LOGINOne contract. Two broken hearts. Zero chance of walking away. My life shattered in a single night. Betrayed by my fiancé, drowning in my family's debt, with nowhere left to turn. Then he appeared. Damien Cross. Billionaire. Bastard. The most dangerous man I've ever met. His offer was simple, marry me for one year. Save your family. Ask no questions. I should have said no. Should have seen the trap. But desperation makes you reckless, and I signed my name next to his at 3am in a Vegas chapel, our hands shaking with rage and champagne. The rules were clear: Separate bedrooms, No feelings, When the contract ends, we walk away But... We broke every single one. Now I'm trapped in his world of glass towers and cruel games, where every touch is a weapon and every kiss is a war. He looks at me like I'm his to own, like he'd burn down the world to keep me. I hate him. I crave him. I'm addicted to the chaos we create. But contracts expire. Lies unravel. And when I discover the devastating truth about why he really married me, I'll have to choose, walk away with my heart intact—or stay and let his obsession consume us both. He warned me not to fall in love with him. So, he should have warned himself.
View More"Cross." Marcus straightened when Damien approached. "Didn't expect to see you here.""Funny. I could say the same. Since you weren't invited," Damien's voice was icy. "Leave. Now.""It's a charity event. Open to anyone who donates." Marcus's eyes slid at me. "Hello, Isla. You look beautiful.""Don't." Damien stepped between us. "Don't look at her. Don't talk to her. Don't even think about her.""Relax, Cross. I'm just saying hello to an old friend.""She's not your friend. She's my wife. And you're not welcome here."People were starting to notice. Phones were coming out. This was about to become a scene.I touched Damien's arm. "It's fine. Let's just...""It's not fine." He didn't take his eyes off Marcus. "He cheated on you. Disrespected you. And now he shows up here, at our event, trying to do what? Win you back?""I just wanted to talk to her," Marcus said. "Five minutes. That's all.""No.""Damien." I started."No, Isla. You don't owe him anything. Not your time, not your attent
"What now?" I asked."Now we go see your father. Now we deal with the media frenzy. Now we figure out how to navigate a real relationship inside a fake marriage." He smiled against my hair. "Now we stop pretending and start living.""Sounds complicated.""Everything worth having usually is.""Is that what I am? Worth having?"He pulled back to look at me, his eyes intense and honest. "You're worth everything, Isla. Everything I have. Everything I am. Everything I never thought I could be."It wasn't quite "I love you."But it was close enough to steal my breath."Come on," he said. "Let's go see your father. Then we'll come back here and I'll show you exactly how worth it you are.""Is that a promise?""It's a guarantee."We left the penthouse hand in hand. No longer pretending, no longer fighting it.Just two people who'd made a deal with the devil and somehow found something real in the ruins of their carefully constructed lies.The contract still stood. The year still loomed. The c
RECOVERY ROOM at 3:15 AMMy father looked small and fragile in the hospital bed, hooked up to too many machines. But his eyes opened when I touched his hand."Isla." His voice was weak but clear. "You're here.""Of course I'm here." I pulled a chair close, Damien standing behind me. "How do you feel?""Like I got hit by a truck. But alive. Definitely alive." His gaze moved to Damien. "You brought her.""I did.""Good. That's good." My father's hand squeezed mine weakly. "I heard what had happened. At his family's dinner. The nurse had TMZ on her phone."My stomach dropped. "Dad.""You defended him. Stood up to his father. Made quite a scene, apparently." He smiled slightly. "I'm proud of you.""I embarrassed myself.""You showed backbone. Show them you're not some weak thing they can push around." He coughed, wincing. "That's my girl.""You need to rest.""I need to say something first." His eyes went serious. "This marriage, this arrangement you two have. I know it started as a busin
The hospital waiting room smelled like antiseptic and fear.I sat in a plastic chair, still wearing the Valentino dress, my heels kicked off somewhere, makeup probably destroyed from crying. Damien paced like a caged animal, his phone pressed into his ear as he barked orders at someone about getting the best cardiac surgeon in the state."He's already in surgery," I said dully. "There's nothing.""There's always something." He hung up, immediately dialing another number. "I'm getting Dr. Reeves from Johns Hopkins. He's the best. He can...""Damien, stop."He looked at me, his eyes wild with something I'd never seen before. Helplessness."I can't stop," he said. "I can't just sit here and do nothing.""That's all we can do." My voice cracked. "Just wait and hope and..."I broke. Just completely shattered. One second I was holding it together, the next I was sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.Damien was across the room in two strides. He pulled me up from the chair and into his arms, h












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