Chapter 1

"Mr. Reed sure is a busy man. That's his third business trip this month alone."

I selected the photo I had just taken, held my breath, and hit send.

The angle was clever, styled to look like a sneaky shot. The bottom right corner of the frame strategically captured a sliver of a man's pajamas.

The message went through with a chime. I tossed my phone across the room as if it were a live grenade.

"Look at you. You have zero spine, yet you're trying to play these games with Liam," Mia said, her face a portrait of sheer disappointment.

"Anyone would be nervous acting as their fictional lover," I buried my face into a throw pillow and groaned, my anxiety spiking. "Do you think he'll realize I set this whole thing up?"

"Stop stressing. If he figures it out, just call it a prank."

"I don't think he and I are on casual pranking terms." I wanted to cry, instantly regretting my impulsiveness.

"You two have been married for three years. You live together under the same roof, and yet you're still this distant. Honestly, it's a miracle your hormones aren't acting up more."

"After three years with him, my hormones are dead."

Mia patted me in mock admiration, rolled her eyes, and shoved me aside to reach for the phone.

"Do you think he'll even see it?"

Before the words fully left her mouth, the phone buzzed and lit up. It was a message from Liam.

[She's just keeping you around for fun. Don't let me catch you, you horndog.]

Mia and I stared at each other in total silence.

"What's that? Is he insulting me?" This was the first time I had ever seen Liam talk like this. I was a little stunned, but mostly fascinated.

Liam and I had been married for three years, and despite living under the same roof, we barely spoke a word of substance to each other.

On the rare occasion he absolutely had to say something, he wrapped it up in a few brief sentences. This was the first time I had ever seen him actually lose his temper.

"To be exact, he's insulting your fictional side piece," Mia swallowed hard, hesitating.

Before I could process that, the phone buzzed again.

[AeroFly Airways: Your family member has purchased a same-day return flight.]

"And what is this supposed to mean? Is he flying back right now to beat me up?"

Panic officially set in.

"Or he's coming back to take you to court and get a divorce. Either way, I'm getting the hell out of here." Mia turned to bolt, but I lunged forward and locked my arms around her leg.

"Don't leave me here by myself! Are we friends or what?"

The villa's front door slammed shut with a heavy thud. I sank deep into the sofa, my mind racing.

---

After three years of marriage, Liam and I weren't even close enough to qualify as friends. We operated more like a boss and his subordinate.

Three years ago, my dad had grand ambitions and invested heavily in a massive project. He wanted to make a name for himself, but instead, he ended up in financial ruin.

The resulting debt was the kind where selling off every single piece of family assets still wouldn't cover the baseline.

To pay it off, our entire family begged everyone we knew for money. But compared to the massive mountain of debt, whatever we managed to borrow was a drop in the bucket.

Right before we were to be thrown into prison for failing to repay our debts, Liam appeared out of nowhere like an angel.

He told us our family business could still be saved and that he was willing to throw us a lifeline. However, there were three conditions.

First, we had to sign an agreement to pay him back the principal plus interest within five years.

My dad and I nodded our heads like woodpeckers.

Second, if the company actually turned around, he wanted a twenty-five percent stake.

The two of us nodded frantically again.

Third, he wanted me to marry him for a term of three years.

My dad and I froze.

Liam sat up straight in his executive chair, leaning slightly forward. "I'm not taking advantage of your misfortune. For those three years, we will strictly be a married couple on paper. We will sign a contract."

I fiddled with my thumbs and spoke up cautiously. "Then, Mr. Reed, what exactly can I do for you?"

"Be a wife, so I can claim a larger share of my father's estate." Liam leaned back into his executive chair again. "Any other questions?"

"No! No questions at all." Terrified he might change his mind, I hastily slapped a flattering smile on my face and signed the contract.

Forget being his wife, if Liam had demanded I play the part of his adopted son, I still would have agreed.

Once we stepped out of the office building, my dad and I exchanged blank looks.

"Who is his dad anyway?" I asked.

"Wasn't it in the contract?" My dad fired back.

"I didn't read it," I said, throwing my hands up innocently.

It wasn't until we came out of the clerk's office with our marriage certificate that I finally stole a glance at Liam in the car.

"Mr. Reed, I still don't know your father's full name," I asked carefully.

Liam's knuckles were sharply defined against the steering wheel. His strong features cast a sharp shadow over his face, leaving his gaze unreadable.

"You don't know? He held you when you were a baby.

"His name is Harold Reed."

Harold Reed, the biggest real estate developer in the city. No wonder Liam was so incredibly loaded.

But before I could internally celebrate latching onto such a massive golden ticket, reality hit me. Didn't Harold only have one son?

"Um... I remember your father only having a son named Brandon." I swallowed hard. The plot was getting way too messy.

"I forgot to mention. I'm an illegitimate son. Brandon is my older half-brother."

Seeing me frozen in absolute shock, Liam offered a brief note of comfort. "Don't worry. No one is going to say anything."

I was completely stunned. It felt like I was a side character who had suddenly been dragged into a high-society family drama.

Two buzzes from my phone yanked me back to reality. I opened it to find two texts from Liam.

[Are you home? There is a banquet tonight, can you accompany me?]

Pretending like absolutely nothing was wrong, I typed out a reply.

[I'm home. I just noticed you booked an early return flight for today, so should I wait for you to go together?]

[Wrapped things up early so I could get back sooner. I'll be there shortly, wait for me at home and we'll head over together.]

So he was only rushing back for the banquet. The moment I relaxed, a strange, sudden wave of disappointment washed over me.