another word, he opened the car door and gestured for me to get in.
I hesitated. Everything had happened so fast, I hadn't even stopped to process it. But what was there to process? Jeremy had humiliated me. Ella had won. At least, that's what she thought.
But now, I wasn't going to let them trample upon.me, at least, not anymore.
I straightened my shoulders before i sat into the car. Derek followed, sitting next into the seat beside me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke, and the tension was only thick in the air
Then, Derek turned to me. "Since we're married now, we need to set some ground rules."
I lifted a brow. "Rules?"
His fingers tapped against the car's leather seat. "This is a contract. I don't expect us to act like a real couple, but we have roles to play. Publicly, we're husband and wife. Privately, we stay out of each other's business."
That was fine by me. I wasn't interested in his affairs, just as he wasn't interested in mine.
"Fine," I said, matching his tone. "Anything else?"
"Yes." He turned to me and his gaze fixed on me, "I don't like liars, betrayal, or unnecessary drama. If you cross me, this arrangement ends immediately. Do we understand each other?"
I smirked. "Crystal clear."
His eyes moved over me, assessing me one last time, before he leaned back and nodded. "Good."
I met his gaze head-on, as i titlted my head slightly. "Then I have a few rules of my own."
Derek arched a brow as he was clearly intrigued. "Go on."
I folded my arms, "First, I may be your wife on paper, but that doesn't mean I answer to you. I keep my independence. You don't control where I go, who I see, or what I do."
His expression remained unreadable, "Fair."
"Second," I continued, "I expect respect. I don't care how powerful or intimidating you are—if you think you can treat me like some disposable pawn, this arrangement won't last."
A slow, almost amused smirk formed at his lips. "Noted."
I leaned in slightly with my voice even. "And third, whatever skeletons you have in your closet, keep them there. I'm not interested in your past, your enemies, or your baggage. Keep them away from me, and i will from you and we won't have any problems"
Derek studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Reasonable conditions."
"Glad we understand each other."
After our agreement, I left the car, but before I could take another step, Derek's voice stopped me.
"Bianca"
I turned, as I met his gaze through the open window.
"Before I forget, We are to live together for a year"
I narrowed my eyes in shock "A year?"
Derek leaned back with his fingers tapping against the car door. "It's part of the deal. If we want this marriage to be believable, we have to live under the same roof."
I crossed my arms, weighing my options. Sharing a space with a stranger—even one as dangerously composed as Derek Callahan—wasn't something I had planned for. But if this was the price of my new identity, then so be it.
"Fine," I said.
With that, he rolled up the window, and the car pulled away, leaving me standing there with my new reality sinking in.
A year.
A year of living under the same roof with a man I barely knew. A man who didn't want love, just like me. A man with an unreadable gaze and a presence that could make anyone feel small—except me.
I exhaled sharply. I'd made my choice. Now, I had to live with it.