Chapter 2: The Name He Never Expected to See Again
**PART 2**
"...you are my husband."
The words landed like a physical blow.
Ivan gripped the edge of the desk.
"I'm sorry — your *what*?"
Jessi didn't flinch.
"My husband.
On paper.
For as long as I need you." She slid a second document across the desk — a marriage certificate, already signed on her line.
"My brother controls forty percent of this company.
The moment the board discovers how badly that accident damaged me, he will call an emergency vote and have me removed.
A vulnerable, unmarried woman running this firm alone?" Her jaw tightened.
"He's been waiting years for exactly this."
Ivan stared at the certificate.
"You want me to *pretend* to be your husband to protect your position."
"I want you to *be* my husband.
Publicly.
Convincingly.
At board dinners, at the shareholders' gala, and anywhere else I require it." She paused.
"Your daughter gets her specialists.
You get a home.
No one gets hurt."
Ivan's hands were trembling.
He thought of Fiona — her small chest heaving at night, the sound of her inhaler in the dark.
He reached for the pen.
Then his phone buzzed on the table between them.
He hadn't put it there.
Jessi had placed it face-up deliberately.
The name on the screen stopped his hand cold.
It was a number he hadn't seen in four years.
A number he thought was gone forever.
It was Fiona's mother.
---
What does she want after four years of silence — and does Jessi already know?
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