A Ruthless Bargain.
Amelia Nightshade has spent her entire life surviving.
Orphaned at a young age and raised by a cruel uncle who treated her like nothing more than a burden, she learned early that the world shows mercy to no one. Working quietly in a small bookstore with her only friend, Iris, Amelia believed she had already endured the worst life had to offer.
Until the night she discovers the truth.
Her uncle has sold her.
As payment for a dangerous debt, Amelia is delivered to Lucien Cross—a cold, ruthless mafia boss and one of the most feared business tycoons in the country. A man whispered about in dark corners. A man whose enemies rarely live long enough to regret crossing him.
But Amelia refuses to be another victim.
Instead, she offers Lucien a bargain.
A contract marriage.
Eight months.
A temporary wife in exchange for the complete repayment of the debt that binds her to him.
Lucien agrees, intrigued by the quiet strength behind Amelia’s fearless eyes.
What begins as a ruthless deal soon turns into something far more dangerous.
Because Lucien is a man haunted by a tragedy from his past—the brutal night his parents were murdered and his little sister vanished without a trace.
And Amelia is unknowingly tied to the very people responsible for that night.
As secrets unravel and emotions grow stronger, Amelia and Lucien must face a truth neither of them is ready for.
The woman he is beginning to love may be connected to the greatest tragedy of his life.
Ler
Chapter: Chapter Three: The Contract.Lucien. I was in the middle of a phone call when she walked in. I did not look up and that was intentional. I wanted to know the type of person she was. Some would fidget, some would clear their throats, some would keep switching from one foot to another, their eyes darting around, searching. That was the life of the middle class. I finished my call, set the phone face down and looked up. Our eyes met and the first sound that escaped me was a scoff. She was not what I expected. Mateo Alvarez was a man of poor decisions and I expected something like that. I expected someone dragged in here, eyes red from crying, dressed up desperately in whatever her uncle forced her, to look presentable. But what stood in the centre of my office instead was a girl clad in a faded pair of jeans and a plain white shirt, her hair tied in a messy bun. No single effort made or performance prepared. Just her. She was young, with hazel blue eyes warm in color as they moved around like someone try
Última atualização: 2026-03-30
Chapter: Chapter Two: Sold. Amelia. The bookstore always smelled like old papers and something close to peace, or rather freedom. It was the one place that felt like mine even though it was not. The store was someone else's, the books, the shelves and the paycheck at the end of the week was barely enough to call my own. But still, staying in the bookstore everyday made me forget for a little while that I had no problem waiting for me at home. Iris turned the key in the lock and rattled it once again to make sure it was properly held. ''Okay,'' she announced, smiling, dropping the keys into her bag with a satisfying clink. ''That is done. Another day of surviving minimum wage.'' She flipped her hair dramatically in a whim. I smiled, pulling my jacket to cover my arms due to the cold. Velmoor at this hour was cold air and distant traffic. ''You say that every night.'' She fell in step beside me, her black wavy hair swaying at her back. ''Because every night, it is true.'' She looped her arms into
Última atualização: 2026-03-30
Chapter: Chapter One: The Bargain Lucien. ''Hand me the gun,'' I commanded, my voice wrapped with steel and impatience. Dominic, my right hand man who stood beside me, pressed the cold metal into my palms without a word. I, Lucien Alexander Cross, was never one known to forgive in the whole of Velmoor and Mateo, he crossed the line. I pressed the metal to his head, his eyes filled with fear while his body shook vigorously, blood and sweat trickling down his forehead. The empty warehouse smelled like rust and regret. A place I had specifically chosen myself to end everyone who crossed the line and today, it was Mateo's turn. The walls were concrete, stained. The kind of walls that had seen things and would never tell. Mateo Alvarez sat in the midst of it all, tied to a metal chair and his wrists tied behind his back. His head hung low, chin nearly touching his chest. I wanted him to feel every second o
Última atualização: 2026-03-30
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