Her Contract Marriage To The Billionaire Alpha

Proposition

Xavier POV

It took me moments to get back to her, and for a moment I stood in the doorway, admiring her. Her long hair is windswept, soft waves in her caramel-colored hair that's missing the ginger highlights that make her stand out so much. Her big eyes are sparkling and there's a rosy red hue to her cheeks, giving her a healthy glow to her porcelain-like complexion. Beautiful. Stunning. It's like I can't take my eyes off her and I shake my head, unable to resist her allure, my wolf growing increasingly more possessive the longer we are this close to her. I walked back in, holding the file in my hands, sitting across from her, my expression grim. I hated that I was about to upend her life like this, that I was about to destroy everything she thought she knew, but there was no other choice. I had to open her eyes to her fiancée and this was the only way I could do it. I wanted her,

She raises a brow and smiles before her eyes dart to the folder in my hands and a frown crosses her face. "What's that?" she nods.

"This is what I went to get," I told her, still holding it "Alyssa, I want you to know, I'm not doing this out of jealousy (a lie) or spite, but because I think you deserve to know what you're getting yourself into if you go through with the marriage to Theodore. I don't want you going in blind. I know you love him". That hurts to say.

The smile disappeared from her face. "It wasn't a coincidence that we met in the park, was it?" she looked me in the eyes.

"I came early to see you before the ceremony," I told her honestly.

She bites her lip. I wait. Part of me wonders if she'll dare to open the file and lay bare everything that Theodore has been up to behind her back and another part of me thinks she'll walk away. Ignorance is bliss or isn't that the expression?

She exhales. "I don't know if I want to know" she admits, as I clench my jaw, "but then, I would be stupid not to" She gives a little laugh that's filled with sadness. "Give me the file Xavier."

She holds out a trembling hand. I hesitate. Now that I have her here, my plan feels wrong and cruel. Her tone sharpens "Give me the folder Xavier."

I passed it over. I reminded myself that everything in the file was at least honest and the truth. It didn't make me feel any better about it. She opened it with shaking hands and was immediately greeted with the sight of photographs of Theodore heading into a room at a hotel with Dahlia. She inhaled sharply and flipped through them, her lips tightening. There were lots of them, all time-stamped. Jordan had done a good job and was fastidious. There was even one of Dahlia wearing a négligée as she answered the door. Alyssa lets out a small burst of laughter as I watch her.

"How long?" she asked dully "How long have they been seeing each other?"

There was resignation in her tone. I frowned. Why wasn't she angry? Furious? Enraged? I cleared my throat. "My investigator estimates at least six months going by the financial records in there."

She nodded and moved the photographs to reveal the bank statements where Jordan had circled the various transactions and gifts that Theodore had given Dahlia.

"So the intimate pictures of her earlier, where he was holding her, weren't a simple misunderstanding."

"No" I answered quietly.

She looked at me. "Were you responsible for sending those?"

I hesitated, but there was no harm anymore in telling her. I nodded. "I hoped that you would..." my voice trailed off.

"Would what? Leave him over that? Why couldn't you just come and talk to me" she cried, angry splotches of red on her cheeks now as she glared at me, "you could have saved me so much heartache, Xavier, if you had just come to me sooner. Why have you waited so long?" she demanded, whacking the file down "if not to humiliate me? Do you know how stupid I feel? How embarrassed I am? I was starting to suspect there was something between Dahlia and Theodore, but I didn't know they had been carrying on for this long behind my back" She let out a sob and put her head in her hands, staring down at the table. "I can't believe I'm so stupid" she choked out.

"You're not stupid Alyssa" my voice was sharp. "You trusted Theodore to do the right thing by you. You were in love. Don't speak about yourself like that."

Her eyes shone with tears as she slowly lifted her head to look at me. "Why are you doing this? Is it revenge against your stepbrother?" she whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks.

She was killing me. I reached over and wiped her tears away, feeling a pang in my chest. "No Alyssa, it's not revenge." I forced myself to lie "I'm doing this because I believe that Theodore is wronging you. I care about you," I added.

I more than cared about her, but if I told her that, it might scare her away. She glances down at the file. "How do I know those aren't fake?" she whispers, even as there's a hint of despair in her voice.

She might not want to admit it, but she knows instinctively those photographs are the truth. She knows they haven't been doctored. I don't take offense to the question, knowing she's looking for reassurance and is most likely lost at the moment on what to do.

"You can have an expert analyze them if you want. Keep the file, I have everything copied". I nodded down at it.

She frowned. "Theodore is never going to forgive you for this, Xavier. Your relationship was already tenuous. Even if I don't tell him who gave me the file, he's going to work it out for himself."

"I don't care."

My tone is dismissive. I have no desire to try and mend things with Theodore. There is too much history between us. Too much bad blood. My concern right now is her. She closes the file as though she can't bear to look at it a moment longer. Her pallor is pale, and I see that she's trembling, visibly shaking as she sits there.

"Alyssa, you have options," I said gently.

She lets out a scornful laugh, taking me aback.

"Do I Xavier?" she asked, finally beginning to sound angry, her voice heated "thank you so much for clarifying that. The wedding is in a few days, and now I have to confront my fiancée, who is a lying, cheating bastard" she hissed. "My family have been planning this wedding for months and I doubt they will forgive me for calling it off" she continues, "not to mention the humiliation I'm bound to endure and then there's the trouble of finding somewhere else to live. I can't stay in the house with Theodore, not now."

She looks lost. I reached over and took her hand. She sniffs. "I'm sorry Xavier, I didn't mean to get angry at you."

"Yes, you did," my tone was wry, "and you have every right to be. I sprung this on you days before the wedding, with no warning whatsoever. You should hate me for what I've done."

She straightens up in surprise. "Hate you" she blinks at me. "Hate you? I'm grateful to you," she told me. "You're the only one who has bothered to be straight with me and tell me the truth. You could have kept quiet and let me marry your stepbrother, which would have made me miserable, I know that now, but instead, you did the right thing, no matter how much it hurt you to do it."

I'm amazed by her and her ability to show such compassion towards me when I have, in effect, just ruined her life. I see her scowl down at the file, her expression turning chilly. She sighs. "My father is going to be the most upset, I think," she says a little forlorn, "he's been the most encouraging about this wedding and the marriage. He treats Theodore as a son-in-law already," she added.

"I'm sure he would rather you were happy" my voice was dismissive.

I can't bring myself to tell her about the agreement that Theodore had made with her father concerning marrying her in exchange for saving the company. She was upset enough already. My wolf wanted me to take her in my arms and comfort her, but I didn't want to take too many liberties. Not while she was this vulnerable.

"What is your plan?" I asked her.

She sniffled, blinking back further tears. "Confront him, of course" she nodded at the folder "he can hardly deny it, not with the proof right in front of his eyes. The wedding will have to be called off," she added in a whisper. "The guests will all have to be informed", she winced at the thought.

"As for the humiliation..." her voice trailed off as she looked away, "eventually the scandal will die down, and the media will find something else to write about."

She did not sound optimistic. I regarded her silently for a moment and then spoke. "I have a solution for that."

She looked at me confused. My voice was hoarse, my eyes dark. This was the moment I had been waiting for. My wolf growled, encouraging me to continue.

"Marry me," I said, and her mouth dropped open, "we can make it a contract marriage if you prefer. The media will think it's a love triangle, you'll be able to save face, and you can move in with me," I suggested smoothly as she frowned.

"I don't understand" she murmured, surprised by the offer, a look of uncertainty on her face. "What would you possibly get out of it?"

I raked my gaze over her, licking my lips. "I need an heir". My tone was deliberate. "I don't have time for useless relationships that take up a huge waste of my time and this would be the perfect solution. Not only would I get to enjoy the bedroom pursuits with no strings attached" she blushed, "but I would get a child, an heir provided for me, ensuring that my family line continues and that somebody can inherit my wealth and companies when I die."

"I would simply be exchanging one situation for another" she protested.

"This would be different. For one, I don't share, so I wouldn't be cheating on you" my tone was solemn ", and for another, there would be no expectations like you had with Theodore. You would still be free to pursue whatever you wanted, whether you wanted to work or simply pursue a hobby. I will provide for you financially. If you decide after providing an heir you want out of the agreement, then that can be arranged. But only after the provision of the heir", I corrected.

She looked as though she was giving it consideration. I stood up, deciding that she needed time to think. I had sprung enough on her for the day. Her fingers tapped the folder as I looked down at her.

"Here's my number."

I handed her a card, watched as she took it and placed it carefully into her purse. "Think about it Alyssa. This could be mutually beneficial to us both."

I left.