Ruthless Billionaire, Reluctant Bride

rt of downtown Los Angeles, towering over the city's other high-rises. It was cold, modern, and sterile, much like the man she was on her way to meet-Dominic Westwood. The thought of him sent a

startled her as she reache

erched on the edge of her nose. She gave Lila a once-over, as though trying to measure h

e stepped into the elevator, watching the steel doors glide shut, trapping her in.

ather had left behind were drowning them, and their home, the business-everything-was slipping away. Dominic Westwood had come out of nowhere, offering her a lifeline

te plotted their moves above the world they controlled. Lila stepped out, smoothing her hands down the front of her cream blouse. Her legs felt heavy as she walked t

she s

is presence was commanding, even from across the room. He wore a tailored suit, the deep navy fabric sculpt

w and smooth, without even turning arou

e, and took a few steps forward. "I didn't think

le. He was devastatingly handsome, in a way that made her uneasy. Like a predator that had perfected the art of blending in among his

crossing the room toward her w

ust short of her, and the proximity made her breath hitch. She could feel the intensity of his g

u're here?" he asked, his

ement," Lila replied, her voice stead

by her choice of words. "Arrangemen

in lifting slightly. She wouldn't let him i

oothly. "Your family is in deb

the moment she had dreaded. "What ex

placed by a look of cool

round tilt bene

and your family's debts disappear. I'll make sure your parents keep their home, your brother gets his

ss the enormity of what he was aski

has come under scrutiny lately, and having a spouse would silence some of the more inconveni

t be serious. You want me to marry you to sol

to hers. "I know you're desperate, and I know you

is was insane. Marriage? To a man like Dominic Westwo

started, but

l make sure your family loses everything. Your father's debts will consume them, yo

hroat. He was holding her lif

Dominic asked, his voice softer now, al

un, to reject his offer, but the image of her family-her mother's worried face, her brother'

r voice barely a whisper

ten. "You don't have time

ll she could hear was the rush of her own heartbeat. She looked up at him, his ex

she said, her vo

flicker in Dominic's eyes-satisfaction, maybe even a hi

ersation was already over. "We'll discuss the details

to marry a man she barely knew, for reasons she still

low, she felt the last threads of her old life slipping away. She wasn

idea what tha