"You had be a fool if you mistake this for anything other than a transaction."
Killian Hayes' voice was like ice—cutting, precise, and utterly indifferent. His words struck her like a slap, and yet, she had no choice but to listen.
Elara Carter's fingers curled into her lap, nails pressing into her palm. She barely registered the weight of the diamond ring suffocating her finger.
A reminder.
That she wasn't a bride. She was a purchase. A necessity. An inconvenience.
The limousine rolled to a stop in front of the chapel.
Before she could even breathe, Killian was already out of the car. No hesitation. No backward glance. His presence, so cold and imposing, filled the space around her.
Elara exhaled shakily and followed, her legs weak, the air around her suddenly thicker. Every step she took felt like a thousand-pound weight pushing her closer to the inevitable.
The chapel in front of her was grand but soulless—white roses, marble floors, and soft orchestral music playing in the background. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale.
Except there were no guests.
No family. No friends.
Just an officiant, a lawyer, and a billionaire who didn't even pretend to care.
"Let's get this over with," Killian muttered under his breath, adjusting his cufflinks with a coolness that sent a chill down her spine.
Elara's grip tightened around the bouquet of white roses in her hands.
This was supposed to be her wedding day.
Then why did it feel more like a funeral?
The officiant's voice blurred into static, as if the world around her was becoming distant, foggy. Her chest tightened. Her heartbeat quickened.
And then—
"Do you, Killian Hayes, take Elara Carter to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
Killian's gaze met hers. Cold. Detached. Empty.
"I do."
The words hit her l weike a death sentence.
"And do you, Elara Carter—"
Her breath caught in her throat.
This was it.
Say it. Just say it.
Her lips parted, but her voice refused to come. The words were stuck in her chest, caught between the lies and the truth, between her shattered dreams and the bitter reality.
Killian's jaw ticked. His fingers flexed at his sides, the tension in the air growing thicker by the second.
"Elara," his voice was low now—a warning. A demand.
She could run.
Even now, she could still run.
But then—
Her mother's frail hands flashed in her mind. The hospital bills stacking up.
Ivy's voice, small and frightened: "El, are we going to lose our home?"
A knife twisted in her chest.
Survive.
Her throat burned as she forced out the words, the bitter taste of them catching in her mouth.
"I do."
It was done.
Killian leaned in to seal their fate.
But his lips never touched hers.
Instead, his mouth ghosted over her cheek, a near-mocking pretense of affection.
Then he straightened his tie, turned away, and walked out.
No emotion. No warmth. Just business.
Elara Hayes was now a billionaire's wife.
And yet—
She had never felt more alone.
---
FLASHBACK: THE WOMAN WHO DIDN'T BOW
"Do you think you can intimidate me?"
The words cut through the air like a blade. Elara's voice was sharp, unwavering, challenging. Her stance—defiant, fearless—echoed her challenge.
Killian Hayes didn't even glance up from his coffee at first. He wasn't one for the typical café drama. The bustling morning crowd, the clinking of cups and plates, it all faded into the background as his attention remained focused on the quiet hum of his thoughts.
But then her voice—piercing, unyielding—made him pause.
He looked up, and there she was.
A woman far too small for the fight she picked, standing firm in front of a man twice her size. The man, an arrogant investor Killian vaguely recognized, was yelling, his face red with anger.
Elara stood like a pillar—unmoved, unshaken.
"Because if you think your threats will scare me, you're sorely mistaken," she continued, eyes blazing with a fire that shouldn't have been there for someone in her position.
The investor's face twisted in fury. "Do you even know who I am?"
Her voice didn't falter. "Do you?" she shot back, her gaze burning with intensity. "Because if you did, you'd know that I don't care."
There it was. The defiance. The refusal to bow to power.
A smile tugged at the corner of Killian's lips, slow and intrigued. Most people would have cowered before a man like him, but not her. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't intimidated.
The investor, taken aback by her boldness, sputtered and stormed off, muttering under his breath. The surrounding crowd, which had been silent in the background, began to murmur. Some even clapped, some whispered in awe.
But Elara stood tall, shoulders squared, her breath steadying as she exhaled the weight of what had just happened.
Killian didn't speak. He didn't need to.
He just watched. Watched her with growing interest.
She didn't bow.
That intrigued him.
In a world full of people who folded under pressure, Elara Carter was the one who remained unbroken. And that was something Killian Hayes hadn't seen in a long time.And when he saw it,it intrigued him.
---
PRESENT DAY – KILLIAN'S OFFICE
Killian's drummed his fingers against his desk, a rhythm of impatience building in the silence of his office.
She didn't know it yet.
She didn't know that the moment she had walked away from that confrontation, she had sealed her fate.
Because Killian Hayes always got what he wanted. And Elara Carter was no exception.
He had looked into her—everything. Her struggles, her desperation, her family's debts. But still, there was something else. Despite all the hardship, the fire within her remained unscathed.
And that fire—she didn't know it yet, but it would be the very thing that would make her the perfect pawn in his game.
Not because she was poor. Not because she was desperate.
Because she didn't bow,nor flinch even for one bit
And now, she was his.
And there is no going back.