He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 760

"Tsk..." Zachary raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to bribe me with cherries?"

He slowly ate it, tossing the pit into the nearby trash can before flashing a cunning smile. "Well, if he's the best business partner, I suppose he'd make a decent husband, too."

"How about I make the call, and you just marry him? What do you say?"

She had tried to lighten the mood with a joke, only for her brother to immediately suggest they tie the knot on the spot.

She jolted in shock. "What? No, I can't—"

"I don't mean a real marriage. I mean a three-year contract marriage," Zachary clarified bluntly.

She stared at him, her eyes wide with sheer disbelief.

"What exactly are you talking about?"

Julian had finally recovered from his embarrassment. He cleared his throat and walked over. He picked up a cherry, but instead of eating it, he brought it right to her lips, letting her take it.

"This is a strategy your brother and I came up with a while ago. He wants to gradually transfer all the assets he's built up in Country A back home. That's the entire reason we founded the Croft Group."

"You don't know corporate structuring, but I do. However, your brother can't entirely trust me on his own."

He looked deep into her eyes, making sure she was following along. "But if we get married, we can set up offshore trusts and holding companies in both our names. It's the most effective way to bypass Country A's capital flight regulations and tax audits..."

Zachary took over. "I've been operating here for a long time. I have a massive target on my back. If I try to move that kind of money under my own name, the authorities will freeze everything. But doing it through a corporate merger masked as a marital union? It's perfectly legal, totally standard, and bypasses all the red tape."

"And when the contract ends, you and Julian can decide if you want to stay married or walk away. The choice is yours."

She fell silent, absorbing the magnitude of the proposition.

Worrying he had overwhelmed her, Julian gently touched her arm. "If it's too much pressure, or if you just don't want to do it, we'll figure something else out—"

"There is no 'something else'!" Zachary cut him off sharply. "I've run the numbers. This is the only way with a near-zero failure rate!"

"You two need to go get your marriage license the second you land. The sooner, the better."

Zachary's tone was absolute, slamming the gavel on the entire conversation.