The Blindfold Bargain: A Billionaire's Vow

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When I pushed open the doors to the VIP lounge, Carter Sterling was down on one knee, holding up a massive diamond ring.

Only, the proposal wasnt meant for me.

Standing in front of him was a young woman in a white dress, elegant and breathtakingly beautiful. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she nodded, crying out, "I do."

When I walked in, Carter didn't even look up. His absolute focus was on sliding the ring onto the girl's finger.

It wasn't until her best friend escorted her to the restroom to touch up her makeup that Carter finally cast a cold, indifferent glance my way.

"Chloe is innocent, and she scares easily. It took me a lot of time and effort to win her over," he said flatly. "Whatever messy history we had, you better make sure she never finds out about it."

"Also, she just accepted my proposal. I'm announcing our engagement to the press tomorrow."

Carter and I had been dating in secret for three years. Aside from the elders in our two families, only a tiny handful of people in our social circle knew the truth.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the few insiders in the lounge awkwardly averted their eyes to look at me.

I took a deep, trembling breath. "Carter, could you hold off on the announcement for just a little while?"

"Even if its just a month... no, just half a month..."

Carter let out a sharp laugh, a faint trace of mockery dancing in his eyes. "Hazel, we're already at this point, and you're still desperately clinging to me?"

"Carter, for the sake of our past together..."

"That's enough!" Carter suddenly snapped, his face turning freezing cold as he smashed his wine glass against the table.

"Over the past three years, the Sterling family has poured at least thirty million dollars into the Hayes family's sinking ship. Isn't that enough for you?!"

I was completely speechless.

"Go home. I don't want Chloe to come back and get the wrong idea."

I turned around, my body stiff as a board.

As I opened the door to leave, I heard Carter mutter to someone in the room, "If your heart bleeds for her so much, why don't you marry the bankrupt heiress yourself?"

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly at my own expense.

It was true. The Hayes family was bankrupt. Ever since my parents passed away in a tragic accident, our company had been teetering on the edge of total collapse.

But Carter conveniently forgot one thing: it was our "bankrupt" Hayes family that had saved his and his grandfather's lives at sea many years ago.

He only remembered the resentment. He hated that my family had used a life debt to leverage our relationship.

He hated me, the woman he felt had been violently forced upon him.

The news of Carter and Chloe's engagement swept across New York City like wildfire.

My grandfather, who was already severely ill from the grief of losing my parents, had a massive heart attack from the sheer rage of the betrayal and was rushed to the ICU.

While I spent day and night holding vigil at the hospital, my Uncle Robert led a hostile takeover of our corporate headquarters.

In the past, with the Sterling family backing us, my uncle and his faction were too terrified to make a move. But now? Against an orphaned twenty-four-year-old girl with no safety net, they stripped away all their scruples.

During a brief moment of consciousness, my grandfather gripped my hand with whatever weak strength he had left.

"Hazel... the company is your parents' lifeblood. Even if it burns to the ground, you cannot let those wolves take it from you."

My eyes flushed red with hot tears. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I already have a plan."

Uncle Robert and his faction were using the archaic excuse that a female heir couldn't carry on the family legacy, plotting to legally strip me of my parents' estate.

But I would absolutely never let them win.

During the second week of Carter's highly publicized engagement, I made the most absurdyet most crucialdecision of my life.

I needed a child. An heir to inherit the Hayes legacy.

Because I didn't meet the strict medical requirements for immediate IVF, I ultimately chose the traditional method: natural conception.

As for the father of my child

George, the loyal butler who had served my grandfather his entire life, placed a single, meticulously vetted file on the desk in front of me.

"Miss Hazel, please take a look."

The profile was simple. He was from Chicago, raised in a single-parent household, and took his mother's maiden name.

His academic records were flawless, proving a genius-level IQ. The genetics wouldn't be an issue.

A highly detailed medical report confirmed he was in peak physical condition with zero hidden hereditary diseases.

But the most striking detail was the face in the photograph.

He was so breathtakingly handsome it almost made my head spin.

"Uncle George, are you sure a man this brilliant and... striking... actually needs to resort to this kind of business?" I couldn't help but ask.

George smiled kindly. "I believe a close family member of his has fallen severely ill. He's desperate for quick cash to cover the medical bills."

Thinking of my own grandfather fighting for his life in the ICU, a wave of profound sympathy washed over me.

"Add another fifty thousand dollars to his compensation."

"Right away, Miss Hazel."

It was the twelfth day after Carter's engagement announcement.

It was also the peak of my fertile window.

That night, I met the man named Liam Archer.

He was wearing a generic black dress shirt and dark slacks. I couldn't spot a single designer logo; they looked like cheap department store clothes. Yet, somehow, the bargain-bin outfit didn't look cheap on his frame.

Just as the contract stipulated, his eyes were securely covered with a black silk blindfold.

When I pushed the bedroom door open, he instinctively stood up and faced the doorway.

It was only then that I realized just how incredibly tall he was. He had to be at least 6'2". His proportions were flawlessbroad shoulders, a narrow waist, and endlessly long legs.

"Miss?" Liam spoke, his voice carrying a probing, cautious tone.

His voice was deep and rich. A wave of satisfaction settled in my chest.

"It's me. Don't be nervous."

I walked slowly toward him, lifting a hand to give his arm a reassuring pat.

His muscles were rock solid.

"Have you showered?" I asked.

"Yes, I have."

Truthfully, I was so incredibly nervous that a cold sweat had broken out across my back. But I deliberately put on a facade of a seasoned, confident employer.

"Then let's begin."

Liam couldn't see me, but I could see him perfectly.

The moment the words left my mouth, the corner of Liam's lips curved into a faint, subtle smirk.

Facing me, shielded by the black silk, he gave a slight nod. "Of course, Miss."

His long, elegant fingers unfastened the buttons of his shirt one by one. With a smooth, practiced motion, he pulled the hem free from his trousers.

The second I saw his perfectly sculpted waist and the sharp V-line dipping below his belt, my face erupted in flames.

When he reached for his belt buckle, I panicked and immediately spun around, facing the wall.

The rustling of fabric finally stopped.

The man's voice, now laced with a husky, magnetic edge, echoed in the quiet room. "Miss, I'm ready."

"Ah... oh, right. Okay, then... go lie down on the bed."

I forced myself to take a deep breath, desperately trying to look relaxed and natural as I turned back around.

But my eyes instantly widened.

The long tails of the black silk ribbon cascaded down his sharp jawline. The blindfold concealed his eyes, only serving to highlight the aggressive, perfect bridge of his nose.

In my twenty-four years of life, this was the very first time I had ever been this intimately close to a man's bare body.

"Miss?"

Perhaps because I had remained dead silent for too long, Liam called out softly. He took a step forward, reaching out a hand as if searching for me in the dark.

His fingertips brushed against my shoulder.

After a brief pause, he boldly wrapped his hands around my shoulderscrossing the professional boundary.

And in the very next second, he effortlessly scooped me up into his arms, carrying me bridal style.

My body sank into the plush mattress.

Liam respectfully braced his hands on either side of me, ensuring none of his heavy weight crushed me.

"If anything is uncomfortable later, please make sure to tell me."

My heart was hammering so violently against my ribs I was dizzy, practically suffocating.

"Stop talking so much and just hurry up," I snapped.

I turned my face away, biting down hard on my lower lip. I had no idea that the tips of my ears and the back of my neck were glowing crimson.

"Alright."

He lowered his head. The black silk brushed feather-light against my collarbone.

When Liam leaned in to kiss me, I aggressively turned my head.

"Don't touch my mouth."

I bluffed, trying to sound as fierce and commanding as a billionaire heiress should. But I didn't realize the end of my sentence trembled with unmistakable vulnerability.

"Bite me if it hurts."

Liam's cool fingers gently cradled my face as he pressed a searing, lingering kiss against the side of my neck.

But the exact moment his chest pressed flush against mine, my phone began to ring loudly on the nightstand.

Liam instinctively froze.

I pushed myself up slightly and grabbed the phone.

I was completely caught off guard to see the name Carter Sterling flashing on the screen.

I hesitated for a second before hitting decline.

But almost immediately, the phone started vibrating again.

My eyes drifted to Liam's face in the dim light. He had incredibly thin lips. People always said men with thin lips were inherently cold-hearted and ruthless.

A fleeting thought crossed my mind: Cold-hearted is good.

A ruthless man was perfectly suited for a transactional business deal like this. We would part ways at dawn, severing all ties forever.

I swiped the green button to answer.

Carter's voice sounded bizarrely foreign to my ears.

"Hazel, why didn't you tell me your grandfather was hospitalized?"

"It's not exactly a secret."

"Where are you right now? I'll come pick you up, we can go to the hospital to see him together..."

"That won't be necessary."

"Hazel, your grandfather always treated me well. I just want to give the old man some peace of mind right now."

"I said, it's not necessary. But thank you for the gesture."

"Hazel... you should know when to quit."

Carter's voice was now tightly laced with barely suppressed rage. I knew him too well. For an arrogant, prideful man like him to actually call me and offer an olive branch was a massive concession on his part.

But I genuinely didn't need it.

It was too late.

I gripped the phone tightly, glancing at the man hovering over me. I could physically feel the turbulent wave of lust radiating from his body, forcibly restrained by sheer willpower.

"Carter..."

Before I could finish, Liam's dark, gravelly voice cut through the silence. "Miss, can we continue now?"

A scorching kiss was violently pressed against the corner of my lips.

And he, fully primed and lethal, made his move.

The phone slipped from my sweaty palm and crashed onto the hardwood floor.

I furrowed my brows and let out a soft, pained whimper. "It hurts..."

From the floor, Carter's frantic, furious voice echoed from the speaker: "Hazel... who the hell are you with?!"

The screen went black.

The pain was so sharp I opened my mouth and sank my teeth viciously into Liam's forearm.

He paused for just a fraction of a second before leaning down. With devastating tenderness, yet undeniable dominance...

He kissed my lips.

10

My first instinct was to violently shove him away.

But the brief kiss was followed by an agonizing, tearing pain that felt like I was being split in half.

Liam stopped moving immediately.

The black silk ribbon cascading from his eyes brushed softly against my neck.

I cried from the pain, my fingernails subconsciously digging deep into the flesh of his arms.

His large hands, which had been gripping my waist, suddenly shifted. He pulled my entire trembling body tightly into his warm embrace.

His long fingers gently swept aside the sweat-drenched hair sticking to my cheeks.

Another scalding, bone-melting kiss fell against my lips.

As my body slowly adapted, my mind slipping into a dizzying, euphoric haze...

He drove me down into the mattress once more.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I briefly lost consciousness.

Because of that, I never knew the truth.

I never knew that in that exact moment, Liam ripped the black silk blindfold from his eyes.

In the shadowy, moonlit bedroom, he stared deeply at my face. And he kissed me, inch by inch, starting from the center of my brow, all the way down.

When I finally opened my eyes the next morning, I found myself dressed in a fresh, soft silk nightgown.

The other side of the bed was completely empty and cold.

It was as if the chaotic, intimate storm of last night was nothing more than a fever dream.

I dragged my aching body out of bed to wash up. When I limped downstairs for breakfast, Uncle George informed me that Liam Archer had left in the dead of night, exactly as the contract dictated.

I sat at the grand dining table. Remembering his aggressive boundary-crossing last night, and how I had completely, helplessly surrendered to it... the back of my neck burned with heat.

"Did you pay him?"

"As agreed, we wired him the first third of the payment. The remaining balance will be transferred the moment your pregnancy is medically confirmed."

I nodded, not saying another word.

11

At the Plaza Hotel.

Liam Archer had long since discarded the cheap, off-the-rack clothing he wore the night before.

He had just finished swimming laps in the hotel's private penthouse pool.

His family's senior butler was waiting respectfully in the living room.

"Madam heard you were staying in New York. She demands you join her for dinner tonight."

Liam casually tossed his damp towel onto a lounge chair and let out a low, amused scoff. "She has an ulterior motive."

"You are turning twenty-eight after the New Year, sir. You can't blame Madam for being anxious."

Liam walked over to the minibar and pulled out a bottle of sparkling water. He slicked his dripping black hair back, exposing his sharp, aristocratic forehead and striking, aggressive brow line.

"What's the rush? Tell her that in a few weeks, she might just become a grandmother."

Liam took a swig of water, throwing a teasing smirk at the butler who had watched him grow up.

The butler nearly had a heart attack. "Young Master, you cannot joke about something of this magnitude!"

"You are the sole heir to both the Kensington and Archer dynasties! The future heir of this family is more precious than solid gold! You cannot be reckless with your bloodline..."

"The future Madam of this house must be welcomed with a grand, traditional church wedding and all the proper respect!"

"I am fully aware of that."

Liam sat down gracefully on the velvet sofa. He lowered his gaze, staring intently at his left forearm. The deep, crescent-shaped bite mark was still vividly clear against his skin.

Remembering that night, an incredibly soft, tender warmth crept into his eyes.