You’re Fired, Said the Millionaire — Because I Want You as My Wife

The Sham Investigation

With treatment, he could have years. The choice was already made. She walked into Damian Sterling’s office at exactly nine in the morning.

She was wearing her best professional dress. Her hand was steady as she placed the signed contract on his desk. “I accept,” she said simply.

Damian looked up from his computer, his gray eyes unreadable. He picked up the contract and verified her signature.

Then he added his own bold scroll at the bottom. “We marry on Saturday,” he said. “Three days from now.”

“Helen will take you shopping for appropriate clothing. You will need a wedding dress and a new wardrobe suitable for a Sterling wife.”

“Saturday?” Natalie’s voice cracked slightly. “That is so soon.”

“The sooner we begin, the sooner it ends,” Damian replied, already turning back to his computer. “Helen has your schedule. Do not be late for any appointments.”

Just like that, her life changed forever. Shopping for a false future began. Helen turned out to be surprisingly kind.

They moved through exclusive boutiques that Natalie had only seen in magazines. The older woman offered quiet advice.

“Mr. Sterling may seem cold, but he has his reasons,” Helen said as they examined wedding dresses.

“His father passed away two years ago, leaving the company in a complicated trust situation.”

“What kind of situation?” Natalie asked, holding up a simple white dress.

Helen glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “The trust requires him to be married before his 33rd birthday, which is in ten months.”

“If he is not married, controlling interest in Sterling Tech goes to his uncle Bernard. And Bernard will destroy everything Damian has built.”

Suddenly, the contract made sense. Damian was not being cruel or unusual; he was fighting for his life’s work.

“Why not marry someone from his own world?” Natalie wondered aloud.

“Because everyone in his world wants something from him,” Helen replied. “Power, money, status. You just want to save your father. That makes you trustworthy.”

Natalie tried on the simple dress. It fit perfectly, elegant without being extravagant. When she looked in the mirror, she barely recognized herself.

“He is not a bad man,” Helen added softly. “Just a lonely one.”

The quick ceremony arrived too quickly. Saturday took place in a small courthouse room with only Helen and a lawyer named Thomas as witnesses.

There were no flowers, no music, and no celebration. There were just legal words spoken by a bored judge.

The judge had probably performed a hundred such ceremonies. Natalie wore her simple white dress. Damian wore a dark blue suit.

They stood side by side, not touching, as they repeated vows that felt hollow. “Do you, Damian Alexander Sterling, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Do you, Natalie Rose Brooks, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Her voice shook only slightly. “I do.”

The judge pronounced them married. Damian did not kiss her. He simply shook her hand formally.

It was as if they had just concluded a business deal, which she supposed they had. “Mrs. Sterling,” he said.

The name sounded foreign in her ears. “Mr. Sterling,” she replied.

Helen dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. She was the only person showing any emotion. The unwelcome guest arrived after the ceremony.

There was supposed to be a small reception at Damian’s penthouse for essential business associates. Natalie felt nervous as they arrived at the luxurious building.

The penthouse occupied the entire top floor with stunning views of the city. Servers moved through the rooms with champagne and appetizers.

About thirty people mingled, all dressed in expensive clothes. They were all eyeing Natalie with curiosity or judgment.

“Smile,” Damian murmured as they entered. “We are supposed to be in love.”

Natalie pasted on a smile and let him guide her through the room. His hand was warm on her lower back.

They accepted congratulations from people whose names she immediately forgot. Then a woman’s voice cut through the chatter like a knife.

“Darling, you did not tell me you were getting married.”

Natalie turned to see a stunning woman in a red dress approaching. She had perfect features, expensive jewelry, and eyes full of venom.

“Clare,” Damian said, his voice tight. “I did not invite you.”

“Thomas told me he felt I deserved to know.” Clare Monroe looked Natalie up and down with barely concealed contempt.

“So this is your mysterious bride. How quaint.” “This is my wife, Natalie,” Damian said firmly. “And you need to leave.”

“Wife,” Clare repeated, laughing. “For how long? Until you get bored? Or until she realizes what a cold, heartless man you really are?”

Natalie felt anger flare in her chest. This woman was cruel and insulting, clearly trying to hurt Damian.

Before she could think, she stepped forward. “I know exactly who my husband is,” Natalie said calmly.

“A man who honors his commitments. A man who takes care of those who depend on him. A man worth respecting. Now, please leave our home.”

The room fell silent. Clare’s face flushed with rage and humiliation. Damian stared at Natalie with something like surprise in his eyes.

“You will regret this,” Clare hissed at Damian before storming out.

After she left, the party resumed, but the mood had shifted. Damian’s business associates now looked at Natalie with new respect.

She had stood up to Clare Monroe, something few people dared to do. The wedding night confession came as the reception finally ended near midnight.

The servers cleaned up and left. Suddenly, the enormous penthouse felt very empty with just the two of them.

“You defended me tonight,” Damian said, pouring himself a drink. “That was not required by the contract.”

“She was cruel,” Natalie replied. “No one deserves to be spoken to that way.”

He studied her over his glass. “Clare and I were engaged three years ago. She left me for a wealthier man.”

“When he lost his money, she came back expecting me to take her back.” “You refused?”

“I did. She has been trying to sabotage my life ever since.” He set down his glass. “I should show you your room.”

He led her down a hallway to a beautiful bedroom suite. It had its own bathroom, a walk-in closet, and windows overlooking the city lights.

“My room is at the other end of the hall,” Damian said. “We will maintain separate spaces. You have complete privacy.”

Natalie nodded, suddenly exhausted. “Thank you for everything. My father was transferred to the treatment center today.”

“The doctors say his prognosis is excellent now.” Something softened in Damian’s expression. “Good. That was the point of this arrangement.”

He started to leave, then paused in the doorway. “Natalie?” “Yes?”

“What you said tonight about me honoring commitments—you barely know me. How can you be sure?”

She considered the question. “Because you could have fired me and moved on. Instead, you offered me a solution that helped us both. That tells me who you are.”

For a long moment, they looked at each other across the elegant room. Then Damian nodded once and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Natalie sat on the bed, still in her wedding dress. She realized she had just married a stranger.

He was a handsome, complicated, lonely stranger who was now her husband. She changed into pajamas and lay in the unfamiliar bed.

She wondered what the next year would bring. The first morning, Natalie woke to sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows.

For a confused moment, she forgot where she was. Then reality crashed back. She was married and living in a penthouse.

This was her life now. She found Damian in the kitchen, already dressed in a suit. He was drinking coffee and reading something on his tablet.

“Good morning,” she said hesitantly. He looked up. “Good morning. There is coffee and breakfast.”

“Mrs. Chen comes three times a week to cook and clean. Today is one of those days, so she will be here at 9:00.”

“Mrs. Chen?” “My housekeeper. She knows this is a business arrangement, so you do not need to pretend around her.”

Natalie poured herself coffee, grateful for the normalcy of the routine. “What happens now?”

“Now we live our lives,” Damian said. “You can continue working if you want, though it is not necessary.”

“We will attend social events together as needed. Otherwise, we stay out of each other’s way.”

It sounded lonely, but that was the deal. “I would like to keep working,” Natalie said. “I need something to do.”

“Fine. Helen will arrange a transfer to a different department. You cannot report to me anymore, obviously.”

They ate breakfast in silence, like strangers sharing a table in a hotel restaurant. This was going to be a very long year.

But as Natalie watched him, she noticed small things. He had made extra coffee, anticipating she would want some.

He had left the business section of the newspaper for her, remembering she liked to read it.

These small gestures suggested he was not as cold as he pretended to be. Maybe this arrangement would not be as terrible as she feared.

Or maybe it would become something neither of them expected. Three months passed in a strange rhythm.

Natalie settled into her new life like a visitor in a beautiful museum. She was careful not to touch anything, always aware she did not truly belong.

She transferred to the product development team at Sterling Tech, where her marketing skills proved valuable.

Her colleagues had no idea she was married to the CEO. She wore her wedding ring but kept her maiden name at work.

Damian had made sure the marriage certificate was filed discreetly. At home, they maintained a polite distance.

They had breakfast together, and sometimes dinner if neither had evening plans. Conversation was about work and current events—nothing personal.

They attended charity galas twice. Damian would place his hand on her waist and smile at her warmly, playing the devoted husband perfectly.

The moment they returned home, the warmth vanished like a costume removed after a performance. But small changes crept in despite her boundaries.

Damian started asking about her father’s treatment. Robert was responding well, his cancer shrinking and his strength returning.

Sometimes Damian would ask follow-up questions the next day, remembering details she had mentioned. Natalie began noticing Damian’s habits.

He worked too much, often until 2:00 in the morning. He forgot to eat when stressed. He had nightmares sometimes.

She could hear him pacing his room in the dark hours before dawn. One night she made extra dinner.

She left a plate outside his office door with a note: “You need to eat. Stop being stubborn.”

The next morning, the empty plate sat outside her bedroom door with a note in his precise handwriting: “Thank you. It was excellent.”

These small exchanges became their new language. The corporate threat changed everything on a cold November morning.

Damian’s uncle, Bernard, showed up unannounced at the penthouse. Natalie was working from home that day, sitting in the living room with her laptop.

The doorbell rang, and she opened it to find a silver-haired man with cruel eyes and an expensive suit.

“You must be the wife,” Bernard said, pushing past her without invitation. “Where is my nephew?”

“Mr. Sterling is at the office,” Natalie replied, disliking this man instantly. “And you are?”

“Bernard Sterling. I own 40% of Sterling Tech and soon I will own the rest.”

He looked around the penthouse with calculating eyes. “Damian thinks he is so clever, marrying some nobody to fulfill the trust requirements.”

“But I have lawyers looking into this arrangement.” Natalie’s blood ran cold. “I do not know what you are talking about. Please—”

“Everyone knows this marriage is fake. A desperate move by a desperate man.”

Bernard stepped closer, his voice dropping to a threatening whisper. “When I prove this marriage is a sham, Damian loses everything.”

“The company, his fortune, his reputation. And you, my dear, will be exposed as a fraud.”

“I suggest you take whatever money he has given you and disappear before the scandal destroys you both.”

He left as abruptly as he had arrived, leaving Natalie shaking with anger and fear. She called Damian immediately.

“Your uncle was just here. He threatened us. He says he is investigating our marriage.”

There was a long pause. “I will be home in 20 minutes. Do not worry. I will handle this.”

But Natalie heard the tension in his voice. This was serious. The truth was revealed when Damian arrived home.

His face was grim. He poured two drinks and handed her one, then sat across from her in the living room.

“Bernard has hired investigators,” he said. “They have been following us, documenting our separate bedrooms and our lack of physical affection.”

“They are documenting private everything that proves this marriage is contractual rather than real.”

“What happens if he proves it?” Natalie asked.

“The trust is invalidated. Bernard gets controlling interest in the company. He will fire me and gut everything my father built.”

“He will sell the pieces to the highest bidder. Thousands of people will lose their jobs.”

The weight of it pressed down on them both. “There has to be a way to fight this,” Natalie said.

Damian looked at her with those gray eyes that had haunted her thoughts more than she cared to admit.

“There is one way: we make the marriage real.” “What do you mean?”

“We stop pretending. We act like a real married couple in every way. Share a bedroom, show genuine affection, build a life that can withstand investigation.”

“If Bernard’s lawyers find a real relationship, they have no case.” Natalie’s heart pounded. “You want us to actually become husband and wife?”

“I want us to convince the world we are in love. That means spending time together and learning about each other.”

“It means creating shared memories. It means blurring the lines between contract and reality.”

“And after the year is up?” she asked quietly.

“We will deal with that when it comes.” He leaned forward, his gaze intense.

“I know this is not what you signed up for. If you want out, I will not blame you. I will still pay for your father’s treatment.”

“But if you stay, I need your full commitment to making this believable.”

Natalie thought about her father, healthy and smiling again. She thought about the thousands of Sterling Tech employees who would lose their jobs if Bernard won.

She thought about Damian working himself to exhaustion to preserve his father’s legacy. She thought about the past three months.

She thought about the small moments of connection and the way her heart jumped when he smiled at her.

She thought about the way she had started thinking of this place as home. “I will stay,” she said. “We will make them believe.”

Damian’s shoulders relaxed slightly.