She Married a Sterile Mafia Boss for One Year—Then the Doctor Said She Was Pregnant
Chapter 2
One year earlier, Isabella had stood across from Adrian Blackwood in a private conference room.
He hadn’t offered her coffee.
He hadn’t asked her to sit.
He simply pushed a contract across the table.
“Read it.”
She looked down.
Marriage.
One year.
A payment large enough to erase her father’s debt.
Medical expenses for her younger brother.
Absolute confidentiality.
Separate bedrooms.
No interference in his business.
And one final clause.
No children.
Isabella looked up.
“You’re asking me to marry you.”
“Yes.”
“For twelve months.”
“Yes.”
“Why me?”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“Because you need money.”
The bluntness almost offended her.
“You could marry anyone.”
“I don’t want anyone.”
“Then why get married at all?”
His eyes hardened.
“Because my father left a condition in his will.”
She waited.
“If I remain unmarried until my thirtieth birthday, control of Blackwood Holdings passes to my uncle.”
Isabella understood.
“And you don’t trust your uncle.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because he has tried to kill me twice.”
Her fingers froze on the contract.
Adrian sat back.
“You asked why you.”
“Yes.”
“You have no connection to my world. You have no interest in my money. And you’re desperate enough to accept the arrangement.”
Isabella looked at him.
“That isn’t exactly flattering.”
“It isn’t meant to be.”
She almost walked away.
Then she remembered the hospital.
Her brother Daniel needed surgery.
Her father’s debt collectors had threatened to take their home.
Her mother had sold her wedding ring to pay for medication.
She picked up the contract.
“One year?”
“One year.”
“And afterward?”
“You leave with enough money to never need me again.”
She looked at the final clause.
“No children.”
Adrian’s voice became quieter.
“You won’t have to worry about that.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
Then he said the words that would shape the next year of her life.
“Because I can’t have them.”
