The billionaire’s proposal

Rain hammered against the windows of the small café, turning the streets of New York into a blur of headlights and umbrellas.

Elliot Hayes sat alone at the corner table, staring at the message glowing on his cracked phone screen.

Your rent is three months overdue. Final notice.

He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

“Of course,” he whispered.

At twenty years old, Elliot had already learned that life rarely gave him a break.

He worked two jobs just to survive—morning shifts at a bakery and evening shifts at the café where he was sitting. His tiny apartment was barely big enough for a bed and a table, but it was all he could afford.

And now even that was at risk.

Elliot rubbed his tired face.

“I just need a miracle.”

He didn’t know that his miracle was about to walk through the café door.

The entire atmosphere changed when the man entered.

Lucian Cross.

At forty, Lucian was one of the most powerful billionaires in the country. The owner of Cross Holdings, a business empire that stretched across finance, technology, hotels, and real estate.

He was tall, impeccably dressed in a black tailored suit, with dark hair and sharp features that made people instinctively move out of his way.

Two men followed behind him.

Everyone in the café went silent.

Elliot barely looked up.

He had no interest in billionaires.

He was more concerned about how he was going to pay his rent.

Lucian walked toward the back of the café, but before he reached his table, his assistant suddenly stopped.

“Sir.”

Lucian looked at him.

“The private room isn’t available. There’s been a booking mistake.”

Lucian’s expression hardened.

“Then fix it.”

“We’re trying.”

Elliot glanced over.

The man’s voice alone was enough to make the employees nervous.

Then something unexpected happened.

Lucian’s eyes met his.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Elliot quickly looked away.

Why is he staring at me?

Lucian, however, continued looking.

There was something about the young man that caught his attention.

Elliot didn’t look impressed by him.

He wasn’t staring at his expensive watch or designer suit.

In fact, Elliot looked like he wanted nothing to do with him.

Lucian was used to people wanting something from him.

This was different.

“Sir?” his assistant asked.

Lucian finally looked away.

“Find somewhere else.”

He turned to leave.

Then Elliot’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

His expression immediately changed.

“Landlord? Please, I know. I said I’ll pay.”

Lucian paused.

Elliot lowered his voice.

“Just give me until the end of the week. Please.”

A long silence followed.

“Okay…”

He ended the call.

His shoulders dropped.

Lucian watched him for another moment before walking away.

He had no idea why he cared.

He simply did.

⸻

Three days later, Elliot was walking home after his shift when a black luxury car stopped beside him.

He frowned.

The back door opened.

A man stepped out.

“Mr. Hayes?”

Elliot immediately became cautious.

“Yes?”

“My employer would like to speak with you.”

“Who?”

The man didn’t answer.

Instead, he handed Elliot a black business card.

LUCIAN CROSS

Elliot’s eyes widened.

“The billionaire?”

“Yes.”

Elliot stared at the card.

“Why would he want to speak with me?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

Elliot hesitated.

Every sensible thought in his mind told him to walk away.

But then he remembered the eviction notice.

He swallowed.

“Fine.”

He entered the car.

⸻

Twenty minutes later, Elliot found himself sitting inside the penthouse office of the most powerful man he’d ever met.

Lucian stood beside the enormous windows overlooking the city.

“You came.”

Elliot sat stiffly.

“You asked me to.”

Lucian turned around.

For the first time, Elliot saw his face clearly under the soft lighting.

He was intimidating.

Beautiful, too.

But Elliot immediately pushed that thought away.

“Why am I here?”

Lucian walked toward his desk.

“I have a proposition for you.”

“What kind?”

“Marriage.”

Elliot nearly choked.

“Excuse me?”

Lucian’s expression didn’t change.

“I want you to marry me.”

Elliot stared at him as though he had lost his mind.

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough.”

“You’re forty.”

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

“And?”

“And I’m twenty!”

“I know.”

Elliot stood.

“This is insane.”

Lucian remained calm.

“I’ll pay you five million dollars.”

Elliot froze.

Five million.

That amount could change his entire life.

But something about the offer felt wrong.

“What do you want in return?”

Lucian’s eyes darkened.

“One year.”

“One year?”

“You will live with me, attend public events as my husband, and maintain the appearance of a genuine marriage.”

“And after one year?”

“We divorce.”

Elliot stared at him.

“Why me?”

For the first time, Lucian hesitated.

Because he didn’t have an answer he could explain.

His grandfather’s will had forced him into a corner. If Lucian didn’t marry within thirty days, control of the company would pass to his younger cousin.

He couldn’t allow that.

And Elliot…

Elliot was the only person he’d met in years who hadn’t been intimidated by his name.

“I need someone I can trust,” Lucian finally said.

Elliot laughed bitterly.

“You don’t even know whether you can trust me.”

Lucian stepped closer.

“Then I’ll take the risk.”

Elliot looked down at the contract sitting on the desk.

His hands trembled slightly.

Five million dollars.

One year.

A fake marriage.

It sounded simple.

But something in Lucian’s eyes made Elliot feel that nothing about this arrangement would be simple.

Lucian pushed the contract toward him.

“Think carefully.”

Elliot looked at him.

“And if I say no?”

Lucian’s voice was calm.

“Then you walk out of that door, and nothing changes.”

Elliot looked at the contract again.

Then he remembered his empty bank account.

His overdue rent.

His uncertain future.

Slowly, he reached for the pen.

Lucian watched silently.

Elliot signed his name.

Elliot Hayes.

He had no idea that the signature would change his entire life.

And he certainly didn’t know that the man sitting across from him had already begun to regret one part of the agreement.

The part that said their marriage had to end after one year.

Because somewhere deep inside Lucian Cross…

he already knew he might never want to let Elliot go.

To Be Continued

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