Aria's POV
I didn't sleep. How could I?
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Julian putting that ring on Celeste's finger. Heard Victoria's cold voice telling me I was nothing. Felt the security guards' hands dragging me out like trash.
At 6 AM, I was already awake, staring at the ceiling of Sophie's guest room. My hand rested on my stomach—still flat, still the same, but everything had changed. A baby. My baby. Growing inside me while my whole world burned down around us.
"Ready?" Sophie knocked softly, entering with coffee. Then she saw my face and switched it for orange juice. "Right. No caffeine. Sorry, pregnancy brain on my part."
"I don't know if I can do this." My voice came out small. Scared. "Meet some strange billionaire who's been watching me for five years? Sophie, that sounds like the beginning of a horror movie."
"Or a fairy tale." Sophie sat beside me, taking my hand. "Aria, I've known Dante for three years. He's not some creepy stalker. He's... protective. Intense, yes. But he's never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. And trust me, after what I told him about Julian and your family, he's ready to burn them all down for you."
"Why would he care? He doesn't even know me."
"You saved his life." Sophie's voice went soft. "Not physically, but mentally. That day you helped him, he was planning to end it all. He'd lost everything—his parents, his company, his reason to live. Then this beautiful girl with kind eyes bought him breakfast and told him things get better. You gave him hope when he had none."
My throat got tight. "I don't even remember what I said."
"He does. Every single word." Sophie checked her watch. "He's waiting at his office. It's a twenty-minute drive. We should go."
I changed into the only clean clothes I had—jeans and a simple white shirt that Sophie lent me. I looked at myself in the mirror. Yesterday I was supposed to be a bride. Today I was pregnant, homeless, and about to meet a billionaire stranger who might be my only chance at survival.
"Let's go before I lose my nerve," I whispered.
Blackwood Enterprises tower was terrifying. Seventy floors of glass and steel, dominating the skyline like a dark crystal. Sophie's car pulled up to the private entrance. A man in an expensive suit waited—tall, handsome, with honey-brown eyes that assessed me carefully.
"Mrs. Montgomery," he said smoothly. "I'm Marcus Blackwood, Dante's cousin and VP. He's expecting you."
"It's Ms. Montgomery," I corrected automatically. Then realized—I wasn't even that anymore. I wasn't a Cross. I wasn't part of my father's family. I was just... Aria. Nobody.
Marcus's expression softened. "Ms. Montgomery, then. This way."
The private elevator shot up so fast my stomach dropped. Or maybe that was the pregnancy nausea. I gripped the rail, breathing carefully.
"Are you alright?" Marcus asked, concerned.
"Fine. Just nervous."
"Don't be. Dante doesn't bite." He paused. "Well, not unless you're his enemy. Then he destroys you completely. But you're not his enemy."
That should not have been comforting. Somehow, it was.
The elevator opened directly into a penthouse office. Floor-to-ceiling windows showed the entire city spread below like a kingdom. And standing at those windows, hands in his pockets, was the man from Sophie's photo.
Dante Blackwood.
He was taller than I expected. Broader. His black suit probably cost more than my entire wedding budget. Dark hair, sharp jawline, and when he turned to look at me—
Those eyes.
Obsidian black, intense, and completely focused on me like I was the only person in the universe.
I forgot how to breathe.
"Aria." My name on his lips sounded like a prayer. Like he'd been waiting years to say it. "Thank you for coming."
"I—" My voice cracked. "Sophie said you wanted to meet me."
"I've wanted to meet you properly for five years." He moved closer, each step deliberate. Controlled. Like a predator approaching something precious and easily frightened. "But the timing was never right. You were with him. Happy, I thought. I wouldn't interfere with your happiness."
"I wasn't happy," I whispered. "I was just too stupid to see it."
"You weren't stupid. You were loyal. Kind. Everything he didn't deserve." Dante stopped three feet away, close enough that I could see the shadows under his eyes. Like he hadn't slept either. "Sophie told me what happened yesterday. Your wedding day. I'm sorry."
"Are you?" The question came out sharper than I meant. "Because Sophie said you have a proposition for me. That sounds like you're happy I'm available now."
His lips curved slightly. Not quite a smile. "I'm not happy you were hurt. I'm furious about that. But yes, I'm grateful for the opportunity to offer you what you deserve—protection, power, and revenge against everyone who wronged you."
"In exchange for what?"
"Marriage."
The word hung in the air between us like a bomb.
"You want to marry me," I said flatly. "You don't even know me."
"I know you better than Julian ever did." Dante's voice was quiet but absolutely certain. "I know you work yourself to exhaustion for people who don't appreciate you. I know you rebuilt your family's company from bankruptcy but your stepmother took all the credit. I know you paid two hundred thousand dollars for your stepsister's fake medical bills. I know you're brilliant with business strategy, terrible at saying no to people you love, and you drink chamomile tea when you're stressed."
My blood ran cold. "How do you know all that?"
"I told you. I've been watching over you. Making sure you were safe. Waiting." He took one step closer. "And now you need me as much as I need you."
"Need you for what?"
"I need a wife for business reasons—a merger requires it. You need protection from your family, resources to fight back, and a fresh start." His eyes dropped briefly to my stomach. "For you and your baby."
I stumbled backward. "How did you—Sophie told you—"
"Sophie tells me everything important. And your pregnancy is very important." Dante's expression didn't change. Didn't show disgust or judgment. Just calm acceptance. "Julian's child. But he'll never know, because I'll claim the baby as mine."
"Why would you do that?" Tears burned my eyes. "Why would you take on someone else's child? A stranger's problems? What do you really want from me?"
For the first time, emotion cracked through his controlled mask. Something raw and desperate.
"I want you to let me protect you," he said roughly. "I want you to marry me and let me give you everything that bastard couldn't. I want to watch you become the powerful woman you were meant to be. And I want to make everyone who hurt you regret they were ever born."
"That's not an answer. That's—"
"I'm obsessed with you." The words came out harsh. Honest. "I have been since the moment you handed me that coffee and smiled like I was worth saving. You gave me a reason to live, Aria. Let me return the favor."
This was insane. I should run. This man just admitted he was obsessed with me. That was a red flag bigger than Texas.
But Julian had seemed normal, safe, and he'd destroyed me.
Maybe I needed someone dangerous on my side for once.
"What are the terms?" I heard myself ask.
Dante's eyes blazed with triumph. "Contract marriage, one year minimum. You get full financial support, legal protection, and access to all my resources. The baby is legally mine—Julian gets nothing. In exchange, you play the role of my wife in public. What happens in private is entirely up to you. I won't touch you unless you ask."
"And after a year?"
"If you want to leave, you can. With a divorce settlement that'll make you independently wealthy. Or..." He paused. "You can stay."
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number:
Unknown: Aria, please call me. We can fix this. I made a mistake. Celeste isn't dying—she lied. I married the wrong sister. Come back. —Julian
I stared at the message. Yesterday, I would have cried with relief. Forgiven him. Taken him back.
Today, pregnant and betrayed and standing in front of a man offering me power, I felt nothing but cold rage.
"When do we sign?" I asked Dante.
His smile was terrifying and beautiful. "Right now."
Marcus appeared with papers. A contract thick as a novel. I should read it carefully. Should hire a lawyer. Should think this through.
Instead, I picked up the pen.
"One question first," I said. "If I do this—if I marry you and let you help me destroy them—what's to stop you from betraying me too? Everyone else has."
Dante took the pen from my hand. Our fingers touched, and electricity shot through me.
"Because you're not a tool to me, Aria. You're the woman I've been waiting for." His voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. "And I protect what's mine. Always."
He placed the pen back in my hand.
I signed my name.
Dante signed his.
Marcus witnessed.
Just like that, I became Mrs. Blackwood.
"There's one more thing," Dante said, pulling out a small black box. Inside was a ring—a massive diamond that caught the light like trapped fire. "You'll need this."
He slid it onto my finger. It fit perfectly. Like it was made for me.
"How did you know my size?" I whispered.
"I know everything about you, Aria." He raised my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles softly. "And now, everyone else will too. Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
His smile turned predatory. "To show Julian Cross that he just made the biggest mistake of his pathetic life."