Leyla paused for a few seconds, but she still turned Averie down.

"I don't think your father and I are suitable for each other," she replied through text.

She had never seen Averie's father before, yet she already knew there was a large age gap between them. She was twenty-four years old, while Averie was eighteen. That meant Averie's father had to be at least in his forties.

Besides, they were best friends. If she married Averie's father because of money, it would feel like she was taking advantage of Averie.

While Leyla was still thinking about it, her phone suddenly rang.

After answering the call, she heard a man's voice from the other end. "Ms. Wheeler, my boss would like to discuss something with you. Please come downstairs immediately. I'm waiting for you below."

Leyla frowned in confusion. "Who is your boss?"

"The man from last night," Josh answered. "Please come down as soon as possible. My boss wants to meet you. Also, the $1 million for your brother's hospital bill has already been transferred into your account."

Leyla froze instantly. She quickly opened the bank notification and saw that another one million dollars had really been deposited.

Leyla couldn't understand it at all. That man had offered her a check and told her never to appear before him again earlier that morning, so why did he suddenly want to see her now?

"You only have three minutes," Josh continued. "If you make it downstairs within three minutes, I'll transfer another $1 million to your account."

Leyla immediately rushed downstairs.

Right now, she could only hope his boss would keep his promise.

Half an hour later, Leyla arrived at Dawn Group.

The elevator continued upward until it reached the top floor. Josh then brought Leyla toward the office at the end of the hallway.

After knocking lightly on the door, Josh spoke respectfully. "Mr. Dawson, Ms. Wheeler has arrived."

"Come in," Samuel answered in a deep and cold voice from inside.

After stepping inside, Leyla immediately noticed the nameplate resting on the desk. Samuel Dawson. CEO of Dawn Group.

Dawn Group ranked among the top five companies in the world by market value and stood as a global leader in tech. As for Samuel, people only described him with three words. Low-profile. Aloof. Decisive.

Fear slowly tightened around Leyla's chest. She didn't dare look at him directly and only glanced at him from the corner of her eye. That brief look was enough for her to see his refined face and distant expression.

The darkness last night kept her from seeing him clearly. Now that she finally could, she admitted to herself that he was handsome.

Leyla forced herself to stay calm even while her legs trembled slightly. "Why did you ask me to come here? Do you want me to sign an IOU?"

"We'll be entering a contract marriage," Samuel answered. His tone sounded firm and left no room for refusal. "You need money for your brother's treatment. I'll handle the expenses. In return, you'll act as my wife and help me deal with my family."

Leyla's heart skipped. "With your status, there should be plenty of women suitable for a marriage alliance. Besides, this morning you told me never to appear in front of you again."

Men already hurt her badly enough before this.

Right before their engagement, her ex-boyfriend took all her savings and disappeared. He even emptied the house before leaving, from the pots and pans to the soap and dish detergent.

Now a CEO completely out of her reach suddenly wanted to marry her, give her money, and pay for her brother's treatment. All she needed to do was play the role of his wife.

The more she thought about it, the more it sounded like a trap.

Josh stepped forward and spoke from the side. "Ms. Wheeler, you don't need to ask too many questions. This arrangement won't harm you."

Leyla looked at Josh for a moment and understood that matters involving wealthy families weren't something she should keep questioning, so she stopped.

"I have a daughter," Samuel said while watching Leyla's reaction. "I need someone to help take care of her."

This time, Leyla wasn't surprised. Instead, the arrangement finally started making sense to her. "I figured there had to be a reason."

She already knew benefits never came without a price.

Josh handed a document to Leyla. "Ms. Wheeler, to show our sincerity, we've already transferred $5 million into your brother's hospital account in advance. Everything is written there. With this money, no one will trouble you for now."

The moment Leyla saw the document, temptation immediately rose in her chest.

Five million dollars should be enough to keep her brother receiving treatment until he regained his consciousness.

Her brother also suffered from cognitive impairment, and she still wanted to find the best doctors to help him recover. If Samuel backed her, solving that problem would become much easier.

Leyla picked up the pen resting on the desk. "Where's the prenuptial agreement? I'll sign it."

She couldn't understand what Samuel was thinking. In her eyes, he liked buying his way out of everything.

Everything written in the prenuptial agreement was straightforward. Their marriage would last three years. Her monthly allowance would be no lower than one million dollars. Their marriage would remain private for now. If anything changed later, they would discuss it again.

After reading through the terms, Leyla signed her name without hesitation.

She completely missed the supplemental clause at the end. If Samuel refused to divorce, their marriage would automatically continue for another ten years.

Right now, the only thing she could think about was the fact that her debt had already grown from $1 million to $6 million.

She would need to take on even more jobs to pay everything back.

Samuel immediately took the agreement from her and instructed Josh to lock it inside the safe. Afterward, he asked, "Do you have your driver's license with you?"

Leyla nodded lightly. "Yeah."

"Then we're going to City Hall now." Samuel stood up and walked out first.

Leyla didn't argue against it.

Before heading to register their marriage, Samuel brought her to a salon and arranged for a celebrity stylist to redo her makeup and hair.

Meanwhile, Leyla sat quietly while her thoughts kept running in circles.

She couldn't decide whether she should tell Averie about the marriage. If Averie found out from her directly, she would definitely get angry.

But if she hid something this important, Averie would still be angry afterward.

Leyla was still thinking about it when her phone suddenly rang.

The moment she answered, Averie's excited voice rushed through the call. "Lala, where are you right now? I secretly took my dad's bank card so I could help pay for your brother's treatment. Please just marry him already."

Leyla quickly covered the microphone and nodded apologetically toward the people nearby. "Sorry. I need to answer this."

After walking over to the picture window, she lowered her voice. "Why did you take your dad's bank card? Put it back immediately, or he'll probably stop you from working for another month."

Averie had only recently become an adult and was the youngest model signed under the agency. Leyla worked as her agent, and the two of them were close enough to talk about their troubles and comfort each other.

Recently, Averie kept asking her to marry her father, but Leyla truly couldn't agree to it.

"No!" Averie sounded close to tears. "Please, Lala. Do you really want to watch me get bullied by a vicious stepmother? What if my future step-siblings steal my inheritance and throw me out onto the streets?"

Leyla's heart softened immediately.

Her own situation wasn't much different, so she couldn't stop herself from feeling sympathy for Averie.

Still, Samuel already offered her an opportunity she couldn't ignore. For now, she planned to borrow the money first and slowly repay everything afterward.

After calming herself down, she comforted Averie softly. "Don't worry, Averie. Once I deal with my current situation, I'll help you think of a solution."

Inside the VIP lounge of the salon, Samuel sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee in hand. His expression stayed cool and indifferent.

After finishing her styling appointment upstairs, Averie came down prepared to leave. The moment she noticed Samuel sitting there, surprise immediately crossed her face. "Dad? Why are you here? You don't even bother dressing up when you go on dates."

"I'm getting married," Samuel answered flatly.

Averie reacted immediately. "What? Married to who? Where did this woman even come from? How old is she? Is she after your money?"

Samuel didn't even raise his head. "She needs money. I have money. That's enough."

Averie's teeth clenched together. "I don't agree with this at all. You should marry my best friend instead. She's capable, she's smart, and she treats me really well."

"No," Samuel refused coldly.

Averie instantly pointed a warning at him. "I will never consider her my mom!"

"Return the bank card you stole from me." Only then did Samuel finally lift his eyes toward her.

Averie's expression changed right away, and she immediately softened her voice. "Dad, do you even know how stepmothers treat their husband's daughters? Why didn't you discuss your marriage with me first?"

Right as she finished speaking, Leyla walked downstairs.

A white tulle dress draped over her body, while her long hair rested over her shoulders and gave her a gentle look.

Samuel lifted his gaze toward her, and for a brief moment, his eyes stayed fixed on Leyla.

The dress he personally selected suited her perfectly.

Averie turned around the next second and saw Leyla standing there. Her eyes widened immediately. "Lala!"

"Averie?" Leyla froze on the spot.

Leyla couldn't understand why Averie was standing next to Samuel. For a moment, she even wondered if Samuel was Averie's older brother.

Samuel slightly raised his brows. "You two know each other?"

Averie immediately wrapped an arm around Leyla and proudly introduced her. "Of course we do. She's my best friend."

A trace of surprise crossed Samuel's face.

He heard Averie mention Leyla many times before, but whenever Averie asked him to join them for dinner, he always refused.

If he had agreed earlier, maybe he would have realized much sooner that the woman he loved had already been close to him this entire time.

Meanwhile, Leyla still couldn't figure out the relationship between them. She held the hem of her dress and slowly stepped down the remaining stairs.

After stopping beside Averie, Leyla lowered her voice awkwardly. "Sorry, Averie. He offered me too much money, and... I'm marrying him."

Averie immediately looked at her seriously. "How much money are we talking about?"

Leyla answered honestly, "He already gave me six million dollars, and my monthly allowance will be at least one million dollars."

The next second, Averie exploded and turned toward Samuel. "Dad, why is my one million dollar allowance the limit, but hers is only the minimum?"

Leyla froze instantly. Did Averie just call Samuel Dad?

Averie quickly pulled Leyla toward Samuel. "Lala, this is my dad. He's thirty-seven, single, and one of the most eligible bachelors in the city."

Leyla instantly avoided Samuel's eyes before greeting him awkwardly. "Mr. Dawson."

So the man she was going to enter a contract marriage with turned out to be her best friend's father?!