The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract [SAMPLE ONLY / FREE ON TAPAS!]

Chapter 1- Mesmerized (1)

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NOTE: Since this book is getting published, what is posted on Wattpad is my rough draft and unedited version. Several things are still going to change in the published version of this book.

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CHAPTER 1- MESMERIZED (Part 1)

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September 12, 2003 (Three Days Earlier)
The Emerald Hotel
Athens, Greece

Jann Arden's song, 'Insensitive,' blasted through the entire grand ballroom of an exclusive five-star hotel which currently held a party that Cassia Andrade was forced to attend. She leaned over one of the marble pillars and sipped her drink while she contemplated all the things the other girls here had that she didn't.

First of all, they all looked like glittering princesses.

Well, that was bound to happen when one was born into so much wealth that they never had to work a day in their life. They were pampered right from the start and then raised to be the spoiled, snobby bitches they were right now.

Cassia snorted, exhaled and then tried harder to blend into the shadows.

To be honest, she tried as much as she could but she still stuck out like a sore thumb. She was like a duck in a room filled with gorgeous peacocks. She was not like these people. Yes, her grandfather was wealthy but she had not been born into the grandeur of wealth like these girls. She did not even know of her grandfather's existence until about a month ago.

Her parents died in a plane crash. Up until then, she had been happy. Her parents loved her very much. They may have had a difficult time scraping by financially but everything was alright since they had each other.

Then they died and orphaned Cassia at the age of twelve years old. Since then, she had been passed from foster home to foster home.

But her life changed one month ago, exactly after her nineteenth birthday, when her grandfather finally found her.

That was when she found out that her father was the only son of Costas Andrade, one of the richest men in the world. Her father was disowned because he married Cassia's mother, a common waitress. Her father gave up everything for her mother.

Now that her father was dead, she was Costas' only heir. After that bomb shell of a declaration, she was then swept into the glitz and glamour that was the life of the rich and famous.

"That was when I found out I would never fit in," Cassia muttered under her breath as she took another swig of the punch in her hand.

"Hey there, fat-ass," one of the women in the party snarled. Cassia ignored her. There was nothing else she could do but ignore these women who thought themselves to be the epitome of perfection.

"Hey hon, my dad owns a gym. Let me give you a free membership, okay?"

"Who did your hair? My poodle's hair looks so much better than that.

"When you shop for dresses, make sure it's the correct size. Not one or two sizes too small."

Again, she ignored all those taunts. But from all those words, it was the last ones that stung the most. Cassia tried everything to be refined, beautiful and smart like her grandfather wanted so that she could please him. But he was a hard man to please and instead of earning his love and his praise, she always earned his wrath.