THE BILLIONAIRE WHO MARRIED HIS ENEMY’S DAUGHTER

ALESSIA

The first time Matteo Devereux walked into my father’s office, I knew he had not come to save us.

He had come to collect something.

I just didn’t know yet that the thing he wanted was me.

I stood beside the tall windows overlooking downtown, watching rain slide down the glass in thin, restless lines. Below, cars crawled through the streets, their headlights blurred by the storm.

Inside the office, nobody spoke.

My father sat behind his massive oak desk with both hands pressed against his forehead. His usual confidence was gone. The man who had spent twenty-five years building Monroe Holdings looked like he had aged ten years in a single night.

Across from him sat our chief financial officer, Daniel, holding a folder so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

“We haveuntil Friday,” Daniel said quietly.

My father lifted his head.

“Friday?”

“The bank will begin legal proceedings if the outstanding payment isn’t made.”

My stomach tightened.

“How much?” I asked.

Daniel looked at me.

He hesitated.

That hesitation frightened me more than the answer would have.

“Thirty-two million dollars.”

The room seemed to shrink.

I stared at him.

Thirty-two million.

Even though I already knew Monroe Holdings was struggling, I hadn’t understood how bad things had become.

My father had always protected me from the details. Whenever I asked, he told me the company was going through a difficult period and that everything would be fine.

But everything was clearly not fine.

“What happened?” I asked.

My father’s eyes moved away from mine.

“Several investments failed.”

“Several?”

He didn’t answer.

I stepped closer to his desk.

“Dad, you told me the company was recovering.”

“It was supposed to.”

His voice cracked slightly.

That frightened me.

My father never sounded uncertain.

Not with business.

Not with anything.

Daniel slowly closed the folder.

“There is another problem.”

My father looked at him sharply.

“Not now.”

“Sir—”

“I said not now.”

Daniel fell silent.

I looked between them.

“What other problem?”

My father stood.

“Alessia, you shouldn’t be involved in this.”

“I already am.”

He stared at me.

“You’re my daughter.”

“And this is our family.”

His jaw tightened.

“I’ll handle it.”

“You can’t handle thirty-two million dollars in three days.”

Silence.

I immediately regretted saying it.

Not because it wasn’t true.

Because his expression told me it was.

Before either of us could speak again, the office door opened.

My father’s secretary stepped inside.

“Mr. Monroe…”

She stopped when she saw me.

My father frowned.

“What is it?”

“Mr. Devereux has arrived.”

The blood seemed to drain from my father’s face.

I noticed.

So did Daniel.

“Who?” I asked.

Neither of them answered.

Then a man’s voice came from the doorway.

“Matteo Devereux.”

I turned.

And saw him.

He was taller than I expected.

Dark hair. Sharp features. A perfectly fitted black suit. His expression was calm, almost emotionless, but there was something in his eyes that made the room feel colder.

He didn’t look like a man who had walked into a failing company.

He looked like a man who already owned it.

His gaze settled on my father.

Then moved to me.

For one strange second, neither of us looked away.

His eyes were unreadable.

I was the first to break the stare.

My father stepped around his desk.

“Matteo.”

There was something strange in the way he said the name.

Not respect.

Not fear.

Something in between.

“Richard.”

Matteo’s voice was low and controlled.

He walked into the office without waiting for an invitation.

His gaze briefly returned to me.

“Who’s she?”

My father stiffened.

“My daughter.”

Something flickered across Matteo’s face.

It disappeared so quickly I almost thought I’d imagined it.

“Alessia Monroe.”

I didn’t like the way he said my name.

Like he already knew it.

I folded my arms.

“And you’re Matteo Devereux.”

“I assume you’ve heard of me.”

“Everyone has.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“And what have you heard?”

“That you don’t lose.”

For the first time, something resembling a smile touched his mouth.

It wasn’t warm.

“Your father knows that better than anyone.”

My father’s expression hardened.

“Why are you here?”

Matteo looked at him.

“To offer you a solution.”

Daniel glanced at my father.

My father’s face remained tense.

“What kind of solution?”

Matteo walked toward the desk and placed a black folder on it.

“You need thirty-two million dollars.”

My heart skipped.

“How do you know that?”

Matteo didn’t look at me.

“I know everything that concerns my business interests.”

My father opened the folder.

His eyes moved over the documents.

Then his face changed.

“What is this?”

“A lifeline.”

“A loan?”

“No.”

My father looked up.

Matteo leaned against the desk.

“I will clear Monroe Holdings’ immediate debts. I’ll stop the bank from moving against you. I’ll also provide enough capital to keep the company operating.”

I stared at him.

It sounded too good.

There had to be a catch.

My father clearly thought the same thing.

“And what do you want?”

Matteo looked directly at me.

The room went silent.

I felt my heartbeat change.

“You know what I want.”

My father shook his head.

“No.”

Matteo’s eyes never left mine.

“I want your daughter.”

My breath caught.

“What?”

My father’s voice was barely a whisper.

Matteo finally looked at him.

“Alessia will become my wife.”

For a moment, I couldn’t move.

Then I laughed.

It was a short, stunned sound.

“You’re joking.”

“I don’t joke about business.”

“This isn’t business.”

“It is to me.”

I stared at him.

“You’ve lost your mind.”

My father snapped, “Alessia.”

“No.”

I looked at Matteo.

“You walk into our office, offer to save my father’s company, and then decide I should marry you?”

“Correct.”

“Why?”

He was silent.

Too silent.

Then he said, “Because it benefits both of us.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It answers enough.”

I stepped closer.

“What do you want from me?”

His expression didn’t change.

“Six months.”

My father closed his eyes.

I looked at him.

“You knew?”

“I didn’t know he’d say it this way.”

“You knew there was a condition.”

My father didn’t answer.

That was answer enough.

I turned back to Matteo.

“And after six months?”

“The marriage ends.”

“And the company?”

“Saved.”

I laughed again, but there was no humor in it this time.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I expect you to understand the alternative.”

His voice was calm.

Almost frighteningly calm.

I hated that he wasn’t trying to persuade me.

He didn’t need to.

He knew exactly how desperate we were.

“You’re blackmailing us.”

“No.”

He pushed the folder toward me.

“I’m giving you a choice.”

I looked down at the papers.

Then back at him.

“What choice?”

“Become my wife for six months…”

He paused.

“…or watch your family’s company disappear.”

My chest tightened.

My father moved toward me.

“Alessia, you don’t have to do this.”

I looked at him.

He was lying.

Maybe not intentionally.

But we both knew what would happen if I refused.

The company would collapse.

Hundreds of employees could lose their jobs.

My father’s entire life’s work could disappear.

And Matteo knew it.

He had planned this.

That realization sent a chill through me.

“You came here knowing we’d be desperate,” I said.

“Yes.”

“You knew about the debt.”

“Yes.”

“You knew we couldn’t repay it.”

“Yes.”

“And you still came.”

His eyes held mine.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

For the first time, his expression changed.

The coldness in his eyes deepened.

“Because your family owes me more than money.”

My heart stopped.

My father went completely still.

I turned toward him.

“What does that mean?”

He didn’t answer.

“Dad?”

Nothing.

Matteo straightened.

“I’ll give youuntil tomorrow morning.”

He turned toward the door.

I stared after him.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

“If I say yes…”

He glanced over his shoulder.

“What happens?”

His gaze settled on me.

“We get married.”

My throat tightened.

“And if I say no?”

His expression became unreadable again.

“Then byFriday morning, Monroe Holdings belongs to the bank.”

He opened the door.

Then paused.

“One more thing, Alessia.”

I looked at him.

His eyes were colder than before.

“Don’t mistake this for a proposal.”

Then he walked away.

The door closed behind him.

I stood frozen.

My father sank into his chair.

I turned toward him.

“Dad.”

He didn’t look at me.

“What did our family do to Matteo Devereux?”

My father finally raised his eyes.

And the fear in them was worse than anything Matteo had said.

“I don’t know how to tell you this.”

My stomach dropped.

“Tell me what?”

He swallowed.

“Your mother knew the Devereux family.”

I frowned.

“My mother?”

“She knew Matteo’s father.”

The room seemed to tilt.

“What does that have to do with me?”

My father looked away.

“Everything.”

I stared at him.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He didn’t answer.

And for the first time in my life, I realized the crisis destroying our family might have started long before I was born.

ALESSIA

“Everything?”

The word barely left my mouth before my father looked away.

That frightened me more than anything else.

My father had always been the kind of man who could stare down a room full of investors without blinking. Even when business was bad, he never let anyone see him panic.

But now his hands were trembling.

I stepped closer to his desk.

“What does my mother have to do with Matteo Devereux?”

He rubbed a hand over his face.

“Your mother had nothing to do with this.”

“Then why did you say she knew his father?”

“Because she did.”

“How?”

He was silent.

“Dad.”

“She met him through business.”

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“It doesn’t need to.”

I stared at him.

“Apparently it does.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“Your mother worked with several companies before we married. The Devereux Group was one of them.”</