Removing his sunglasses, he studied Emily carefully before saying he wished to speak with the family.
Inside the house, he skipped the polite introductions.
In front of Rose, he calmly explained that he could pay every debt, cover all medical treatments, and even arrange for Daniel’s early release from prison.
Their family would never struggle again.
But there was one condition.
Thomas explained that doctors had told him he had only six months left to live.
He did not want to spend those final months alone.
He needed an heir so that distant relatives would not claim his fortune when he died.
And for that to happen, Emily had to marry him—and give him a child within those six months.
Emily felt humiliation.
Anger.
Disgust.
And then calculation.
Her mother was sick.
Her father was in prison.
Desperation had been tightening around her chest for months.
Thomas would die in six months.
She only had to endure it.
Her family would survive.
So she agreed.
The wedding was quick and quiet.
No white dress.
No flowers.
Just signatures and legal documents.
Thomas brought her to his mansion on the outskirts of Bozeman, Montana—a perfect house, immaculate, luxurious, and strangely lifeless, like a museum where no one truly lived.
Thomas remained polite and distant. Their conversations revolved around schedules, legal matters, and practical arrangements.
They slept in separate rooms.
Until one evening Thomas appeared at her door, calm as if discussing a business contract, and said that the “necessary duty” should not be delayed.
He was not cruel.
But he was not kind either.
Everything about him felt mechanical.
Like someone fulfilling an obligation.
That night, Emily sensed something strange about the house.
The silence felt unnatural.
Almost staged.
She left her room and walked slowly down the hallway.
Then she noticed light coming from Thomas’s office.
The door was slightly open.
Driven by instinct, she approached.
On the desk lay several medical documents stamped by doctors.
The report clearly stated that the patient—Thomas—was in perfect health.
“Excellent long-term prognosis.”
No illness.
No terminal condition.
Nothing.
Under the report were legal contracts.
Documents explaining that if Emily produced a child within six months, Thomas would inherit the entire fortune of his recently deceased aunt.
But if no child existed, the marriage could be annulled and Emily would lose all rights.