The Billionaire's Reluctant Bride

p looking piece of paper and didn't even have the decency to be heavy or important-looking... the kind of document that wo

it read. VACAT

he'd built with nothing but stubborn hands and impossible dreams. The same gallery where she had spent endless summers curled up with paints staining her fingers, dreaming of making him proud. Now? N

Instead, Lena forced herself to breathe through the suffocating and chalky taste of failure coating her mouth as she grabbed her c

ming disaster. If she could just sell it... just one piece, she could pay the bastard landl

year with the high and mighty of society in attendance. She wasn't even supposed to be there, only a

bruised lips pressed tight with resolve. Her cheap black dress clung to her beautiful shape, hinting at the beautiful and curvy y

y need

ting... her last mas

y. Laughter rang out as champagne flowed freely and guests danced to classical music in a carefree manner, like they had no worries or care in the wo

blades. But still she shoved through the crowds, clutching her painting to herself li

she was slamming into something... someone, so solid she bounced backward, nearly losing her grip on the painting. A hand had shot out so fast it seemed impossib

a way that seemed designed to destroy. Midnight hair, eyes so dark they swallowed light and a mouth set in a cruel unreadabl

s eyes over her slowly and deliberately, from her messy hairdo to the worn h

se," he murmured in a low v

canvas edge had bit in. Before she could react, his thumb brushed across her skin...

t sounded like that of a charming but b

e released her and turned away... meltin

violently that it hurt, her painting still

as that? She th

ace assigned to her. Barely even in the main room ... more like a side alcove hidden bet

shed frames and commissioned spotlights. Minutes turned into an hour as people wandered by... Some spared a glance, most didn't. A wealthy woman in diamonds sneered at

hing, and hers was bleed