My Stranger Husband Is A Hidden Zillionaire

To escape my abusive adoptive mother selling me to a loan shark for $50,000, I rushed to City Hall to marry a blind date. In a blind panic, I grabbed the wrong man. He was Julian Cardenas IV, a billionaire CEO who desperately needed a fake wife to dodge a corporate arranged marriage. We signed the papers on the spot. He became my legal shield. He moved me into his pristine penthouse and secretly protected me from my family's violent threats. When I broke down crying in the freezing cold, he quietly left me hot cocoa. For the first time in my life, I felt safe. But then, Julian overheard me complaining to my sister about my constantly breaking-down car, groaning that I had to "get rid of this baby four times." He thought I meant abortions. The man who was slowly melting my frozen heart instantly turned to ice. He threw away the dinner he had specially bought for me, his eyes filled with absolute disgust and blinding rage. I was left entirely confused and terrified. Why did my savior suddenly look at me like I was the most repulsive thing in the world? What had I done to deserve this sudden cruelty? I thought this fake marriage was my ticket out of hell. I didn't realize I had just locked myself in a cage with a furious, ruthless CEO who now wanted to destroy me.

Chapters

Chapter 3

Brook pushed open the door to her apartment. The hinges screamed.

The smell of damp drywall and stale cigarettes hit her instantly. She locked the deadbolt, slid the chain into place, and leaned her forehead against the peeling paint of the door.

She walked to the tiny kitchen table and dropped the white corporate card onto the scratched laminate.

Julian Cardenas IV.

Project Manager. The Cardenas Consolidated logo sat in the corner next to a phone number.

Her phone vibrated on the table, rattling against the wood. The caller ID said Tammy.

Brook snatched it up. "Tammy?"

"Brook, did you get away?" Tammy's voice was a harsh, terrified whisper.

"I got married, Tammy," Brook said. She sank into the wobbly kitchen chair. "I did it."

Silence stretched over the line. Then, the sound of a muffled sob broke through the speaker.

"It's too late, Brook," Tammy cried. Her voice cracked with panic. "Dad already took the deposit from Travis."

Brook's stomach violently cramped. She doubled over slightly, pressing her free hand against her abdomen.

"Fifty thousand dollars," Tammy choked out. "They're going to sell you to him, Brook. Mom said if you don't come back, she's going to hunt you down and make your life a living hell until you beg to marry Travis."

Bobbi's twisted, furious face flashed in Brook's mind. The memory of Bobbi's heavy rings striking her cheek made her skin burn.

Brook looked down at the corporate business card.

Julian was a stranger. But he was a stranger who had stood between her and Bobbi. He was a legal shield.

"I'm not coming back, Tammy," Brook said. Her voice dropped an octave, hardening into something brittle and sharp. "I am legally married. They can't force me to do anything."

"Who is he?" Tammy asked. "Is he safe?"

Brook closed her eyes. She remembered the solid wall of Julian's chest. The calm, cold way he handled the clerk.

"His name is Julian. That's all I know."

"Just... be careful, Brook. Please."

The line went dead.

Brook dropped the phone. She couldn't stay here. Bobbi had the address. Travis had the address.

She picked up her phone again, opened a new text message, and typed in the number from the corporate card.

Mr. Cardenas, this is Brook. When can we discuss the living arrangements for this marriage?

She hit send. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

Three seconds later, a reply popped up.

I'll come get you at 9 AM tomorrow. Be ready.

Brook stared at the glowing screen. She didn't know what she was walking into. But as the Seattle rain began to lash against her cracked window, she pulled her knees to her chest and felt a tiny, fragile spark of hope.

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