Chapter One – The Last Will
Oliver Haywood had spent his entire life proving one thing: that he could not be broken.
From the glittering skyline of Manhattan, he looked down at the empire he’d built—steel towers, glass reflections, a kingdom carved out of ambition and bloodless precision. To the world, he was untouchable. Ruthless. A man with a heart of stone and hands that turned everything he touched into gold.
But tonight, in the marbled silence of his grandfather’s office, Oliver felt something he hadn’t in years. Rage.
The lawyer cleared his throat, his fingers twitching nervously over the crisp sheets of paper. “As per the last testament of the late Mr. Harold Haywood, the estate and controlling shares of Haywood Global are to be inherited by his only grandson, Oliver James Haywood, on one condition—”
“One condition?” Oliver’s voice cut like glass, low and dangerous. “My grandfather never imposed conditions on me. He trusted me with everything.”
The lawyer’s eyes flickered, as if bracing himself against the storm. “The will states that Mr. Haywood must marry within the next eighteen months and produce an heir. Failure to do so will result in the assets being liquidated and donated entirely to charity.”
The room fell silent.
For a moment, only the distant ticking of the grandfather clock dared to move. Then Oliver’s laugh—sharp, humorless—echoed against the oak-paneled walls.
“Marry?” He leaned back in the leather chair, his jaw tightening. “Produce an heir? Tell me, Jonathan, is this some kind of joke?”
The lawyer swallowed. “I assure you, sir, the terms are binding. Your grandfather was very clear. He believed—”
“He believed,” Oliver snapped, rising to his feet, “that he could control me even from the grave.”
The lawyer flinched but pressed on. “He believed that the Haywood legacy required stability. A family. He… he wanted you to have what he himself cherished most.”
Family.
The word clawed at Oliver’s chest, stirring memories he’d buried long ago: betrayal in the shape of a woman’s smile, love twisted into a knife at his back. He had vowed, after that, never again. Never love. Never marriage. Never trust.
And yet, here was his grandfather, forcing his hand.
Oliver’s eyes darkened as he turned toward the window. The city stretched endlessly before him, glowing with power that belonged to him—and him alone. He wouldn’t let anyone take it away. Not even Harold Haywood.
“Very well,” he said coldly, his reflection in the glass as sharp as the skyline itself. “If it’s a wife he wants, I’ll get one. And an heir. But on my terms.”
The news spread through Haywood Tower like wildfire. Executives whispered in elevators, assistants traded rumors over coffee machines. Oliver Haywood, the man who had once declared love a liability, was searching for a wife.
By morning, his assistant, Clara, was buried under a stack of dossiers. Heiresses, supermodels, CEOs’ daughters—all carefully vetted, polished, and paraded like jewels waiting to be claimed.
Oliver flipped through them with the same disinterest he used for business contracts. Page after page of glossy smiles and pedigreed résumés. Women who looked at him as though he were a prize, not a man.
He discarded each file without hesitation.
“Too desperate.”
“Too ambitious.”
“Too plastic.”
Clara’s voice wavered. “Sir, we’ve gone through forty-four candidates already. These are the best connections society can offer.”
“Connections don’t interest me,” Oliver said flatly. “If I must marry, she’ll be someone who understands boundaries. Someone who knows this isn’t about love. I don’t want a partner—I want a name on a contract.”
Clara hesitated, then slid one last file across the desk. “There’s one more. She… doesn’t fit the usual mold, but she passed all background checks. Quiet record, modest upbringing. She wasn’t even on the original list, but—”
Oliver arched a brow. “Then why am I looking at her?”
Clara took a breath. “Because she’s the only candidate who didn’t ask what she’d gain by marrying you. She asked what she’d have to give.”
That made him pause.
Oliver’s fingers tapped against the file before he opened it. The photograph inside wasn’t dazzling. No runway-ready angles, no diamond-dripping smile. Just a woman with warm brown eyes, understated beauty, and an air of quiet determination.
Her name: Nuella Allen.
Age: twenty-six. Occupation: junior architect at a struggling design firm. Family background: middle class, deceased parents, younger brother in college. Financial history: stable but unremarkable.
Oliver studied the photo longer than he intended. There was no hunger in her eyes, no calculation. If anything, there was something almost… challenging.
“Ordinary,” he said at last, closing the file.
“Yes,” Clara admitted. “Ordinary. But perhaps ordinary is what you need.”
Oliver’s jaw tightened. Need. He needed nothing and no one. But if his grandfather wanted a wife, and time was against him, then perhaps the last candidate—the one he should never have considered—was exactly the answer.
Nuella Allen never thought her life would lead here.
When Clara Haywood’s assistant had called, she’d laughed, certain it was a mistake. Her? Interview for marriage with Oliver Haywood, the untouchable billionaire whose face graced magazines and business journals? Impossible.
But curiosity, and perhaps fate, had drawn her into Haywood Tower.
She sat now in the waiting room, her palms damp against the fabric of her skirt. Around her, women draped in designer gowns whispered disdainfully, their diamond earrings glittering like accusations. She was the odd one out—the last choice.
Still, she held her chin high. She had come here with her own quiet reason, a reason she could never confess. Because Nuella Allen had loved Oliver Haywood for years. From afar. In silence.
It wasn’t the fairy tale love of teenage dreams. It was the slow, steady admiration for a man who rose from ruin to empire. The kind of love that a girl hid in journals, never expecting it to be returned.
And now, unbelievably, fate had placed her name across his desk.
The door opened. Clara’s sharp eyes landed on her. “Miss Allen? He’ll see you now.”
Nuella stood, her heart pounding, and stepped into the lion’s den.
Oliver Haywood sat behind a desk that seemed carved from the very stone of his empire. He didn’t rise when she entered. His eyes—cold, gray, unyielding—raked over her in one assessing sweep.
She felt stripped bare, as though he could see every secret she carried.
“Nuella Allen,” he said, her name rolling off his tongue like a challenge.
“Yes, Mr. Haywood,” she managed, steadying her voice.
“You’re the last candidate. Tell me why you’re here.”
She clasped her hands together, willing her nerves to stay hidden. “Because you asked.”
A flicker of amusement touched his lips. “Honest. Refreshing. But let’s be clear, Miss Allen. This isn’t a fairy tale. I don’t believe in love. I don’t have time for emotions. What I need is a contract. A marriage in name only. You will have my name, my protection, my wealth. In return, you will provide stability—and, eventually, an heir. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
His words should have frozen her blood. Instead, they set her resolve aflame.
“I understand,” Nuella said quietly. “But marriage is more than a contract, Mr. Haywood. Even without love, it requires respect.”
For the first time that evening, Oliver’s gaze sharpened, curiosity flickering in the storm of his eyes.
Respect.
No other woman had dared demand it.
Perhaps this “ordinary” woman was anything but.
Oliver leaned back in his chair, studying her like a puzzle he hadn’t expected to solve. She wasn’t desperate. She wasn’t dazzled. She was steady, composed, and unafraid of him.
It was infuriating. And strangely intoxicating.
“You’ll do,” he said at last.
Nuella’s breath caught. Just like that, her life had changed.
But as his cold words settled in the air, she made a silent vow of her own: she wouldn’t just be his last choice. She would make him see her. She would make him remember what it meant to feel.
Even if it cost her everything.