A Deal With Desire

She needed money. He needed a wife. Neither expected to fall in love. When Adele’s mother is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, her world shatters. A struggling waitress burdened with debt, she is desperate to save the only family she has. Then Julian Hawthorne—a cold, powerful billionaire—offers her a solution: marry him for two years in exchange for enough money to cover her mother’s surgery and her family’s future. But the contract comes with rules: No emotional attachments No public scandals And above all, don’t fall in love Julian’s motive? To stop his manipulative ex-wife from claiming custody of their son and ruining his business again. With Adele by his side, he can appear stable and reformed. But as their fake marriage crosses boundaries, buried truths and long-forgotten wounds rise to the surface. Adele is no longer just a pawn—and Julian’s control begins to crack. Between scheming enemies, whispered secrets, and a passion that refuses to stay fake, what started as a transaction might become something neither of them planned for- real.