I Shouted ""I’m Not Marrying You!"" In Front Of 300 Guests—Until The Billionaire Handed Me A Marriage Certificate We Already Signed Seven Weeks Ago

""Are you out of your mind?"" Laurel stood up so fast her chair screeched against the hardwood. ""You want me to play house with you? After I just yelled to high society that I would never marry you?""

""It’s the only play on the board,"" Maddox countered, his voice entirely unruffled. ""Providence knows me. They know I’m arrogant, possessive, and used to getting what I want. We tell the media that the gala outburst was a lovers' quarrel. We claim we eloped in secret weeks ago because of the press scrutiny. We look eccentric, volatile, but legally unified.""

""And what happens to the trust?"" Laurel demanded.

""The moment we present a united front,"" Marcus explained, ""the deed transfers into the joint marital estate under your shared names. Once it vests in both of you, nobody—not a shell company, not a court, not an overseas syndicate—can touch a single square foot of Pier 14 without both your physical signatures in the presence of two bank officers.""

Laurel pressed two fingers to her temples, feeling a vicious migraine blooming behind her eyes. ""This is insane. My father will have a coronary.""

""Your father already called me,"" Maddox said quietly.

Laurel looked up, shocked. ""What?""

""Ten minutes after you screamed in the ballroom, your father phoned my private cell,"" Maddox said, his gaze unwavering. ""He knows what Pier 14 means. He knows your grandfather sacrificed his health trying to save that coastline from the syndicate that ruined his shipping line. Your father told me: 'Keep my daughter alive, Maddox, or I’ll burn your warehouses to the waterline myself.'""

Laurel swallowed hard. Her father was a retired marine surveyor, a man who never wasted words. If he had called Maddox directly instead of screaming at her, he understood the danger was lethal.

""If I agree to this,"" Laurel said slowly, bargaining for her sanity, ""it is purely contractual. A legal alliance to hunt down Finch’s killer and protect my grandfather's land. We live in separate wings. We maintain zero personal entanglements. And the day we catch the person behind this, we file for an immediate, quiet annulment on grounds of procedural fraud.""

Maddox looked at her for a long, unreadable moment. The harsh lines of his face softened by a millimeter. ""Agreed.""

""Draft the cohabitation and confidentiality agreement tonight, Marcus,"" Laurel instructed, stepping into her professional authority. ""Include an indemnity clause. If any creditor comes after Maddox’s assets, my family’s estate is entirely shielded.""

""Done,"" Marcus said, already typing on his laptop.

""One more thing,"" Maddox added, his voice dropping into a register that sent an unexpected shiver across Laurel’s skin. ""Starting tonight, you don't go back to your apartment.""

""Excuse me?""

""Finch is dead, Laurel. A hit-and-run driver who was never found. Whoever set this up expected you to flee, file an annulment, and trigger the auction. When they realize you're staying by my side, you become the primary target. You stay at Harbor Ridge. Under my security.""