I knew something was wrong the second Rachel from billing called my name.
Not because she called me. That happened every week now. But because of her face. That look. The one people get right before they're about to ruin your entire life.
"Alina, um honey, can you come into the office for a second ?"
Honey. She'd never called me honey before. I just know something's wrong
My legs felt shaky but I followed her anyway . Down the hallway with the flickering lights. Past the nurses station where everyone suddenly got real interested in their computers. Into that tiny office that smelled like old coffee and broken dreams.
She didn't make me sit. Just stood there with this folder in her hands and I could see my mom's name on the tab.
"Your mother's account is now over two hundred thousand dollars past due." Her voice was gentle but it didn't matter. The words hit like a truck anyway. "Without immediate payment by end of week we're required to discharge her and transition to palliative care."
Palliative care.
That's what they call it when they're done trying to save someone. When they're just gonna send them home to die comfortable.
"She needs the next round of chemo." My voice sounded wrong. Too high. Too desperate. "Without it she'll…"
I couldn't finish. Couldn't say the word.
"I know sweetie. I'm so sorry. But it's hospital policy."
Hospital policy. My mom was dying because of hospital policy.
I walked out of that office and I don't really remember doing it.One minute I was standing there, and the next thing I knew, I was in the hallway… then the elevator… then sitting in the lobby on a bench, staring at nothing.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
I'd been working two jobs for three months. Saved every penny I'd make . Walked to work most times instead of taking the bus.even Ate one meal a day. Slept four hours a night.
I had twelve hundred dollars in my bank account.
Twelve hundred dollars.
It was nothing. I was nothing. All that work for nothing.
My phone rang and I almost didn't answer it. Unknown number. Probably another debt collector. Or someone else calling to tell me I was failing.
But I answered anyway because what did it even matter anymore.
"Hello?"
"Miss Alina Chen?" The voice had a British accent. Fancy. Professional. Completely out of place calling someone like me. "My name is James Whitmore. I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Adrian Sterling."
"I… don't know who that is."
"Mr. Sterling was at St. Mary's Hospital earlier today for a charity visit.". He happened to notice you speaking with the billing department." He paused and I heard papers rustling. "He'd like to offer you a solution to your current financial situation."
My brain couldn't process that. "What?"
"He's prepared to pay all of your mother's medical expenses immediately. The full amount. In exchange for a one year contractual arrangement."
This was a scam. Had to be. "What kind of arrangement?"
"Marriage."
I actually laughed. Couldn't help it. It just came out. "You're joking."
"I assure you I'm quite serious. Mr. Sterling requires a wife for business and personal reasons. You require substantial funds for your mother's cancer treatment. It's a mutually beneficial transaction. One year. All medical expenses covered. At the end you receive an additional five hundred thousand dollars and the marriage is quietly dissolved."
My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped the phone right there . "Why would he… why me?"
"Because you're desperate Miss Chen. And because you have no connections to his world. No social standing. No complications." His tone didn't change at all. Like he was reading off a grocery list. "Because you're a nobody."
The word should've hurt but it was true.
"There's a black Mercedes waiting outside the main entrance right now. If you'd like to discuss terms Mr. Sterling is available to meet immediately. If not the car will leave in five minutes and this offer expires permanently."
"Wait I need time to think about…"
"Your mother has four days Miss Chen. Perhaps less. The car leaves in five minutes."
He hung up.
I sat there staring at my phone like an idiot. This was insane. Completely insane. Rich men didn't just offer to marry random poor girls and pay off their debts. This was how people ended up dead. Or trafficked. Or worse.
But my mom's face flashed in my head. Small and pale in that hospital bed. Her hand felt like paper when I held it. She was slipping away a little more every day.
Four days.
My legs moved before my brain caught up. Through the lobby. Out the automatic doors. Into the cold afternoon air.
There was a black Mercedes parked right in front. Tinted windows. Gleaming paint. It looked like it cost more than my entire life.
The back door opened.
I could walk away. Should walk away. This was every warning bell my mom had ever taught me about. Strangers. Danger. Things too good to be true.
I got in the car.
The door closed with this heavy expensive sound and suddenly I was sitting across from the most terrifying man I'd ever seen.
Adrian Sterling didn't look human . He looked like he'd been carved out of ice. Sharp jaw. Cold gray eyes. Dark hair perfectly styled. He wore a suit that probably cost more than my yearly rent. Everything about him screamed money, power, and danger. And he was looking at me like I was something stuck to his shoe.
"Miss Chen." His voice matched his face. Cold. Flat. Empty. "I'll be direct since your time is limited. I need a wife for exactly one year. You need money. I'm offering you a contract."
He slid a thick folder across the seat. Official looking. Intimidating.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars will be transferred to St. Mary's Hospital today. Immediately. Your mother receives the treatment she needs plus ongoing care for the next twelve months. You'll move into my residence. Attend events as my wife. Maintain the appearance of a real marriage." He checked his watch like this was boring him. "After one year we divorce quietly. You receive an additional five hundred thousand dollars and sign a confidentiality agreement. You never speak of this arrangement to anyone. Ever."
I stared at the folder. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"Why?" The word barely came out.
"That's irrelevant."
"Why me specifically?"
His eyes were completely empty when he looked at me. "Because you're desperate enough to say yes. Because you have nothing I want except your compliance. Because you're nobody Miss Chen. No family besides your dying mother. No education. No prospects. No connections. When this ends you'll disappear back into whatever sad little life you had before." He leaned back. "You're perfect precisely because you're completely disposable."
Each word was like getting slapped. But they were true. All of them.
"What if I say no?"
"Then you get out of this car and we never speak again. Your mother dies in four days. You spend the rest of your life working two jobs and wondering what if." He glanced at his phone. "You have ninety seconds to decide."
Ninety seconds.
My entire future in ninety seconds.
I thought about my mom. About her laugh before she got sick. About how she used to make me pancakes shaped like hearts. About the way she told me she was proud of me even when I was failing at everything.
About how I was gonna have to watch her die knowing I could've saved her.
I opened the folder. Pages and pages of legal words I didn't understand. But I saw the numbers. $250,000. $500,000. Treatment. Care. Divorce settlement.
"I should have a lawyer look at this."
"You can't afford a lawyer. And you don't have time." He pulled a pen from his jacket. Expensive. Heavy. "Take the deal or don't Miss Chen. But decide now."
My hand reached for the pen before my brain could stop it.
This was crazy. Marrying a complete stranger. Living with him. Pretending to be his wife.
But my mom would live.
I signed my name at the bottom. My handwriting looked shaky and desperate but it was done.
Adrian took the folder back without even looking at my signature. He pulled out his phone and made a call.
"Transfer the funds. St. Mary's Hospital. Account for Chen Li. Yes. Now."
He hung up and finally looked at me again. "Your mother's treatment begins tomorrow morning. A car will collect you at eight AM from your current address. Bring whatever fits in two suitcases. Everything else will be provided."
"Wait I don't even know…"
"You'll receive a full briefing tomorrow on your duties and expectations. For now just understand this." His voice got even colder somehow. "In public you're my devoted wife. You smile. You touch my arm. You act like you're madly in love with me. In private you stay out of my way. You don't ask questions. You don't make demands. Follow those rules and this year will pass quickly for both of us."
The car stopped. We were back at the hospital. I hadn't even noticed we were moving.
"Your mother is being moved to a private suite as we speak. The best doctors. The best care. Go see her. Tell her whatever story you want about how you suddenly have money. I don't care what you say." He turned back to his phone. Dismissed me like I was nothing. "Eight AM. Don't be late Mrs. Sterling."
Mrs. Sterling.
Oh god.
I got out of the car on shaky legs. The door closed and the Mercedes drove away and I just stood there on the sidewalk trying to figure out what just happened.
I'd just sold myself to a stranger.
Married myself off for a year to save my mom.
My phone buzzed. Text from a number I didn't recognize.
Funds transferred to St. Mary's Hospital. Treatment approved. Your mother's care begins tomorrow. Car arrives 8AM sharp.
Another text came through right after.
Welcome to the Sterling family Mrs. Sterling. Don't disappoint us.
My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped my phone.
What had I just done?
I walked back into the hospital in a daze. Up to the fifth floor. But everything was different now. Nurses were smiling at me. Actually smiling. One of them stopped me in the hallway.
"Miss Chen! Wonderful news. Your mother's account has been completely paid and she's being moved to our VIP wing. Treatment starts first thing tomorrow morning."
VIP wing. We'd gone from charity case to VIP in an hour.
They were wheeling my mom's bed down the hallway when I got there. She was awake. Confused. Her eyes found mine.
"Alina? Baby what's happening? How did you…"
"I figured it out Mom." The lie came so easy. Too easy. "I got the money. You're gonna be okay now."
Her face just crumpled. She started crying. Grabbed my hand with her thin fingers and squeezed.
"How? How did you get that much money?"
I should tell her the truth. Should warn her. Should say something.
"I got a really good job." Another lie. "A live in position. I start tomorrow. But it pays enough to cover everything."
She was crying too hard to question it. I held her hand and walked beside her bed and tried not to think about the cold gray eyes of the man who now owned me for a year.
Tried not to think about that word.
Disposable.
They settled Mom into her new room and it was like something from a hotel. Big windows. Nice furniture. A TV. A private bathroom. She couldn't stop looking around with this expression like she'd won the lottery.
I stayed until she fell asleep. Then I went back to my apartment feeling nostalgic
My tiny apartment with the broken heater and the stain on the ceiling and the neighbors who screamed through the walls. In twenty four hours I'd be living in some billionaire's mansion. Pretending to be his wife. Playing a role I had no idea how to play can I even pull this off? Yes I can Ali you got this,but deep down I'm still scared .
I looked around at my sad little life. Everything I owned could fit in two suitcases easy. Wasn't much to pack.
I grabbed my phone and googled Adrian Sterling again. Pulled up all the same articles and photos. That cold face. Those empty eyes. Not a single smile in hundreds of pictures.
There were articles about him too. Ruthless businessman. Impossible to work with. Never been seriously linked to anyone romantically. Twenty nine years old and already worth billions.
And now he was my husband.
I set an alarm for seven AM and tried to sleep but my brain wouldn't shut up. Kept playing that conversation over and over.
You're nobody. You're disposable.
He'd said it so casually. Like it was just a fact. Not even mean. Just true.
Maybe it was true.
Maybe I was nobody.
But at least my mom would live.
I finally fell asleep around three AM and when my alarm went off at seven I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Got up anyway. Showered. Packed my two suitcases with everything that mattered. Clothes. Photos. My mom's recipe book. The necklace my dad gave me before he died.
My entire life in two bags.
At eight AM exactly there was a knock on my door.
I opened it and there was a man in a driver's uniform standing there. Professional. Polite. He looked at me like I was someone important even though I was wearing jeans and an old sweater.
"Mrs. Sterling? I'm here to collect you."
Mrs. Sterling.
I was really doing this.
"Just a second." I grabbed my bags and took one last look at my apartment. At my old life. Then I followed the driver down the stairs.
There was another Mercedes waiting outside. Black. Sleek. Completely out of place in my neighborhood. People were already staring.The driver held the door open, and I stepped inside.And in that moment, it hit me my old life was gone.When the car rolled forward, I watched my apartment fade in the side mirror, getting smaller and smaller until it wasn't there anymore.
. We drove through the city. Past my old jobs. Past the places I used to walk to save bus money. Everything looked different from inside this expensive car.
We drove for maybe twenty minutes before the buildings changed. Got bigger. Nicer,. Richer.
Then we turned through these massive iron gates and up a long driveway and my brain just stopped working.
The house wasn't a house. It was a mansion. Maybe a castle. Three stories of white stone and huge windows and perfect landscaping. It looked like something straight out of a movie.
The car stopped in front of the entrance.
"Welcome home Mrs. Sterling," the driver said.
Home.
This was my home now.
The front door opened and Adrian Sterling stepped out. Still in a suit. Still looking cold and perfect and untouchable. He walked down the steps toward the car and I realized with a jolt of fear that this was real.
This was really happening.
I was married to this man
For one year my life belonged to him
He opened my car door himself. Held out his hand to help me out. His touch was ice cold.
"Welcome home," he said with absolutely no warmth in his voice. "Let me show you the rules."