He swore he would marry the first woman who walked through the door, then a soaked delivery girl changed his entire empire

The euphoria of the gala crashed exactly three days later.

Julian was in a closed-door meeting when his office doors were violently thrown open. Marcus Sterling marched in, flanked by two corporate lawyers, a look of vicious triumph on his face.

"Meeting adjourned," Marcus announced to the room.

Julian didn't flinch. He signaled for the other executives to leave. "This is trespassing, Marcus. Get out."

Marcus slammed a thick manila folder onto Julian’s desk. "I warned you I was going to dig, Julian. And I hit gold. Your wife is a fraud."

Julian’s blood ran cold, but his face remained a mask of stone. "Watch your mouth."

"Harper Evans," Marcus gloated, pulling out a stack of documents. "I hired a private investigator. He pulled her medical debt records. He also pulled your personal bank transfers. You wired five million dollars to Mount Sinai under a dummy corporation the exact same morning you signed the marriage license. It's a payoff. A textbook marriage of convenience."

Julian stood up slowly.

"I'm taking this to the board this afternoon," Marcus sneered. "They will invalidate the marriage. You'll lose the CEO seat, and I'm going to have your little street-rat wife arrested for wire fraud and conspiracy."

"If you touch her," Julian said, his voice dropping to a demonic, soulless whisper, "I will dismantle your life so completely you won't even exist on paper."

"Empty threats, nephew. The board meeting is at 4:00 PM. Pack your desk." Marcus turned and walked out, laughing.

Julian grabbed his phone. "Vance. Get Harper. Bring her to my office. Now."

Twenty minutes later, Harper rushed into the executive suite. She saw the look on Julian's face and instantly knew the world was ending.

"What happened?" she asked, rushing to his side.

"Marcus found out about the money for Lily's surgery," Julian said, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked like it might shatter. "He's taking it to the board. He's going to try and have you arrested."

Harper’s legs gave out. She sank into a chair, burying her face in her hands. "Oh my god. Lily... if I go to jail, who takes care of Lily?"

Julian dropped to his knees in front of her. He grabbed her hands, pulling them away from her face.

"Listen to me," Julian commanded fiercely. "I am not going to let anyone touch you. I am not going to let anyone touch Lily. You are a Sterling now. My family."

"But the contract—"

"To hell with the contract!" Julian roared, the absolute control he had maintained his entire life finally snapping. He looked at her, his dark eyes filled with a raw, desperate vulnerability. "I don't care about the company, Harper. I care about you. I can rebuild an empire, but I cannot survive losing you."

Harper stared at him, the air leaving her lungs. "Julian..."

"I love you," he confessed, the words tearing out of his throat. "I have loved you since the moment you stood up to Victoria in that hallway. I loved you when you cooked me soup at two in the morning. I'm not faking this anymore."