For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Nathan’s face.
“I’m trying very hard not to be.”
Under different circumstances, I might have laughed.
Instead, I waited.
Nathan studied me for several long seconds before speaking again.
“There may be a position available.”
My heart skipped.
“A job?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Hope surged through me.
“What kind of position?”
His gaze never left mine.
“My mother is seriously ill. My relatives are preparing to challenge my authority and take control of the company I built.”
I frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
Nathan inhaled slowly.
“I need a wife.”
The words hit me like a physical blow.
“What?”
“A legal marriage,” he clarified. “In name only.”
I stared at him, certain I had misunderstood.
“You’ve known me for less than five minutes.”
“I know.”
“You’re asking me to marry you?”
“I’m offering security for you and your children. A home. Food. Education. Medical care. Stability.”
My pulse thundered in my ears.
“And in return?”
“You stand beside me as my wife while I deal with my family and protect my company.”
The desert suddenly felt very quiet.
I looked down at Lily’s tired face.
At Noah’s worn sneakers.
At the two suitcases holding everything we had left.
Then I looked back at the stranger whose impossible offer had appeared out of nowhere.
Every instinct told me this was madness.
But another voice whispered something different.
What if it was the miracle we desperately needed?
Nathan opened the rear door of the sedan.
The choice was suddenly in front of me.
Stay on a highway with no future.
Or step into a life I couldn’t possibly predict.
And for one long, terrifying second, I had no idea which decision would change everything.
…
The rest of the story continues below.
