My Accidental Marriage to the Billionaire CEO

The last thing I expected at a billionaire's engagement party was to become his bride.

My name is Ella Scott, 22, broke college senior, and tonight I was not a guest. I was the girl in the cheap black uniform holding a tray of champagne that cost more than my entire semester's tuition.

"Don't spill, don't speak, don't breathe too loud," my manager had hissed.

I was doing great. Until he turned around.

Alexander Knight.

CEO of Knight Global. 28. The kind of handsome that made magazines sell out. Cold grey eyes, jawline that could cut glass, and a reputation for destroying anyone who wasted his time.

And I had just poured an entire glass of 1989 Cabernet all over his custom white Tom Ford shirt and, worse, all over the million-dollar contract on the table in front of him.

The whole ballroom went silent.

"Oh my God!" I gasped, grabbing napkins with shaking hands. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry-"

He didn't move. He just looked down at the red stain spreading across his chest, then at me. His voice was low, deadly calm.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

Tears burned my eyes. "Please, it was an accident, I'll-"

"You'll what?" He stepped closer, and I could smell his expensive cologne mixed with wine. "That contract was worth ten million dollars. Can you pay for it, Miss...?"

"Scott. Ella Scott," I whispered. "No, I can't."

He studied me for a second, and something dangerous flashed in his eyes.

"My fiancée just left me for my business partner. In front of everyone. My family is watching. The press is watching. I need a wife in the next ten minutes or I lose my inheritance."

I froze. "What?"

"You spilled wine on me, ruined my deal, and embarrassed me. So now you will fix it."

He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket - the same box his ex-fiancée had just thrown back at him.

"Marry me for 90 days," he said. "Be my wife. Convince my family, convince the board, and after 90 days, I will give you $100,000 and pay for your college debt. Refuse, and I will sue you and this catering company for the ten million you just destroyed."

My heart was hammering so loud I was sure everyone could hear it.

"You're insane!"

"I'm a businessman. I'm offering you a deal. The only one you'll get."

Behind him, I saw his mother walking towards us, smiling. Cameras were flashing.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, his lips almost touching my skin, "Smile, my accidental wife. You're about to become Mrs. Alexander Knight."

And before I could say no, he slid the cold diamond ring onto my trembling finger.The Wine That Cost Me a Husband

The last thing I expected at a billionaire's engagement party was to become his bride.

My name is Ella Scott, 22, broke college senior, and tonight I was not a guest. I was the girl in the cheap black uniform holding a tray of champagne that cost more than my entire semester's tuition. My rent was due in three days, my scholarship was on hold, and this catering job was the only thing keeping me from being evicted.

"Don't spill, don't speak, don't breathe too loud," my manager had hissed before I entered the ballroom.

The ballroom at the Knight Tower was insane. Crystal chandeliers, billionaires in suits, women in gowns that cost more than a car. And at the center of it all, him.

Alexander Knight.

CEO of Knight Global. 28. The kind of handsome that made magazines sell out. Cold grey eyes, jawline that could cut glass, tall, powerful, and a reputation for destroying anyone who wasted his time. He was supposed to be getting engaged tonight to Victoria Hale, the supermodel.

I was doing great. I was invisible. Until he turned around.

I turned with my tray at the same second he stepped back to shake someone's hand.

The collision was slow motion. The champagne glass tipped. The dark red 1989 Cabernet flew in an arc and landed - all over his custom white Tom Ford shirt and, worse, all over the open million-dollar contract on the table in front of him. The papers turned red instantly.

The whole ballroom went silent. A hundred heads turned.

"Oh my God!" I gasped, my hands shaking violently as I grabbed napkins. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

He didn't move. He didn't even blink. He just looked down at the red stain spreading across his chest, then slowly, his cold grey eyes lifted to me. His voice was low, deadly calm, but everyone could hear it.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

Tears burned my eyes. My job was gone. My life was over. "Please, it was an accident, I'll clean it, I'll-"

"You'll what?" He stepped closer, and I could smell his expensive cologne mixed with wine. He was so close I had to crane my neck to look at him. "That contract was worth ten million dollars. The ink is ruined. The signatures are ruined. Can you pay for it, Miss...?"

"Scott. Ella Scott," I whispered, my voice breaking. "No, I can't. I can't even pay my rent."

He studied me for a second, his eyes dropping to my cheap shoes, my trembling hands, my terrified face. And then something dangerous, something calculating flashed in his eyes.

He leaned down, so close only I could hear him. "My fiancée just left me for my business partner. In front of everyone. Ten minutes ago. My family is watching. The press is watching. My grandfather's will says if I am not married by 30, I lose my entire inheritance and the company."

I froze. "What does that have to do with me?"

"You spilled wine on me, ruined my deal, and embarrassed me. So now you will fix it."

My mouth fell open. "How?"

He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket - the same box his ex-fiancée had just thrown back at him on the stage. He opened it. A huge, cold diamond ring glittered inside.

"Marry me for 90 days," he said. His voice was not asking. It was commanding. "Be my wife. Convince my family, convince the board, play the perfect loving wife. And after 90 days, I will give you $100,000 in cash and pay for all your college debt. You will be free."

"And if I say no?"

"Refuse, and I will sue you and this catering company for the ten million dollars you just destroyed. You will never work in this city again, and you will spend the rest of your life in debt."

My heart was hammering so loud I was sure everyone could hear it. A hundred thousand dollars? That would save my life. But marry a stranger? A cold, arrogant billionaire who looked at me like I was trash?

"You're insane!"

"I'm a businessman. I'm offering you a deal. The only one you'll get in your miserable life."

Behind him, I saw his mother, an elegant older woman in diamonds, walking towards us with a worried smile. Cameras were flashing from the press wall. They were coming closer.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, his lips almost touching my skin, sending a shiver down my spine I hated. "Smile, my accidental wife. You're about to become Mrs. Alexander Knight. Ten, nine..."

He was counting. He was actually counting down.

"Eight..."

His mother was almost here.

"Smile for your husband, Ella."

And before I could say no, before I could run, he took my shaking left hand and slid the cold, heavy diamond ring onto my trembling finger. It fit perfectly.

It was a perfect trap.