Chapter 1: Sold for a Ring
The doctor said my mother had three days.
Three days to pay for a surgery I could never afford.
That was why I was sitting across from a stranger in a glass office forty floors above the city, staring at a document that would decide the rest of my life.
Marriage Contract.
Not love.
Not a proposal.
A transaction.
"Sign."
The man's voice was calm, emotionless, as if he were asking me to approve a business report instead of sell myself.
I looked up at him.
Ethan Blackwood.
The name alone carried weight. Power. Fear. The youngest billionaire in the country. A man known for crushing enemies and never making mistakes.
And now, my only option.
"This marriage," I said carefully, "is only for one year. That's what you promised."
"Yes." His eyes didn't soften. "You will act as my wife in public. Obey the terms. After one year, we divorce."
"And the money?" My fingers dug into my palms.
"It will be transferred the moment you sign."
Enough to save my mother.
Enough to destroy me.
I laughed weakly. "Do you usually buy wives like this?"
His gaze sharpened. "Do you usually ask questions when you're desperate?"
Silence fell between us.
He was right.
I picked up the pen.
The moment the ink touched the paper, something inside me cracked.
When I finished signing, he stood immediately, already done with me. "The wedding is tomorrow."
My head snapped up. "Tomorrow?! That wasn't—"
"You'll wear what my people bring," he said coldly. "You'll smile for the cameras. Speak only when necessary."
I swallowed. "And after that?"
He looked at me then. Really looked at me. Like a stranger judging a flawed product.
"You remember your place," he said. "That's all."
The wedding was a nightmare dressed in white.
Cameras flashed. Strangers congratulated me. Women looked at me with envy, not knowing I would have traded places with any of them in a heartbeat.
When Ethan slid the ring onto my finger, his touch was brief. Distant.
The kiss was colder than the diamond.
That night, I followed him into the penthouse overlooking the city.
He removed his jacket and turned to me. "You'll have your own room."
Relief washed through me.
"This marriage is an arrangement," he continued. "Nothing more. Do not expect affection. Do not interfere in my life."
"I won't," I said quickly.
He paused, his eyes darkening. "Good. Because if you ever forget why you're here—"
He stepped closer, his voice dropping.
"—I'll remind you."
He walked away, leaving me standing alone in a mansion that felt like a prison.
I stared at the ring on my finger.
A billionaire's wife.
Bought. Temporary. Replaceable.
What I didn't know yet was the truth.
Ethan Blackwood didn't marry me to save me.
He married me to punish someone else.
And I was about to find out why.